Mortgage with a fair credit score?

[Seabiscuit1]

Does anyone have any advice for getting a mortgage with a fair credit score or advice on how to improve a credit score quickly?
I was looking for a flat to rent but have seen one for sale at an incredible price. I have enough for the deposit due to help from family and my salary allows me to easily make the payments.
I missed one credit card payment (only one day late because I forgot!) in January and I am worried this has ruined my chances.
Very frustrating as I would save a fortune by buying rather than renting. My rent currently costs£1500 a month which is not affordable at all.
Any advice would be wonderful. I am fairly clueless about all of this!

Ignore your credit score. It's irrelevant. If it is only one payment which has been paid now and you have no arrears, you should be fine. Go see a broker and see what they say.

See a whole of market broker and they will talk it through with you

As advised your score is irrelevant, in fact it doesn’t even exist. No one sees it apart from the agency who sell it to you, and yourself. I wouldn’t worry too much about one payment being a day late, in the grand scheme of things.

Go and see a broker and discuss your options.

PS I don’t mean to piss on your chips but if a flat is for sale at an “incredible price”, there’s probably a reason for that.

Credit scores are NOT USED for mortgages.

My sister missed / late with a credit card payment, the mortgage provider could see the late payment and consequent was unable to access the best rates, in some circumstances a late payment might show as a default on your credit record and you might be asked to explain.

I am a Mortgage broker and what you are being told about credit scores is correct.

What lenders typically do is take the information (ie balances, payment history, limits etc - not the score) from your credit report, they combine that with the information from your application and then score your application internally.

A 1 off late payment is unlikely to be a deal breaker.

Speaking to a broker might be a good idea (sorry to sound biased), some lenders are quite strict where as others are a little more relaxed so that late payment is less likely to be an issue with some lenders.