Get your finances in order
Part 3: Check Your Credit History
Whether you are trying to get a loan, rent a property or buy a house your credit history can often play an important part in your success. When it comes to buying a house having adverse credit history can make getting a mortgage more difficult.
It makes sense to improve your credit history months and years before you plan to buy. Lenders may look as far back as 6 years into the past!
Potential problems with your credit:
This can include
- CCJs
- Bankruptcy
- Paying bills on time
- Amount of credit used on loans and credit cards
- Lots of credit applications or being refused
- Past registered addresses
In addition below are just a few of the things to avoid if possible when planning to buy a house:
- Taking out new loans just before or after applying
- Maxing your credit cards
- Having too much credit available
- Spending money on online gambling
- Using payday loans
- Using your overdraft
And finally where possible long before you start thinking about buying always pay your bills on time.
We recommend speaking with a financial advisor about your personal circumstances if you are unsure about your current credit arrangements.
Check your credit history and improve your score
What are my next steps?
Calculate your move costs
A common first time buyer mistake is to just think about the deposit and forget about the other costs associated with moving such as legal fees, stamp duty and survey costs. In the next step we look at your potential move costs, so you have a complete picture of the deposit required.
We also cover how to get together more deposit and alternative ways to buy a property later in this series
Need more help? Find your perfect mortgage adviser
Talk to a friendly mortgage adviser to save time and hassle and get clear and the best next steps for you. They can help you work out your finances. When you are ready they will find you the best deal for you and make your mortgage application easy. And better still our advisers can also help you put together the right team to ensure your sale goes smoothly. Answering all your questions every step of the way.
- Get a proper check on what you can afford
- Find out what deals you qualify for
- Save time with the application
- Get help dealing with estate agents and conveyancers
- Have a dedicated adviser to answer your questions at every stage
Avoid the most common first-time buyer mistakes
Learn about the top first-time buyer mistakes and the best ways to avoid them with our FREE ebook
If you are thinking of buying a house in the next 12 months then you need to make sure you get this. It's packed with examples of the most common mistakes.
- Covers every stage from planning your finances to the sales process
- Easy to read
- Packed with tips to help you avoid the most common mistakes
- Receive on going tips to your inbox
The legal part. Move Engine is a business set up to help buyers through online help such as the article above. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of our tools and articles you should always seek your own personal advice for your specific circumstances from an FCA approved advisor or lender. Move Engine can not accept responsibility for your actions as a result of the generic information supplied on our site and tools. If you notice a problem with any of the tools or information provided then please report it to hello @ move-engine.com.