Adverse Credit Mortgages and Remortgages

Defaults, CCJs, missed payments or arrears on your credit file? We find the adverse mortgage lenders that will say yes.

Getting a mortgage with adverse credit is more achievable than most people think. Specialist adverse mortgage lenders look past the headline score and assess what actually happened, when it happened, and how you’ve managed since. Our job is to match your credit file to the lender whose criteria fit it – first time.

We arrange adverse credit mortgages for home purchases and remortgages every working day, and we can usually get you an agreement in principle from a suitable lender within 36 hours.

What counts as adverse credit?

Lenders group credit problems into a handful of categories. What matters most is how recent each one is, how much it was for, and whether it’s now settled.

• Missed or late payments on credit cards, loans, phones or utilities
• Defaults – registered when an account is usually three to six months behind
• County Court Judgements (CCJs) – satisfied or unsatisfied
• Mortgage or rent arrears
• Debt Management Plans (DMPs)
• IVAs and bankruptcy

Small debts are often ignored. Many of our lenders disregard missed payments, defaults and CCJs on mobile phone, utility and mail-order accounts under £500. If that’s the extent of your problem, you may have more options than you think.

How much deposit will I need?

The older your credit problem, the smaller the deposit lenders ask for. As a guide:

For a remortgage, “deposit” means the equity you hold in your home. Every case is assessed individually, and several issues together, or larger amounts, will usually mean a bigger deposit or equity requirement.

Getting a mortgage with a default

A mortgage with defaults is one of the most common cases we place. A default on its own rarely rules you out. Lenders will look at:

• How many defaults you have and the total value
• When each was registered – one from four years ago counts for far less than one from last year
• Whether they’ve been settled
• What type of account defaulted (a phone contract is viewed differently from a secured loan)

Getting a mortgage with a default comes down to one question from the lender: is this in the past? Where default and mortgage history both appear on your file, a specialist lender is usually the right route.

CCJ – can I get a mortgage?

Yes. If you’ve been asking “CCJ, can I get a mortgage?” the answer depends on three things: the date of the judgement, the amount, and whether it’s satisfied.

A satisfied CCJ – one you’ve paid in full – is viewed much more favourably, and you can ask the court for a certificate of satisfaction to prove it. Some CCJ mortgage lenders will accept unsatisfied CCJs too, typically where the amount is small.

Getting a mortgage with a CCJ is realistic in most cases. We know which lenders ignore CCJs under a certain value, which cap the number you can have, and which look only at the last three years. Getting the CCJ and mortgage match right first time also means fewer searches on your file.

Getting a mortgage with missed payments

A few late payments are the most common form of adverse credit, and the easiest to place. A mortgage with missed payments on your file is often possible with a mainstream-style rate if the payments were small, isolated, and more than 12 months ago.

Lenders pay closer attention to missed payments on secured debt – your mortgage or a secured loan – than to a missed credit card payment. Your account must be up to date when you apply.

Mortgages with arrears

If you’ve had mortgage arrears, lenders commonly use a “1 in 12, 0 in 3” test: no more than one missed payment in the last 12 months, and none in the last three. Some specialist lenders go further than this.

A mortgage with arrears in your history is achievable once you’re back on track and have a clean recent record. Whether the arrears came from illness, redundancy or a relationship breakdown, telling us what happened helps us present your case properly.

Currently in arrears? Contact your lender first. They must treat you fairly and consider options such as a payment plan. Free, impartial help is available from MoneyHelper and Citizens Advice.

Debt Management Plans, IVAs and bankruptcy

These are the most serious forms of adverse credit, but options still exist.

• Debt Management Plan: some lenders will consider you once the plan has run satisfactorily for 12 months, or after it’s been completed.
• IVA: most lenders want it completed and discharged; a few will consider an active IVA after a period of good conduct.
• Bankruptcy: typically considered three or more years after discharge, with a larger deposit.

Adverse credit remortgage

An adverse credit remortgage can help you move off your lender’s standard variable rate, release equity, or consolidate debts into a single monthly payment.

If your current deal is ending and your credit has taken a knock since you took it out, don’t assume you’re stuck. We compare a product transfer with your existing lender against the wider adverse market, and recommend whichever works out cheaper overall.

Need to raise money without losing a low rate? We can arrange additional borrowing that leaves your existing mortgage deal untouched.

Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Consolidating debts may mean paying more interest over a longer term.

Adverse credit buy to let mortgages

An adverse credit buy to let mortgage lets landlords buy or remortgage a rental property despite defaults, CCJs or missed payments. Buy to let lenders focus mainly on the rent the property earns, so a credit problem can matter less than it would on a residential mortgage.

If you’re looking for a buy to let mortgage with adverse credit, expect lenders to ask for:

• A larger deposit – typically at least 25%, and more for recent or serious credit issues
• Rent that covers the mortgage payment by a set margin, often 125% to 145% at a stressed interest rate
• In many cases, existing homeownership – though some lenders accept first-time landlords

We arrange adverse credit buy to let mortgages for individual and limited company landlords, including portfolio landlords.

Bad credit mortgage loan rates: what will I pay?

Bad credit mortgage loan rates are usually higher than the best-buy tables, but not always by as much as people expect. Your rate depends on:

• How recent and how serious your credit issues are
• Your deposit or equity – more equity usually unlocks lower rates
• Your income and affordability
• The type of property

As your credit problems age and your record stays clean, you can often remortgage to a cheaper rate after a two-year fixed term. We plan for that from the start.

Why use an adverse mortgage broker?

Many high street lenders use automated credit scoring that declines applicants with any adverse history. Specialist lenders assess people individually – but many only accept business through brokers.

An adverse mortgage broker who knows each lender’s criteria can:

• Match your exact credit history to the right lender before you apply
• Avoid unnecessary credit searches that can lower your score further
• Present your circumstances in a way the underwriter understands
• Access lenders and products you can’t reach directly

Our adverse mortgage advisors place these cases every day. If you’ve been told “no” elsewhere, talk to us.

How it works

1. Tell us about your situation – a short call or our 7-minute online enquiry.
2. Share your credit reports – we’ll review what lenders will see. Your statutory reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are free. How to get your credit reports.
3. We match you to a lender – an agreement in principle from a suitable lender, usually within 36 hours.
4. Valuation and full application – on average around four weeks to formal mortgage offer.