Mortgage with fair credit

[Rayn]

So we have 5% and a fair credit score -just under good.
How likely are we to get a mortgage? Can't get hold of a mortgage advisor as they all bombed out and busy and tried three who have not called us back!

47 and we lost our house a few years ago due to our business going under and desperate to get back on the ladder. Paid everything off and ready to start again!
Just now sure whether it is worth approaching my bank?

5% deposits are for first time buyers only so I'm not sure if you'd qualify. If you could increase your deposit though I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem

5% deposit mortgages are not for first time buyers only.
You say you lost your home, does this mean that the bank took possession of it? If so it is very unlikely that you would be accepted at 95%

We got a 5% deposit in 2018 but we were first time buyers, we had no issues in obtaining it though. Good luck op sorry I can't offer any advice

I assume you mean you can’t get hold of an independent mortgage advisor - have you tried advisors at banks and building societies? They may be able to help from the perspective of their own companies although obviously not cross market like a broker. Don’t just talk to your bank as you might get a better deal at another one. We had some special circumstances so approached our local building society and they were able to be more flexible than a big bank, so also worth considering.

Thankyou so much. We lost out home as in we had to sell to pay off the business debts.
Been a hard slog but we have done it and saved 15k.
Never though it would be possible but we did. Just had a look at London and county online and looks like we would get one with a fairly decent interest rate! Hope so!!

Speak to someone at London and Country - it’s free and they can either access a range of products not available to Joe bloggs on the market or point you in the right direction of a broker who can help and specialise

Go to a specialist mortgage adviser. Your credit score may be fair but your credit report sounds as if it'll be complicated. 5% deposit I'd say you definitely need a broker with expertise in adverse credit.

And I'll be completely honest, you'll need more than 5%

Just be mindful that you at 47 you will likely only get a 20 year mortgage term. 20 years for a 300k property with only 5% deposit if you manage to get one will be high interest and pretty pricey monthly. Do you need to but such a big house? Could you not go smaller and increase your LTV?

@Rayn

Thankyou so much. We lost out home as in we had to sell to pay off the business debts. Been a hard slog but we have done it and saved 15k. Never though it would be possible but we did. Just had a look at London and county online and looks like we would get one with a fairly decent interest rate! Hope so!!

If that's the case then yes you should have a chance. Don't focus too much on your credit rating. This is a gimmick that a lender won't actually see they have their own credit scoring systems and are focusing on things like defaults and missed payments. Also make sure you are registered on the electoral roll at your address. London and Country are pretty decent. I work for a bank in Underwriting and we have lots of cases from them.

Unfortunately I still have four kids between 17 and 6 so need a largish house. Looking at least 280k in my area.
With regards to the 25 years mortgage one thing we have kept up is decent pension payments so hopefully this will help. Made a lot of financial bad decisions in the past but this one was one of the better ones!
Thanks again for the advice.

@Rayn

Unfortunately I still have four kids between 17 and 6 so need a largish house. Looking at least 280k in my area. With regards to the 25 years mortgage one thing we have kept up is decent pension payments so hopefully this will help. Made a lot of financial bad decisions in the past but this one was one of the better ones! Thanks again for the advice.

You will get a 25 year mortgage no problem at all. Lots of lenders go to age 75 with several going to age 80 too

We recently remortgaged with a high street lender, could only go to 67 despite both having full military pensions and significant personal pensions and savings, so no not will let you go past retirement age.

@Pissoi

We recently remortgaged with a high street lender, could only go to 67 despite both having full military pensions and significant personal pensions and savings, so no not will let you go past retirement age.

I work as an underwriter for a high Street lender and sign off mortgages at 95% to age 75 day in day out. I can't comment on the lender you used and their rules I can only tell you for an absolute fact that majority of lenders will go to 75 without any issues at all. The lender I work for are quite strict criteria wise

Santander certainly offer mortgages past retirement age

Just to clarify, some lenders will go into your 70's but it not that they are lending beyond your retirement, they expect you to continue working for the length of the mortgage and that conversation will be had when you apply. Consider that very carefully.

@delilahbucket that's incorrect. I know that Santander do lend into retirement and I'm sure other lenders will too.

DP is a mortgage adviser for Santander, they lend up until you retire, but you have to say you will be working up until that point, even if that means you working beyond the standard age for retiring. He's given many a raised eyebrow over people insistent they will work until 75 in jobs where you really wouldn't be capable at that age.

As stated, they don't lend beyond your expected retirement age.

@delilahbucket my father's been retired for 15 years and is 67, he has a 10 year mortgage with 8 years left with Santander..

There are other companies besides L&C! But yes a broker would be able to help you, im surprised and saddened you haven't come across a more helpful local one in your search so far

[quote SIHastingsLiketheBattle]@delilahbucket my father's been retired for 15 years and is 67, he has a 10 year mortgage with 8 years left with Santander..[/quote]
They don't lend beyond retirement, you can see that from the screen shot. Clearly whoever did his mortgage didn't declare he was retired and if you are taking out a new mortgage at 65 years old, questions would have been asked, so who said what and to who, remains to be answered as to how he got the mortgage in the first place.

My dp is 53 and we got a 17 year mortgage a couple of months ago. If we wanted a longer term we had to provide pension statements so they could do an affordability check when he reached pension age.

@delilahbucket it says "we don't normally " not "we don't". Before you accuse someone of mortgage fraud maybe read your own screenshot.
Its worth a punt particularly if the OP goes through a decent broker (my father used l&c and did disclose his retirement as we sent the lender proof of his retirement income). Honesty this is getting silly now!

Your credit score is not all that lenders for a mortgage will take into account.

Whilst usually a higher credit score suggests you are more likely to be a responsible borrower and make your payments on time and in full, every lender does have different structure to what they asses you on - there is no particular credit score that will guarantee being approved. However, if your credit score on the lower spectrum because of your business going under, then you might find you have more chance of being accepted with a higher deposit than the 5% you currently hold (be aware a mortgage lender will take into account your previous financial history - if your business was under your personal name, this could have a negative impact).

If you are looking at improving your credit score before applying for a mortgage, you could look at credit building companies, such as Portify. They are an innovative way of building your credit score with either Experian or Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, depending on which membership you opt for.