Veterans with Bad Credit

While lots of lenders focus on borrowers with a spotless credit record, it’s not true of all lenders. There are plenty of lenders who recognise that many of us have the odd black mark in our records, but that these issues don’t stop us from being excellent borrowers overall, and so will consider applicants with some missed payments on their record.

What are the common types of adverse credit issues?

• Missed or late payments

• Defaults

• County Court Judgment

Missed or late payments can occur on secured or unsecured credit, such as a mortgage or a credit card. You may have just one missed payment, or you may have multiple. Missed or late payments are considered the least serious but can still have an effect on which lenders you will have access to.

A default occurs if the lender decides to close your account because you’ve missed payments. This might happen to an account you have with a bank, mobile phone company or utility supplier.

Defaults can occur regardless of how much money you owe, whether it’s a few pounds or a few thousand. It usually happens if you’ve been missing payments over the course of three to six months, but this can vary depending on the lender’s terms. 

A creditor could apply for a County Court Judgment (CCJ) against you if they think you won't repay money you owe them. If the courts agree with the creditor, they'll issue the judgment and tell you to pay the money back. 

How a mortgage adviser can help you

It’s worth emphasising that there are lenders that will consider borrowers who have had repayment issues in the recent past. But these are rarely lenders that you will find on the high street, or who can be described as household names.

These specialist lenders design their products with these borrowers in mind but tend to only offer their mortgages through independent mortgage advisers. By partnering with the right mortgage adviser, you can enjoy a vastly bigger range of options than if you attempt to apply directly.

What’s more, a good adviser will be an expert on the exact criteria employed by those different lenders, so can direct you towards the lenders that are most likely to look favourably on an application from you.

Next steps

Your first action should be to obtain your report from a company such as www.checkmyfile.com They search all three major credit agencies: Experian, Equifax and Transunion. This provides you with a fully comprehensive report that your adviser will use as the basis of their search.