Mortgage advice

[familychoice]

My money saving tip is: complain if you get a bad service, whatever it is.

With companies as crap as they are these days there's usually an error along the way. Don't put up with it, complain and ask for a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience.

We were offline for 6 weeks last year, I think we got about £60 from Talktalk. Doesn't really cover the costs of being offline but it's better than nothing. Then BT mis-sold our new contract. As a result they put us on their top unlimited contract for the price of the basic one and gave us a bit of cash as well. 1&1 mistakenly told me I couldn't downgrade my hosting to take advantage of better features and lower costs so I got £30 for that and the contract changed. Recent 123Reg issues have resulted in a £25 payment.

And be bold - haggle when renewing contracts and services, or setting up new ones.

It all adds up.

I've never used sky+ but freeview+ recorders are great. We have one (a Humax something or other). I think it works similar to sky+, you just browse the tv guide and you can select to record a single program or a whole series if it is one. With ours you can pause and rewind live tv, and you can start watching something even while it's still recording. My parents got the next size up to ours recently I think they paid about £150 for a 320GB one which is about 160 hours worth of recordings.

I didn't realise they could do all that. We've got Sky+ and I love the pause/rewind feature. Ours also allows us to record 2 programmes at once, while watching a third off the planner. Sounds a bit of an unnecessary luxury but TV planners make a habit of putting all the good stuff on at once so it gets used quite a bit.

We're only on the basic Sky contract (though they've recently given us loads of extra channels) but it sounds like Freeview is worth looking into.

[samhs]

In my experience nothing compares to the Sky+ planner - nobody else has quite got the UI right - yet... But, once you get over the initial foibles of a slightly less user-friendly EPG, it's well worth it for not having to pay monthly. An alternative, by the way, is freesat - similar to free view, but using your existing dish (you just get a new digibox I think): http://www.freesat.co.uk/

[Jem]

paying off credit cards

Ironically one of the things that made it difficult for me to get my first mortgage was the fact I didn't have any credit cards, or loans. The bank told me I therefore didn't have a credit history so they couldn't assess if I was a reliable repayer or not. I'd spent my whole adult life trying not to get into debt and only buying what I could afford and it was used against me.

Bloody banks, they were happy to take my money though. In the end we found a building society (The Central Radnorshire Remote or something obscure) that took a chance on us and allowed us to have a 17k mortgage. Considering we'd put down a 40k deposit this was all a bit of a farce.

But on the opposite side of the fence, I just got my first credit card (ever) this week, have never had any other sort of credit or debt, and yet had absolutely no problem getting a mortgage with Karl (who also has had no credit cards/debt).

re: savings on outgoings - we were a bit radical in that we got rid of the TV altogether (although this was to save money while I was on maternity leave with Izz, not for the mortgage) but other money saving bits:

* don't use a tumble dryer - those things eat the bloody electric (line dry or racks over the rads)
* reusable nappies instead of 'sposies (95% of mine were bought second hand and will shortly be used for #2)
* no social life (not that we ever had one)

errr... and more but I've run a blank.

Oh and going back to what Sam said re: nurseries and expenditure - I am fairly sure that our childcare wasn't counted by the IFA when he did the sums.

[suedenem]

finding a way to borrow, beg or steal a washing machine - or at least consider buying second hand, and paying for it outright (eBay is a good place to look, or local paper "for sale" section).

Or Freecycle.

And this washer dryer was because we have had a free washing machine for the last year or so, and I repaired the dryer myself last year - and I was taking 4 hours to dry a load. So unfortunately this is the most sensible option with a baby on he wy

Is 4hrs really that much of an inconvenience?  Sure, it's a hassle, but going as far as saying that 4hrs isn't sensible? My sister swears by the 'Dri Buddi' which, according to Tesco, uses two-thirds less energy than a tumble dryer.  It's massive when in use - it's basically got a fairly low-powered fan at the base which blows air into a big canvas thing which contains the clothes hung on hangers.  It takes a few hours to dry, but does the job cheaply (and apparently it doesn't shrink clothes).

