Bad credit mortgage broker

Key takeaways

  • Check your credit report so you can fix any issues before you apply for a mortgage.

  • If you build a stronger credit history, you improve your chance of getting a better mortgage deal.

  • You can check your credit report for free using a credit agency, such as Experian or Equifax.

  • A credit agency may ask you to sign up for a free 30-day trial to access your report. Remember to cancel it within the time period if you do not want to subscribe to their monthly paid plan.

  • You can improve your chances of getting accepted for a mortgage with bad credit by:

    • Saving a bigger deposit

    • Buying with someone else

    • Sorting out your finances (by paying off any outstanding debt or cancelling unused credit cards, for example)

Adverse credit criteria

We may define the customer as being Adverse if they meet one or more of the below criteria:

  • More than 1 default for the last 5 years

  • Any outstanding CCJs in the last 5 years

  • More than 1 satisfied CCJ in the last 5 years or with a value over £500

  • More than 3 missed Payments within the last 12 months

  • IVA or Bankruptcy Detected

Are there bad credit mortgage brokers?

Some mortgage brokers focus on getting mortgages for bad credit applicants. 

At Better.co.uk, we may be able to help you even with adverse credit. However, adverse credit customers may be subject to a fee when applying for a mortgage with us.

Bad credit lenders

You can also get specialist lenders, like Pepper Home Loans or Precise Mortgages who offer mortgages for people with poor credit.

You do not always need to go to a specialist lender to get a mortgage if you have bad credit. Many high street banks and building societies may help, depending on what the bad credit is from.

Out of more than 100 lenders that we work with, there are 16 lenders that specialise in helping people with adverse credit.

These include:

  • Aldermore

  • Bluestone

  • Digital

  • Foundation

  • Kensington

  • Kent Reliance

  • Masthaven

  • Metro

  • Pepper

  • Precise

  • The Mortgage Lender

  • Tandem

  • Together

  • United Trust Bank

  • Vida

  • West Bromwich Building Society

Who can get an adverse credit mortgage with Better.co.uk?

We can generally help you if, in the past 6 years, you have not had:

  • any unsatisfied CCJs

  • any bankruptcies

  • your home repossessed

  • an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) or Debt Management Plan. Unless it was discharged more than three years ago, and you have a mortgage deposit of at least 20%

Better.co.uk may charge you a fee for the administration of your application should you be deemed as having adverse credit.

Read the terms here.

Our initial consultation service is free. If you decide to proceed with a mortgage application, you may have to pay a fee depending on your circumstances and credit history. Better.co.uk charges a fee of £199 for the administration of your application with an additional 0.3% of your loan amount charged on approval of the mortgage should you fall under our definition of "Adverse"

Our administration fee will be refunded if we cannot find you a lender.

FAQs

Lenders run credit checks to see how likely the borrower would be to make their mortgage payments.

If your mortgage application shows a poor credit history, some lenders:

  • will not accept your application

  • will ask you to provide a larger deposit

  • might only lend to you at higher interest rates

Talking about your finances can also be uncomfortable. Particularly if you’re applying for a mortgage with a partner for the first time.

It's important to know and be honest about any issues straightaway to avoid surprises later on.

It’s particularly important to be upfront with your mortgage broker. This way they'll have a better chance of finding you the most suitable lender. This will also help them to give you the best advice for your situation.

Not all 'bad' or adverse credit is created equal. There are smaller cases of bad credit and more severe ones.

The extent your credit rating affects your application depends on:

  • the type of credit issue on your credit report

  • the amount involved

  • when the credit issue happened

Some issues have more impact than others. Lenders may not view a late mobile phone payment or a missed utility bill payment too seriously. But a missed mortgage payment or bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 6 years.

You may find more lenders if you use a broker, as they'll have more knowledge on a range of lenders that could help you.

Specialist lenders are more likely to accept and offer you a more flexible deal. Especially if you’ve faced illness, divorce, or other personal situations.

Lenders carry out affordability assessments. This is to check income and outgoings and assess your ability to meet your monthly payments. 

This will also assess what effect future changes to interest rates might have on your ability to repay.

A lender bases the amount they'll lend someone with bad credit on the same things as a standard mortgage.

This is based on your individual or joint income time times multiplied by an agreed number.

This number varies between lenders and is often up to 4.5. They'll also consider any debts or commitments you hold.

Use our mortgage calculator to see how much you could borrow, or get a mortgage agreement in principle with us if you’re ready to make an offer on a home.

You can get a shared ownership mortgage with bad credit, it’ll just be harder than it would be for someone with good credit.

Using a mortgage broker can help improve the process as they can advise you on the best lenders for bad credit mortgages. 

A broker can also guide you through creating a good mortgage application that lenders are more likely to approve.

Yes, you can still get a joint mortgage when you have bad credit.

Lenders are more likely to accept if only one applicant has bad credit. If both applicants have poor credit, you may struggle as lenders might not trust you can afford to make all your payments.

Your best approach is to be honest about your credit issues so that your mortgage advisor can help you find the right mortgage with the right lender.

Lenders will want to know the following:

  • your relationship - are you married, cohabiting, or family?

  • your single or joint names

  • the ages of both applicants

  • whether you’re first-time buyers, next-time buyers, or investors

  • your employment status

  • both applicants’ income

  • if/how much outstanding credit you have

Remember that you’ll stand a better chance of getting a mortgage approved if you have a bigger deposit.

Credit reference agencies, such as Equifax or Experian, can calculate your credit score and assess whether it is excellent, good, fair, poor or very poor. 

Your credit score is based on your history of debt repayment, or lack thereof. You can have a low credit score if you owe money, are often late paying back debt, and have no history of borrowing. 

You could have bad credit if you have:

  • made many late payments 

  • missed payments

  • declared bankruptcy

  • not signed up for the electoral register

  • a CCJ (County Court Judgement)

  • been a victim of identity fraud

Where to go from here

Get a mortgage with Better.co.uk today

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Important info & marketing claims

You may have to pay an early repayment charge to your existing lender if you remortgage. Your savings will depend on personal circumstances.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

*The savings figure of £656 is based on Better.co.uk remortgage customers in April 2024. Read more on our marketing claims page.

We can't always guarantee we will be able to help you with your mortgage application depending on your credit history and circumstances.

Average mortgage decision and approval times are based on Better.co.uk's historic data for lenders we submit applications to.

Tracker rates are identified after comparing over 12,000 mortgage products from over 100 mortgage lenders.

As of January 2023, Better.co.uk has access to over 100 lenders. This number is subject to change.

For buy-to-let landlords, there's no guarantee that it will be possible to arrange continuous letting of a property, nor that rental income will be sufficient to meet the cost of the mortgage.

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