When you apply for any type of financial product, in this case a mortgage, you will have your credit rating checked.

Credit rating is a way for the lender to see how reliable you have been in the past with financial products. They need to make sure you are worth the risk of lending you the money.

The lender will look at why you’re applying for the mortgage ie is it sensible?

They will study your financial position ie your income and outgoings.

In addition a detailed credit check will be carried out.

The mortgage lender will probably use one of the two major credit reference agencies, Experian or Equifax.

These agencies hold a wide range of information on everyone and have a – no doubt secret – formula for grading how good or bad a credit risk you are.

They’ll know if you’ve had any past problems with a financial provider.

They’ll grade you by current address (in fact they’re so clever that if anyone in your house has ever had any bad credit that will count against you too).

Despite being extremely thorough, the process should be fairly quick.

What you must be clear on is that there is very very little chance of you being “cleared” if you have any history of poor credit. The problem is more for people who are wrongly labelled as having bad credit.

 

Important Note

It’s very important not to apply to mortgage lenders who’ll automatically reject you, because every time you’re turned down – regardless of the reason – this will show on your credit rating and further damage your chances of getting a mortgage.

To find out how to get a mortgage if you’ve got bad credit see Finding a lender for adverse credit cases

 

Read More About Bad Credit Ratings