Home Movers with a CCJ

Can I get a mortgage as a home mover with a CCJ? Do many lenders offer mortgages to home movers with CCJs?

The short answer is yes, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Getting a mortgage will depend on quite a few factors, including when the CCJ was registered, how much it was for and whether it has been satisfied. All those details on your credit file will determine which lender you go with.

Some lenders are okay with a CCJ if it was registered three years ago, for example, and has now been satisfied. If it’s not satisfied, we can approach other, more adverse credit focused lenders. Ideally, you should get that CCJ paid off, as that’s going to open up more options for you.

Can you sell your current home and buy a new one if you have a CCJ?

You can sell your current home and buy a new one if you have a CCJ. Having a CCJ will not stop you from selling and buying properties. What can have an impact, however, is which lender is willing to lend to you.

Depending on the severity of the CCJ, if you need a mortgage for your new property, you need to bring a copy of your credit file to a mortgage adviser. An adviser can examine your CCJ and credit file to see what has been going on, when it was registered, whether it has been satisfied, and how much it was for.

We would then need to find an appropriate lender that fits your specific situation. If you are looking to port your existing mortgage over, that particular lender may not accept a CCJ.

You may not be able to port your existing mortgage to the new property. In that case, we would have to find a new solution for you.

What deposit will I need? How much can I borrow with a CCJ?

Some lenders may restrict your Loan to Value ratio because your credit score has been reduced by the CCJ. It doesn’t mean that every lender will need a 15% deposit – it depends on their CCJ criteria.

If it’s so severe that you need a more adverse lender, they may have a higher deposit requirement than a standard lender.

Can I still get an Agreement in Principle if I have a CCJ?

Again, yes. If the CCJ hasn’t been satisfied, we’ll find a lender to accept that. If it’s all been cleared and you fit the lender’s requirements around credit score, you can get an Agreement in Principle.

It’s all going to come down to that CCJ. It’s very important to get a copy of your credit report so brokers can see the full details, particularly what’s outstanding and when it was registered. We can then decide which provider to go with.

It may be that you get an Agreement in Principle with an adverse lender, but a month or two down the line you might satisfy another lender’s requirements. You can then get an Agreement in Principle with them.

When a CCJ is satisfied and cleared, it doesn’t necessarily come off your credit file straight away. It could still be there for four or five weeks. You may have to wait for it to drop off before we can make the application.

Do you need to disclose a CCJ to your estate agent or solicitor when selling?

You do not necessarily need to disclose a CCJ to your estate agent or solicitor. What you do need to do is disclose it to your mortgage adviser. If you are looking to sell a house and buy a new one, a CCJ could impact the availability of mortgages for you.

Before you look to buy, you should have a chat with a mortgage adviser and disclose that CCJ. You then have a discussion about which lenders you can go with.

If you have got an Agreement in Principle and you and your mortgage adviser are confident that you can get a mortgage, you probably would not even need to discuss it with your estate agent. They will be able to see that you have something as firm as can be in place for your ability to get a mortgage going forward, even if you have gone to a more adverse lender.

Can I still port my mortgage if I have a CCJ?

Perhaps you didn’t have the CCJ when you originally got the mortgage, and you want to stay with your current lender – but now you have a CCJ. Whether you can port your mortgage will depend on that lender’s criteria.

To port a mortgage from one property to another, that lender will conduct fresh and full underwriting. Although you’re just taking the mortgage to another property, the lender will treat it as a new application.

If you don’t fit that lender’s criteria for your CCJ, they may reject your application. You would then need to go to another lender and redeem your existing mortgage – and potentially pay early repayment charges if they apply.

Is it easier to port your mortgage to a new property rather than apply for a new one if you have a CCJ?

It depends, and it will depend on the level of the CCJ. When you port a mortgage from one house to another house, you do not have the right just to take it across.

The process is literally as if you were buying a new property. Your current lender will look at your credit file, rescore you, and look at all the affordability.

If the affordability is fine, but they do not like the fact that you have this CCJ, you may well not be able to port it over. Typically, if you are moving and have a fixed rate with a year or two on it, you would look to port that over to your new property.

You do not have the right just to take it over, so you would have to do a full underwrite and be fully credit scored. If that CCJ means your current provider will not give you a mortgage, you won’t be able to port it across and would have to look at a new lender.

If you have an existing mortgage that has any early repayment charges, your first point of call is to see whether you can port it over and if they will accept the CCJ. If they can, this is good news – you can take it with you to the new property providing the affordability is there.

If they say no, you would have to pay the early repayment charge and then look at a more adverse lender who is more amenable to your situation.

What if my partner or spouse has a CCJ and I don’t? Can we still get a mortgage?

If you need a joint mortgage for the affordability, the fact that one of you has clean credit doesn’t compensate for the other’s CCJ. You’ll still be treated the same – the CCJ will still count.

Again, it comes down to the details of that CCJ. We’d check all that information to decide who we apply to.

What if I’ve been declined for a mortgage with a CCJ in the past? What happens next?

It depends how long ago you were declined and what’s happened since then. If you were declined last week with a lender due to a CCJ, it doesn’t stop you going to another lender who might accept it.

Being declined with a lender who had different CCJ criteria won’t impact your approach to another lender. It would only have an effect if that application reduced your credit score – which it shouldn’t, because most lenders leave soft credit footprints.