An alternative, by the way, is freesat - similar to free view, but using your existing dish (you just get a new digibox I think):

Cancel Sky and they'll downgrade you to "Freesat from Sky" - it has all the free-to-air channels, and you get to use the box (and EPG) and dish that you own:

http://www.sky.com/shop/freesat/home/

Only thing I could get rid of is sky. But I pay £50 a month for tv, bb and sky. Getting rid of the tv, would leave us switching elsewhere and paying £25-30pm for line rental, calls and bb.

At the risk of making FC's face red, TalkTalk is offering the following on a 12 month minimum contract:

 - line rental with unlimited BB & anytime calls for the first 9 months for £16.75/m, £24 thereafter
 - line rental with 40GB BB & unlimited evening/weekend calls for 9 months for £12.75/m, £16 thereafter

You'll probably be able to get a few ponies from Quidco to pay against any debts or buy a Dri Buddi, too. 

All of a sudden that £50 for Sky is looking extravagent - it's not any one of these individual items which is going to do it for you, but looking at everything across the board.  Are you on the best energy deal that you can get?

[familychoice]

Cancel Sky and they'll downgrade you to "Freesat from Sky" - it has all the free-to-air channels, and you get to use the box (and EPG) and dish that you own

We looked into doing that but were told if we stopped the subscription to Sky then we'd lose the record facility.

At the risk of making FC's face red, TalkTalk is offering the following on a 12 month minimum contract

No redness here, I wouldn't go back to TalkTalk if it was free, or anyone else for that matter. BT control the cables so for a reliable service here you have to cut out the middleman in India.

But on the opposite side of the fence, I just got my first credit card (ever) this week, have never had any other sort of credit or debt, and yet had absolutely no problem getting a mortgage with Karl (who also has had no credit cards/debt).

That's good, they're obviously taking a more sensible approach to lending these days, though maybe they're being a bit too tight with this expenditure thing.

Ironically our nursery bill is probably our biggest monthly outgoing at the moment.

[Mr Anderson]

Ours also allows us to record 2 programmes at once, while watching a third off the planner. Sounds a bit of an unnecessary luxury but TV planners make a habit of putting all the good stuff on at once so it gets used quite a bit.

Our freeview recorder does that too, with the proviso that the 3rd channel is on the same multiplex as one of the other channels; or record 2 while watching a recording.

[Matt]

I've brought the Washer Dryer already, its plumbed in - so thats kinda happened - there may be cheaper and easier ways to do it I'm sure - but 4 hours on a dryer, which had nowhere to actually go, and a washing machine which was second/third hand and stunk - we made a decision bases on affordability (incidentally before we knew about the mortgage offer) and the potential for better energy use and saving space AND the fact we need a reliable solution with a baby on the way - and decided to go for it.

Sky wise - When Im out of contract Ill be going freeview HD.

But besides all this - I did a calculation for another IFA last night, and we have £995 that is not contracted income every month. So an extra £100 (ish) a month + house insurance (renting so only need contents atm) and boiler care etc costed in, we could afford it.

[Jem]

Ironically our nursery bill is probably our biggest monthly outgoing at the moment.

Ours is - by over £100 p/m

[suedenem]

We looked into doing that but were told if we stopped the subscription to Sky then we'd lose the record facility.

Recording TV is something that someone serious about cutting back to get on the housing ladder would forego - especially with the iPlayer, isohunt.com and so on.

No redness here, I wouldn't go back to TalkTalk if it was free, or anyone else for that matter. BT control the cables so for a reliable service here you have to cut out the middleman in India.

You do realise that you aren't cutting out any middlemen, don't you?  All you've done is replace TalkTalk with BT Retail as the man between you and BT wholesale.

Again, a bit of hassle reporting faults, etc, will probably be a price worth paying if it helps someone looking to cut back to the bare-bones (for whatever reason).  These things are always a trade-off.

