How to get a Mortgage with a CCJ

Most people will receive written communication from the courts outlining the details of a CCJ. If you’re wondering how to check if you have a CCJ, you can do a CCJ register search. There is a small fee – each search costs between £6 and £10.

You can also request a copy of the information held about you from credit reference agencies.

A discharged CCJ is a County Court Judgment that has been paid in full. It will still be visible to the court and other creditors for 6 years.

A CCJ may be discharged early if you can prove circumstances beyond your control.

Having a discharged CCJ will still have a negative impact on your credit score. However, it will be less severe than if the CCJ was not discharged. As time passes, the negative impact of the CCJ will gradually decrease, and your credit score will improve.

Below we have highlighted how a CCJ can affect your borrowing when looking to get a mortgage.

Although having a CCJ against your name can be daunting, try not to worry. Not only can we canvass the market to help you find the right deal on a bad credit mortgage with a CCJ, but there are steps you can take to improve your credit rating.

• Make all of your payments on time, including things like rent, utilities, and credit card bills.
• Try to utilise no more than 30% of your available credit. The more credit you take out the riskier you appear to lenders. This is because they will assume you heavily rely on credit as you have uncertain finances.
• Avoid applying for a new credit card too frequently. When applying for credit a hard check will be carried out on your credit file. This can negatively impact your credit score, in turn making you appear risker to lenders.

By following these tips, you can gradually improve your credit score and rebuild your financial health. To find out if your credit is in a good place to apply, why not reach out?

One of our advisors would be happy to discuss your situation over a free initial consolation.

At Just Mortgage Brokers, we have a specialist bad credit team that endeavours to help our clients secure affordable bad credit mortgages with CCJs and other adverse credit events. Those with mixed credit histories are usually best served by specialist lenders that cannot be found on the high street.

With years of experience working with a network of bad credit lenders across the UK, we know exactly where to turn to find a mortgage to suit the particular needs of every client, regardless of their credit history.

As unlimited market brokers, we have access to a wide section of the market, which means we are not tied to products from any particular lender. This impartiality and unlimited access to the market gives us the very best chance of obtaining a competitively priced bad credit mortgage with a CCJ.

One thing that can make you much more attractive to lenders is providing a larger than average deposit.

By doing so your initial contribution to the value of the property is higher, therefore a lender is taking a smaller risk by lending to you, compared to someone with a smaller deposit.

For example, if the minimum amount of deposit required for the mortgage you want is 10% of the property’s value (90% loan-to-value), try and aim for 15% instead (85% loan-to-value). Remember, the lower the loan-to-value ratio, the more competitive deals you are likely to have access to.

Saving up for that extra bit of time can make all the difference and could make or break your application being accepted if you have bad credit.

Before applying for a mortgage, it’s crucial that you assess the impact of your CCJ. Determine things like the age, amount owed, and the current status of your CCJ.

This will help you when you come to use a mortgage broker to support your application.

You will also need to review your credit report and most likely begin to make efforts to repair it.

As mentioned previously, consulting an expert mortgage broker can prove essential. This is because you will need to find specialist bad credit mortgage lenders who will be willing to help you.

Not only can mortgage brokers access these specialist lenders, they will also know how to paint you application in the best possible light.

Once your mortgage broker has a better understanding of your situation, they will be able to go away and start researching possible options for you.

This can take more time than if your credit was in a better position, as specialist products require in-depth research to ensure you are paired with the most suitable lender and mortgage.

Once you and your broker are happy with your lender options you can then prepare you application.

Before applying you will first need to gather all required documentation.

This will be things like:

• Proof of income and deposit – proved though things like bank statements and payslips.
• Identification – the most common ID forms are passports and driving licences,
• Address verification – lenders will usually require bills dated within the past 3 months that show the address listed on your identification.
• CCJ specific documents – lenders may require proof of the CCJ, like a letter from the court. They may also want to see any evidence of payment towards the CCJ.

After you have organised all the relevant documentation required you can then look to submit your application.

You and your broker will then complete the mortgage application and submit it to your chosen lender.

Once submitted you will then need to wait for your application to be processed by the lender. From here, they will then come back to you with their verdict.

If you application is accepted, you will then be on your way to home ownership.

A lender will require the chosen property to undergo a valuation before they lender any money against it. This is to ensure that what you are paying is a fair price, adding an additional layer of security for lenders.

Once a lender is happy with the valuation you can then sign the necessary paperwork, and your solicitor will be able to complete any legal formalities.