Although it may be trickier than if you had no late payments at all, the good news is that, with the proper research and knowing which lenders to talk to, getting a mortgage with a history of late payments on your credit records could be possible.

However, any acceptance of an application will very much depend on the level of arrears involved, and what they are in connection with. For example, late payments on your mortgage instalments – being a more significant amount of money and connected with your home – will likely have a greater negative impact with a lender than the far smaller late payments associated with your mobile phone bill. Lenders understand that, when a person is in financial trouble, their home will be the last thing they put at risk, so there could be greater troubles elsewhere.

Exactly when the late payments occurred will also be an attributing factor. If they are recent and still outstanding, then they will inevitably have more of an effect on a lender’s decision than if they are historic, say, more than two years old, and you have not had any more occurrences of late payments since.

All lenders, both those on the high street and the smaller, specialist lending companieswill have their own criteria that they need applicants to fulfil. Some may view late payments as simply a fact of life that everyone might encounter occasionally, while others will take a far narrower view. In either case, it’s worth remembering that a lender will make a decision based on your total, complete circumstances and not solely the late payment history.

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Your credit reports can often show up items that you would think of as unimportant, or so trivial that you have actually forgotten about. Late payments usually fall into this category, as they are often related to items that we regard as a day-to-day part of our lives, and most vital services are rarely withdrawn immediately if a bill is overdue.

Technically speaking, a late payment is one made after the due date has passed. If you are in the habit of waiting until you get the red bill for any services before paying, then you will be making late payments. One or more late payments will show on your credit report, and anyone scrutinising the record will see a figure ‘1’ next to them, indicating the money arrived one month late. A repeated string of late payments could be interpreted by a lender as a sign of an irresponsible approach to money management, and could put your chances of getting a mortgage at risk.

You’ll be relieved to know that paying a bill a couple of days late – or even a couple of weeks, in some instances – may not even show up on your credit report. However, despite this, it isn’t worth playing Russian roulette with your payments (and therefore your credit rating) and taking too relaxed an approach to your borrowing and cashflow. Always aim to make payments on time, and be sure to allow time for the payment to be received and processed as well – generally three working days are recommended – especially if you expect to apply for or renew your mortgage in the next few years!

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The short answer is that yes, they can. Lenders use the information on your credit report to assess whether you appear to be able to manage your money, and a history of late payments is a red flag that suggests you might not pay your mortgage on time, either. That makes you a bigger risk, so even if the lender is still prepared to make an offer, they might request a bigger deposit or charge a higher rate of interest.

Even if you feel a late payment wasn’t your fault – say, for example, you paid your credit card bill late because you didn’t receive your usual statement – it will still have an adverse effect. Lenders take the view that it is your responsibility to pay your bills; you know you have that payment to make every month and if you don’t get your statement you should contact the lender or check your account online; not receiving the paperwork is not a free pass to avoid paying on time.

For How Long do Late Payments Affect Mortgage Chances?

Late payments will stay on your credit record for six years, so will potentially impact your chances of approval or the type of deal you might be offered for that length of time. Generally speaking, the longer ago the late payments happened, the less chance there is they will have a serious impact.

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Late payments on a mortgage account are considered to be very serious indeed. When people are in difficulty, the mortgage is generally the last account to be left unpaid, so when that, too, falls by the wayside it indicates serious financial problems. Arguably if there are just one or two payments that were made up to one month late and these are four or more years ago they will have less impact than a string of missed payments that happened more recently, whether that’s because the mortgage was paid late every month for several months, or went unpaid for several months.

If you are now up-to-date with your mortgage but have previous missed payments showing on your credit record, then your chances of acceptance and the deal you are likely to be offered will hinge on your overall credit rating.

If you are currently behind on your mortgage payments, then your chances of being approved for a fresh mortgage deal are slim to none.

In either case, your best bet would be to get in touch with a specialist adviser and explore your options. IMC Mortgage Brokers, we are able to offer free initial no obligation advice.

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There are a number of steps you can take to help yourself when it comes to gaining approval for a mortgage.

1) Check Your Credit Report

The first step is to know where you stand, and the way to find that out is to get a copy of your credit report from each of the three UK credit reference agencies – Experian, Equifax and Callcredit. The reason it’s important to check all three and not just one is that they can hold different information, and you need to be able to see the full picture.

Next, check that your personal details are correct. If any details are incorrect, contact the agency and ask to have them amended.

If you are not on the electoral register then you should enrol, as this is an easy step that can make a big difference.

If you discover a missed payment that you were unaware of – for example, if you changed fuel supplier or mobile phone provider and a payment was missed along the way – bring that account up to date. It will still stay on your record for six years, but the fact that the account is paid looks much better than if it were not.

Finally, if any payments were made late or missed altogether due to reasons beyond your control – for example, you were in the hospital, suffered a bereavement, or your employer went bust – contact the agency or agencies concerned and ask if they are willing to add a note of correction to the file. That is something that may well play in your favour in future credit applications.

2) Build Up a Good Credit History

Make sure you always pay your bills on time. Mark dates in your diary, set up a reminder on your phone or, better yet, set payments up on Direct Debit.

3) Save Up a Good Deposit

The more missed or late payments you have on your credit record – and the more recently they occurred – the smaller the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio you are likely to be offered if accepted. The LTV is the amount of the purchase price of the property a lender is willing to offer and can range from 95% for people with exemplary credit down to 70% or less for those with bad credit. Clearly, the larger the deposit you are able to put down, the better your chances of acceptance.

4) Seek Specialist Advice

If you have a history of missed or late payments on your credit record and are applying to high street lenders, not only might you be turned down by them, but the fact they are conducting credit searches might make the problem worse.

That’s because when a potential lender conducts a search on your records, it leaves a trace, and a lot of searches in a short space of time can have an adverse impact in your credit score. (When you search on your own records to check for accuracy, there is no trace left. You can search your own records as often as you need to.)

A specialist mortgage broker with knowledge and experience of bad credit mortgages will be able to source the right options for you.

Bad Credit Mortgage Advice

At IMC Mortgage Brokers, we have a specialist bad credit team that helps our clients secure affordable bad credit mortgages with missed or late payments. Our brokers understand the market inside out and know exactly where to turn to find the right deals for you. With exclusive rates that are not available on the high street, we can help you fully consider your options.

We can also help you with your mortgage application and provide you with personalised specialist mortgage advice. Get in touch today for free initial advice and no-obligation quotes from our team of experienced bad credit brokers.

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