I've brought the Washer Dryer already, its plumbed in - so thats kinda happened - there may be cheaper and easier ways to do it I'm sure - but 4 hours on a dryer, which had nowhere to actually go, and a washing machine which was second/third hand and stunk - we made a decision bases on affordability (incidentally before we knew about the mortgage offer) and the potential for better energy use and saving space AND the fact we need a reliable solution with a baby on the way - and decided to go for it.

Tumble dryers are still expensive to run, however many energy rating stars they might have.  Clothes horses in front of storage heaters, over the bath and so on are much more hassle, but a lot cheaper.

I suppose it all comes down to priorities - whether you're serious about demonstrating that you are a sound financial risk, or whether you'd prefer to continue spending money on luxuries and home comforts.

[Matt]

I suppose it all comes down to priorities - whether you're serious about demonstrating that you are a sound financial risk, or whether you'd prefer to continue spending money on luxuries and home comforts.

Im sure I wrote above that I decided to buy a washer dryer before I even thought about getting a mortgage (IE I had no chance of saving £11-15k whilst renting, no way not to rent to save so didn't think I would be able to buy until I got this out of the blue offer.) So really, the fact I have brought one, and Im not spending my evenings hand drying items (Because Im out working my second job) is not relevant - but thanks for the advice. Ill make sure I dont use the heating when we are cold, or allow the kids out in the garden because I should cut back on the electricity and not mow the lawn.

Also - you say that recording TV is something we should be willing to ignore - well I work from 8-10/11 6 days a week. So I reckon if I want to relax and watch a bit of TV and watch what I want when I want to, the £18 a month it costs me is something Im willing to pay. Espcially as I dont want to sit in the office to watch TV away from my family.

And whilst I get that cutbacks and a sensible financial outlook are required for a mortgage these days - I think there is a limit to the amount of scrimping I'm willing to do. A well managed and budgeted income - which allows some nice things and an ability to afford the mortgage payments is fine. And that's what I currently have.

As I have said, Ive cut over £200 from monthly expenses in the last year alone whilst increasing our spend on paying debt back. I have the black and white figures to tell me I can afford the monthly payments.

Sorry - I just don't think owning my own house is something I want to destroy the next 10 years of my life for thinking I cant do anything. Must be a generational thing? But I know people who have spent the whole of their lives spending, and look where it has got them now? They still don't have money. They have a house they are struggling to afford. Think of the opportunities they missed out on.

I could have not got married and brought a house. I could have not met Jade and be rich working a job I love now. Not everything comes down to owning a house and forsaking everything else. Being able to afford a house should be based on numerous factors - and affordability should be a big part - but I CAN afford it. Ive paid similar rates for the last 5 years renting, so have people like Sarah and Dave - why dont they take that into consideration?

[familychoice]

Ironically our nursery bill is probably our biggest monthly outgoing at the moment.

Ours is - by over £100 p/m

I think we pay about £500, it's an insane amount. We'll be rolling in it when he goes to school.

You do realise that you aren't cutting out any middlemen, don't you?  All you've done is replace TalkTalk with BT Retail as the man between you and BT wholesale.

Again, a bit of hassle reporting faults, etc, will probably be a price worth paying if it helps someone looking to cut back to the bare-bones (for whatever reason).  These things are always a trade-off.

With some of the issues we've had with TalkTalk we must have spent weeks of our time on the phone trying to sort it out. During one particular issue the support person admitted that we may 'never have any access at all' until we managed to track down a senior member of staff who we finally crowbarred into speaking to BT to sort things out between them.

Same with the recent period of time offline - I spent at least 5 days worth of my time on the phone trying to get them to communicate with BT, to fix the issues with the cables, and to reset their account at the exchange. In the end they couldn't manage it, and it turned into a perfect example of utter incompetence and lack of customer care.

