Mortgage Declined, HELP!

[tkp]

Hi all, I'm new to Mumsnet so be easy on me!

My husband and I recently applied for a joint mortgage and it got rejected; (he is the only one on the mortgage for our current flat) no idea why, both have almost perfect (977 out of 999 and 998 out of 999) credit scores, our mortgage broker can't seem to figure out why Natwest has declined our application either, the only thing I can think of is that when I was 15 (14 years ago) I was a fraud victim and it was with my Natwest account that they promptly shut down without warning and 5 years ago I was gifted some money before my dad passed and that account was also shut down (also with Natwest) and it took me 3 months to get it back (also without reason). Could they have an internal mark against me? Will it affect my getting a mortgage with another lender?

Help! Feeling super upset and discouraged.

Get your credit files from both equifax and experian, print off the full report and check for any fraud warnings. The broker should’ve already told you to do this though? Then get another lender to look at whether they’ll offer you an agreement in principle. Is your affordability ok?

I don't understand, what has your broker said? We were rejected with the first provider our broker went with and it was no biggie, he just went to the next on his list and the mortgage was sorted.

My understanding is providers do have their own internal info separate to credit reference agencies so your previous issues with Natwest could be (an unfair) reason. I'd expect your broker to just find another lender though. That's why you use a broker

Yep, our affordability is fine, we have an over 25% deposit and the monthly payments would be just about 1/3rd of our monthly income which is standard. We have our credit file, our broker looked at it and said it all looks fine with no fraud warnings.

We used a broker as we had a gifted deposit and it was easier because they just sorted everything. That's why you use a broker.
When your first was rejected they should just move down the list until they find one that is the correct fit for you.

Our broker doesn't understand why Natwest has rejected our mortgage either, we have no CIFA fraud alerts.

We are looking to do that, we were just seeing if they would give any reason as to why as they haven't provided us with one.

What multiple of your salaries are you trying to borrow? Has your advisor stress tested against further interest rate rises?

If a bank closes an account on you, that's a pretty big thing. Or it was back in the day. It would certainly explain why that specific lender has declined you.

Don't panic, try another.

Not sure of the exact multiple but it isn't our full lending eligibility, we're about 30k under that.

My partner had his account shut down and sent to bailiffs, and that was NatWest. It was more then six years ago (more like 15) and that didn’t stop them approving us for a mortgage. But maybe the five year ago one is the issue as I think the cutoff is six years.

Of course it's a big thing but it wasn't anything that I could do anything about and literally just had a bank account as a 15 year old for when I had spending money from my parents, it wasn't anything shady lol.

This still suggests you can find it difficult to get a bank account if you've had one closed on you:

www.moneysupermarket.com/news/bank-account-closures/

Again suggesting why NatWest won't deal with you.

I don't struggle to get a bank account, I have a normal one with Barclays where multiple sums of money go in and out no problem, I've only ever had an issue with Natwest.

Ah interesting. The 5 years ago possible fraud then is the likely issue.

Definitely look at your credit files. You can sign up for free with Moneysaving Expert credit club or Credit Karma. Are you both on the electoral roll?

Do you currently use any credit? Sometimes too little is as bad as too much as you can't prove you're a good risk.

Lenders like it if you never use an overdraft but do use a credit card, but only a small percentage (around a third max) of the credit limit, that's paid off in full every month.

You don't use gambling sites or spend a lot on non essentials do you?

We're got a copy of our credit file, our broker said it all looks fine, we're on electoral roll, we have the standard credit for phones and a credit card etc. Never gambled a day in our life. We're a very textbook case.

Does your mortgage broker know about both the closed accounts? I would be surprised if that wasn't the reason your mortgage got declined to be honest.

If you don't have a cifas marker or anything because of it, then I'd just try with a different banking group.

He knows, he thinks that could be that but we're trying to get an answer properly.

Does it matter though? We were rejected by NatWest and so the broker just moved on to the next provider.

I'm just worried there's something wrong that we aren't thinking of and it will get rejected again with another provider.

Check your credit file. I spoke to our bank the other day and it turns out EON marked our credit file with a default for a government credit we hadn’t allegedly hadn’t repaid to them. 18 months after we left the house and they closed our account. With no bill issued. And with no contact with us whatsoever until they sent us a very casual ‘reminder to pay’ email in April.

The bank are fine. They just need proof it was repaid and that it was for the former house.

I bet it’s a bloody energy company! They have messed so many people’s credit up during the last few years.

Were either of you on support during Covid? That messed my hairdresser’s rating up apparently.

The credit file was fine, I was on UC during covid but I haven't been on it for about 3 years now

maybe it is the property? Have you applied for a mortgage on a specific property? My first mortgage lender I tried turned my down because they didn't lend on the type of property I was trying to buy

Why don't you just apply for a mortgage from another lender? See if you only have problems with this specific one?

It's possible to get a mortgage even with a poor credit rating (which you don't have) so no need to despair - but you may need to shop around. What has your broker advised?

It's just a new build house, the valuation came back fine.