Until the arrival of the 'credit crunch' facilities were available to meet most situations where an application was less than 'squeaky clean; but now we have to be quite open and say that if you have status problems of any sort it will be very difficult, if not impossible to get a mortgage

The best advice - hard though it may be to take - is that you will have to sort things out and try again when this has been done.

If you either have substantial equity in an existing property and want to remortgage or if you have a minimum 25% deposit on a new purchase then  it MAY be possible to get a mortgage facility, but it is almost certain to be expensive.

There is one matter which is often overlooked.  If two people are making a joint application, and one of them has status problems but the other hasn't, then it is often possible for the mortgage to proceed in one name only if that person qualifies for the mortgage required.  If this involves taking one party off the mortgage, however, any legal, marital or other problems would need to be carefully considered.

If you are a first time buyer or want a high loan to value mortgage and have experienced even minor credit problems such as a late payment of a telephone bill or credit card a mortgage will be very difficult indeed. If you have current unresolved problems (perhaps an unsatisfied county court judgment for example) it is basically impossible to obtain a mortgage or remortgage at the present time.

If your problems have been overcome and you can demonstrate a good track record for the last twelve months at least, there is a possibility that a rmortgage might be feasible, but if you want more than 75% of the property value by way of mortgage, then frankly it is almost 'mission impossible' at the moment.

If the problems or difficulties are historical or occurred because of an out of the ordinary happening (e.g. unexpected redundancy) lenders are someimes sympathetic. - again depending on the size of the mortgage required in relation to the property value.


Here of some of the reasons why a lender might turn down an application.

1. Obvious ones such as no income, unsuitable property, short leasehold property, or simply outside lenders terms.
2. Poor status record - but depends completely on the lender as there are  a few who will accept problem situations provided a low mortgage to value is required (sometimes at a price unfortunately.)
3. Large or unsatisfied court judgments - lenders generally are not keen if a judgment has not been satisfied  even if this is for a small amount. Just one ccj or default of any amount is sufficient for most lenders to turn down an application
4. Too much existing credit. Unless outstanding credit is being repaid prior to or on completion, your income could be insufficient to pay both the mortgage costs and the continuing credit.
5. Unsatisfactory conduct of any previous mortgage.
6. Unsatisfactory residence situation or history. You must be shown on the voter's roll at your current address (or have a very good explanation why this is not so) and also be able to prove your residence history for at least the three previous years.
7. Recent or several changes of employment. Lenders like to see stability.
8. Too much activity on your credit file! It is a little know fact but very true that some lenders will automatically decline your application if they see you have been making numerous enquiries elsewhere as they assume (quite wrongly in our opinion) that you are having difficulties in obtaining credit. This practice is gradually diminishing fortunately
9. Non or even late payment of existing credit. Even a credit card payment made a couple of days late can bring an adverse entry on your credit file. (It always pays to set up a direct debit if just for the minimum required amount to avoid this happening. You can always pay more or settle in full afterwards, but following the above suggestion will avoid ‘black marks' for late payment!)

The above list is by no means exhaustive but may be of help!

The important thing - and we cannot emphasise this too much - is that you must be completely up front with us and the lenders. The lenders finding out about something which you have tried to conceal would result in an immediate rejection - and of one thing you can be absolutely sure, they will find out.

If you are in a difficult situation you must give us the full details (however gruesome!) and we will use our knowledge of the market to do the very best we can for you. It will be appreciated, however, that in the present climtae the immediate mortgage requirement may be imposible and the only sensible alternative (so easier said than done we appreciate) is to get your house in order, keep your situation under complete control, and try again when circumtances change.