Saving a few pounds a month but losing several weeks of my life is not a trade off worth considering, and anyway "line rental with unlimited BB & anytime calls for the first 9 months for £16.75/m, £24 thereafter" is double what we're paying with BT.

We had an issue with our connection a few weeks after we set it up. Contrary with the perception that BT Broadband is just another middle man to deal with, the fault was sorted by both parties in a few hours. If we'd been on TalkTalk it would have taken weeks. The difference being that BT Broadband and BT BT talk to each other, but they don't talk to TalkTalk and Talkalk don't talk to anyone.

[Matt]

Ironically our nursery bill is probably our biggest monthly outgoing at the moment.

Ours is - by over £100 p/m

I think we pay about £500, it's an insane amount. We'll be rolling in it when he goes to school.

You do realise that you aren't cutting out any middlemen, don't you?  All you've done is replace TalkTalk with BT Retail as the man between you and BT wholesale.

Again, a bit of hassle reporting faults, etc, will probably be a price worth paying if it helps someone looking to cut back to the bare-bones (for whatever reason).  These things are always a trade-off.

With some of the issues we've had with TalkTalk we must have spent weeks of our time on the phone trying to sort it out. During one particular issue the support person admitted that we may 'never have any access at all' until we managed to track down a senior member of staff who we finally crowbarred into speaking to BT to sort things out between them.

Same with the recent period of time offline - I spent at least 5 days worth of my time on the phone trying to get them to communicate with BT, to fix the issues with the cables, and to reset their account at the exchange. In the end they couldn't manage it, and it turned into a perfect example of utter incompetence and lack of customer care.

Saving a few pounds a month but losing several weeks of my life is not a trade off worth considering, and anyway "line rental with unlimited BB & anytime calls for the first 9 months for £16.75/m, £24 thereafter" is double what we're paying with BT.

We had an issue with our connection a few weeks after we set it up. Contrary with the perception that BT Broadband is just another middle man to deal with, the fault was sorted by both parties in a few hours. If we'd been on TalkTalk it would have taken weeks. The difference being that BT Broadband and BT BT talk to each other, but they don't talk to TalkTalk and Talkalk don't talk to anyone.

I, like you, use my broadband for business. Its £5 a month with Sky and I never have a problem. Move to TT and get poo customer service and time offline? No thanks. The money I would loose would outweigh the little benefit.

[Jem]

I think we pay about £500, it's an insane amount. We'll be rolling in it when he goes to school.

£552 p/m for a 4 day week here (over £100 over our next highest expense - the mortgage - at £420ish)

[samhs]

I suppose it all comes down to priorities - whether you're serious about demonstrating that you are a sound financial risk, or whether you'd prefer to continue spending money on luxuries and home comforts.

Sorry - I just don't think owning my own house is something I want to destroy the next 10 years of my life for thinking I cant do anything. Must be a generational thing? But I know people who have spent the whole of their lives spending, and look where it has got them now? They still don't have money. They have a house they are struggling to afford. Think of the opportunities they missed out on.

I think you've answered your own question then, Matt. The culture of aspiring to own your own home is one that's actually quite recent, and isn't universal - in France the majority of people continue to rent, so if that's what works best for you - be happy with that!

Ive paid similar rates for the last 5 years renting, so have people like Sarah and Dave - why dont they take that into consideration?

Because it's a different type of risk. As I said earlier, if you can't meet a rental payment they can evict you after a couple of months and they've lost maybe 3 months rent. If you can't pay your mortgage they have to evict you, make a distressed sale, and still won't necessarily recover all their money - in which case they'd chase you as well - it's all about risk, so while you could be spending £1000 a month on rent, unless they can calculate that you can afford to pay £500 for a mortgage using standard affordability criteria, you won't get the loan.

