There are 3 main Credit Agencies in the UK – Equifax, Experian and Transunion (formally Call Credit) so when discussing what credit score for a mortgage you may need we have to consider the three different scores, or more importantly, the details that make up those scores.
These 3 agencies all have different ways of calculating your credit score. Nobody really knows how they calculate your score as there are many different factors which will include things like:
- your payment history,
- the balances,
- credit limits,
- whether or not you are on the voters roll and so on.
However, it is important to note that none of these scores are solely relevant when applying for a Mortgage. As such the ‘credit score for a mortgage’ terms in itself is a little misleading.
These credit scores are provided by the credit agency and at best are an indication of how you are doing. We ignore the scores however and skip straight to the payment history section and look at the details within your credit report that produce those scores, not the scores themselves.
Credit Scores & Mortgages
When you apply for a Mortgage, the lenders will typically take the information provided on your credit report(s) (I put the plural there as some use more than one agency), and by information, again I refer to the things like balances, limits, payments history etc but most importantly the score plays absolutely no relevance for 99% of Mortgage lenders out there.
The Mortgage lenders will then combine the information held on the report with the things on your application form. That will include your income details, occupation, your personal circumstances such as number of children and so on. There can be hundreds if not thousands of things that will impact how your application will be scored all of which will vary in importance.
When we hit submit on the Application or Decision in Principle (DIP) it is then checked on the lenders system and scored. At that point we will find out how your application has done – we will generally speaking only receive a Pass, Refer or Decline outcome – we will not get a score for your application.
For more on this rad ‘What do Mortgage lenders look for on Credit Reports?‘
Credit Score Summary
So to summarise, you do not actually have to have a particular credit score for a mortgage, as such. Your application will be scored on its own merits taking in to account information on your credit file and your application form, neither of those documents hold everything needed to score your application.
We at Mortgage Success will go through everything on your credit report manually, we will determine what your chances are of getting a Mortgage accepted and having been in business since 2013 and in financial services for another 5 years, we have the experience to give you a good indication without carrying out any credit checks on you (and in turn causing no damage to your credit file).