You're
probably expecting some bad news at this point – perhaps
you think that a Judgement mortgage will inevitably mean sky-high
interest rates, or that you will not have any choice.
First
The Good News
The
good news is that this isn't true for most people. As long as
your CCJs are satisfied - ie you've paid off
your bad debt - and you can show that you are earning enough
money to meet the mortgage payments, you should get a choice
of mortgages – just like a regular borrower:
Fixed or variable rate
Trackers
and discounted rates
Choice
of terms (how many years the mortgage is for)
Borrow
up to 100% of the value of your property
Now
The Bad News
Although
you will probably have no problem in getting a mortgage, you
will have to pay a slightly higher mortgage interest
rate than a lender with no County Court Judgements.
The
reason for this is risk.
Rightly
or wrongly, people who have had CCJs are seen as higher risk
– more likely to get into arrears on their mortgage payments.
However, you can prove them wrong!
How to Repair Your Mortgage Credit Rating
If
you keep up with your payments for three years on a CCJ mortgage,
your credit rating will improve (despite the CCJ).
You
will have provided clear proof that you have put your money
problems behind you and can now be trusted
with a lower interest rate.
That's
right – after three years, you will have a good chance
of being able to remortgage onto a "prime" mortgage
– a mortgage aimed at people with good credit ratings.
These mortgages have the lowest interest rates, as they represent
the lowest risk for lenders.