They have to do this as responsible lenders, otherwise we could end up with a situation where many people simultaneously discover they can't afford to repay their mortgages, the bank(s) discover they don't have enough capital to cover their losses, the housing market collapses and people who might have otherwise managed to sell their house are stuck in negative equity, consumer confidence is hurt and so everyday Joe stops spending on anything, businesses start to suffer, banks worry they won't be able to cover their mounting losses on bad home loans and now also business debts, and so stop lending to home buyers or businesses so they can ensure they have cash reserves, and we end up in a recession with an acute funding crisis.

For people wanting to buy a house it's very frustrating, especially where their rental payments are greater than a mortgage - but then from your answer above I don't think actually that's the most important thing to you (buying a house). What you're looking for, if I may be bold, is security, the ability to feed/heat/care for the kids and family, and have a comfortable life. There's nothing wrong with that at all, and so perhaps, despite the offer of a deposit contribution, now is not the right time to be buying for you?

[Matt]

I suppose it all comes down to priorities - whether you're serious about demonstrating that you are a sound financial risk, or whether you'd prefer to continue spending money on luxuries and home comforts.

Sorry - I just don't think owning my own house is something I want to destroy the next 10 years of my life for thinking I cant do anything. Must be a generational thing? But I know people who have spent the whole of their lives spending, and look where it has got them now? They still don't have money. They have a house they are struggling to afford. Think of the opportunities they missed out on.

I think you've answered your own question then, Matt. The culture of aspiring to own your own home is one that's actually quite recent, and isn't universal - in France the majority of people continue to rent, so if that's what works best for you - be happy with that!

Ive paid similar rates for the last 5 years renting, so have people like Sarah and Dave - why dont they take that into consideration?

Because it's a different type of risk. As I said earlier, if you can't meet a rental payment they can evict you after a couple of months and they've lost maybe 3 months rent. If you can't pay your mortgage they have to evict you, make a distressed sale, and still won't necessarily recover all their money - in which case they'd chase you as well - it's all about risk, so while you could be spending £1000 a month on rent, unless they can calculate that you can afford to pay £500 for a mortgage using standard affordability criteria, you won't get the loan.

They have to do this as responsible lenders, otherwise we could end up with a situation where many people simultaneously discover they can't afford to repay their mortgages, the bank(s) discover they don't have enough capital to cover their losses, the housing market collapses and people who might have otherwise managed to sell their house are stuck in negative equity, consumer confidence is hurt and so everyday Joe stops spending on anything, businesses start to suffer, banks worry they won't be able to cover their mounting losses on bad home loans and now also business debts, and so stop lending to home buyers or businesses so they can ensure they have cash reserves, and we end up in a recession with an acute funding crisis.

For people wanting to buy a house it's very frustrating, especially where their rental payments are greater than a mortgage - but then from your answer above I don't think actually that's the most important thing to you (buying a house). What you're looking for, if I may be bold, is security, the ability to feed/heat/care for the kids and family, and have a comfortable life. There's nothing wrong with that at all, and so perhaps, despite the offer of a deposit contribution, now is not the right time to be buying for you?

Yeah - I mean I don't like some of the limits with renting - ie making the place 'yours' - the current place we have been able to do that because our parents own it - but Im quite happy to pay a slightly higher rent and have other bits the responsibility of others.

I think if we can get a mortgage we can afford the monthly repayments of a fixed rate deal (and there is still a chance of that apparently) then the option of having a 10% deposit paid is something we cant pass up on to get us on the ladder. But either way I'm not too bothered. We will need to find a lot of money to move and rent elsewhere - but Im sure we can do that. We are not the only people in this situation.

I think we would look to sort a long term tenancy agreement as well. SIL just got a 2 year one.

I want a driveway anyways!!

[robwhizz]

You do realise that you aren't cutting out any middlemen, don't you?  All you've done is replace TalkTalk with BT Retail as the man between you and BT wholesale.

And that's exactly why Talk Talk won't offer their broadband deals, because it's on BT Wholesale. They may end up being a little cheaper with the phone package, but it won't be much.

