Other underwriting criterea

As you know some lenders use the credit score system, where as other companies choose not to and use other criteria to do their checks. Here are examples:

Number of County Court Judgements

They may decline an application if there are any CCJ’s, have no limits and therefore disregard any judgments or put a limit on them. For example, they will accept up to 2 and will disregard any under £150 and any that are over three years old.

Defaults

Likewise some may disregard altogether, some may accept and others may have a limit.

Mortgage arrears

This one does cause concern for many. Your mortgage payments are probably anyone’s most important credit repayment. If this is not being repaid then there are problems somewhere. Generally people pay their mortgage before they pay other credit, such as credit cards, as it is the mortgage that keeps a roof over their head, and not their credit card. Although some people do pay some payments before their mortgage, such as cash loans with companies like provident, as their representatives / collectors come to the door and it is difficult to avoid them. All car repayments are often prioritised above the mortgage, as some companies particularly the adverse car credit companies, are very quick to repossess the car following a missed payment. If a lender grants a loan when there are mortgage arrears they often have to be satisfied that the problems that led to the arrears are no longer an issue. Or the granting of the loan will cause problems. This is so with secured lenders. They will want to clear any mortgage arrears from the loan in advance, plus they will not be so keen to lend if they feel that you are going to get into another mess and have your home repossessed.

How long have you lived at your present address

There may be a minimum term that you have lived at your present address for. For example, 6 months up to a year. This is to allow time to see how you cope with your new living arrangements. Such as rent / mortgage repayments, how you are settling in, if you take out extra credit, or if you wish to spend money on the house. If this is the case then there will obviously be increased outgoings.

Voters Role

Are you on the voter’s role at your present address? Or past address? If you are not then there may be lots of adverse credit recorded against you. Can you prove that the address you give is your actual address? So if you were to have any debts, it can be recorded. The proof you need can be provided from utility bills, council tax bills, your driving licence etc.

Job and income

How stable is your employment? How long have you been in your present job? Do you change jobs regular? Are you ever out of work? What is your income? They will want to know the answers to all these questions. The longer you have worked in your present job the better. A stable employment history is good as people are usually better at arranging their finances. If you change jobs regular or have periods out of work then this can cause concern.