I'm in the same situation, only Wholesale at the exchange. When Pipex introduced capped data I tried loads of other companies - including Talk Talk - and they were all massively more expensive than BT for broadband if you wanted high download cap (nobody would offer me unlimited).
Problem is BT won't provide broadband without phone.
I called Pipex to get my MAC code and they said they'd give me unlimited data to stop. I said I'd still move to BT and they gave me another £10 a month off the bill as I'd been with them about 7 years.
Clearly there is some movement with price on BT Wholesale, but I guess for companies who mostly use their own equipment at the exchange it just isn't worth doing a deal for a minority of customers.

[suedenem]

Im sure I wrote above that I decided to buy a washer dryer before I even thought about getting a mortgage

...

Im not spending my evenings hand drying items (Because Im out working my second job) is not relevant - but thanks for the advice. Ill make sure I dont use the heating when we are cold, or allow the kids out in the garden because I should cut back on the electricity and not mow the lawn.

...

you say that recording TV...  well I work from 8-10/11 6 days a week. So I reckon if I want to relax and watch a bit of TV and watch what I want when I want to, the £18 a month it costs me is something Im willing to pay. Espcially as I dont want to sit in the office to watch TV away from my family.

...there is a limit to the amount of scrimping I'm willing to do.

As I have said, Ive cut over £200 from monthly expenses in the last year alone whilst increasing our spend on paying debt back. I have the black and white figures to tell me I can afford the monthly payments.

Sorry - I just don't think owning my own house is something I want to destroy the next 10 years of my life for thinking I cant do anything. Must be a generational thing? But I know people who have spent the whole of their lives spending, and look where it has got them now? They still don't have money. They have a house they are struggling to afford. Think of the opportunities they missed out on.

I started trying to snip out salient points so not to make the quote too long, but I got bored.

Anyway - don't be so facetious.  All I'm doing is pointing out a few realities (however uncomfortable they might seem).  Nobody said that any of this is easy, but I would suggest that it's no harder for you than it was/is for me, Sam, David & Sarah, FC or any of our parents or grandparents.

There's no shame in renting.  If you make the choice that renting (with all its pros cons) is better for your family than owning a house with mortgage (with all its pros or cons) then that's fine.

You can't change the rules - you only have the choice of how you play it within them.  Look at the choices that Sam made - they are similar, if not even harder, than losing the things you are clinging on to.

Frankly - you seem to want it all at once.  You can't - you have to make choices.

So, if you don't want to make the sacrifices of not being able to record TV, having clothes dry in an hour and so on, that's fine.  Just understand that the consequences of all this means that you'll find it difficult to get a mortgage.

I'm not making moral judgments about your choices.  I don't know what is best for you - only you can decide that.  Just be aware that all of these choices have consequences.

And you've taken my comment re: drying clothes completely the wrong way.  Again, I'm not castigating you for the choices that you have made.  You do have a choice about how you dry clothes - it's the running costs of tumble dryers which are high, and you have a choice as to whether or not to pay it or pay less another way.

I could have not got married and brought a house. I could have not met Jade and be rich working a job I love now. Not everything comes down to owning a house and forsaking everything else.

FWIW I completely agree.  You need to make the right choices for you and your family.  Owning a house isn't the be-all-and-end-all that it's made out to be.

Being able to afford a house should be based on numerous factors - and affordability should be a big part - but I CAN afford it. Ive paid similar rates for the last 5 years renting, so have people like Sarah and Dave - why dont they take that into consideration?

Reality check:  it doesn't matter whether you think that you can afford it, or your own views of what 'ought' to be .  You have to demonstrate to lenders that you can afford it, to their rules and their satisfaction.  The UK is facing 10 years of stagnation because bankers lent to people that they shouldn't have lent to - it's only homeowners of the last 15 years or so that have had it (comparatively) easy, and you've missed that boat.  You're in the position that those who scrimped and saved a few decades ago.

[samhs]

castigating

Completely off-topic, but what a fantastic choice of word

[familychoice]

I think we pay about £500, it's an insane amount. We'll be rolling in it when he goes to school.

£552 p/m for a 4 day week here (over £100 over our next highest expense - the mortgage - at £420ish)

We do a 4 day week too, so yours is a tad more expensive.

Just been to see a second potential school for IE6 today. They also offer holiday time care (8-5.30) for only £17 a day. With all that extra lolly we'll be able to get a bigger mortgage!

[Jem]

We do a 4 day week too, so yours is a tad more expensive.

They recently put the cost up about £30 because they started providing nappies and formula.

Neither of which Isabel needs.

One of these days I really will argue a discount on that.

[sarahA]

I can understand Matt's frustration. He's suddenly been offered the deposit he'd need to buy a house but is getting refused based on income despite paying out more in rent over the last few years. I always assumed that if/when we could get a house deposit together we'd automatically be able to get the right mortgage and buy a house. Obviously there's more to it than that!

We do a 4 day week too, so yours is a tad more expensive.

They recently put the cost up about £30 because they started providing nappies and formula.

definitely argue it!! I'd be kicking up a stink if they did that to us (okay, I lie, I'd get Mr A to do it [/wuss])

[Matt]

I can understand Matt's frustration. He's suddenly been offered the deposit he'd need to buy a house but is getting refused based on income despite paying out more in rent over the last few years. I always assumed that if/when we could get a house deposit together we'd automatically be able to get the right mortgage and buy a house. Obviously there's more to it than that!

We do a 4 day week too, so yours is a tad more expensive.

They recently put the cost up about £30 because they started providing nappies and formula.

definitely argue it!! I'd be kicking up a stink if they did that to us (okay, I lie, I'd get Mr A to do it [/wuss])

Found someone tonight who is offering us what we need bar 1.3k even with our debts. We just need to get a decision in principle. But the idea was to be able to loan money back from my parents of about 1.6k to turn the cellar into an office for my work, otherwise I have nowhere to work (can't repair laptops on the dinning room table with 2 kids about, ESP. As I have 5/6 in at a time ATM.) So lots of unanswered questions, but whatever happens happens and we will sort something.

[Jem]

Good luck Matt

[Matt]

Thank you!

[Matt]

Failed

Even if we had saved deposit ourselves, we met the criteria for the mortgage but failed n credit check

Best start looking for a new place to rent!

[Whatever]

Matt, have faith. Only about 4 years ago I had debts of upto £20k and thought I'd never get a mortgage. My credit history was poor and I was paying money back to loans and cards each month with stupid amounts of interest, on one loan, half of the repayment went as interest.

Slowly I've paid back as much as I could to these and managed to consolidate to a Natwest loan, although it does help my business manager helps as he also looks after my personal account. With that I managed to get everything into one monthly payment and had a bit of luck along the way with a tax refund and car accident which paid out for personal injury. Once I'd got this loan my rating got better and once that was paid off, it got even better. In factors so good now the offers of credit I get are silly.

Chin up and you will get there, just maybe not yet. I monitored my credit with Equifax just to make sure it was going in the right direction.

[Matt]

Matt, have faith. Only about 4 years ago I had debts of upto £20k and thought I'd never get a mortgage. My credit history was poor and I was paying money back to loans and cards each month with stupid amounts of interest, on one loan, half of the repayment went as interest.

Slowly I've paid back as much as I could to these and managed to consolidate to a Natwest loan, although it does help my business manager helps as he also looks after my personal account. With that I managed to get everything into one monthly payment and had a bit of luck along the way with a tax refund and car accident which paid out for personal injury. Once I'd got this loan my rating got better and once that was paid off, it got even better. In factors so good now the offers of credit I get are silly.

Chin up and you will get there, just maybe not yet. I monitored my credit with Equifax just to make sure it was going in the right direction.

Thanks fella. I'm still being positive. We are paying off debt, more then ever before, and we are paying for a baby without borrowing at all

Who knows why y happen, 5 years ago I didn't think I would be married, a year ago I didn't think I'd be a dad proper