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- Before you start looking for properties
and thinking about mortgages,
one of the first things you should be doing
as a first time buyer, is checking your credit files
that the mortgage lenders will access
when you apply for a mortgage.
In this video, I'm going to show you
how you can check your credit data
on all the major credit agencies in just 60 seconds
by using a Multi Agency Credit Report.
Let's go.
Hi, my name is Alex Kerr, I'm a qualified mortgage broker
and my passion is simplifying the mortgage process
for first time buyers,
as well as providing the best tools and tips
in regards to credit scoring and money saving.
Let's get into the vid.
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So one thing you want to do is download
your Multi Agency Credit Report from checkmyfile.
They offer a free trial for 30 days,
and you can cancel at any time.
I fully recommend using this credit file
as it provides all of the credit agencies
that the mortgage lenders will look at,
such as Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
It's the easiest credit file out there to read
and it groups all of the vital data we need to look at
in an easy to understand format so we can work out
where we stand if applying for a mortgage.
The link to the checkmyfile is at the top corner.
Now, you can pause the video if you like
and download the file as I've also added it
to the description below.
Let's jump onto the computer.
So the first thing you will see is your score
on the right-hand side.
I wouldn't worry about that too much.
You will likely see it's a lower score
than those offered from providers such as Experian.
Mortgage lenders do not go off this score,
they go off your credit conduct.
On the left-hand side, it will show the information types
that checkmyfile were able to access
through the major credit agencies.
Anything grayed out means they were either unable
to access the information or there is no information related
to this information type.
Payment history, electoral role information
and linked addresses are the most important areas
and the ones that we will focus on.
Now, linked addresses, the first area you want to check
is linked addresses.
You can access this quickly within the file
by pressing control and F and typing linked addresses
into the search bar.
Then press enter a few times until it takes you to the page.
If you don't have this feature,
it's towards the end of your credit file.
Linked addresses are created when you move.
This could be picked up through the Voters Roll
or by changing your address with your bank.
It also means your previous address can be reported
to lenders searching your current address.
If this is correct, then great.
It's an area which can help with mortgage applications
as the lenders will have your correct address information.
This is vital for them to pull in your credit profile.
If you find this is not correct,
be sure to contact the credit agencies direct
and update them with the correct data.
It's really important that your correct address
is provided to your bank, mobile phone provider
and any credit providers you have
as this will reflect on your credit file
and create the data in this section.
If you have any information at previous addresses,
this could include your parent's home,
I would advise getting this updated immediately
so all your records will be correct on your credit file.
It's also worth noting, if you have had an address here
which you do not recognize,
it could be a sign of identity fraud.
So be sure to look into that with the credit agencies
as a matter of urgency.
Voters Roll; the Voters Roll provides a great way
of keeping all of your addresses up to date
on all of the credit providers,
making it easy for lenders to access your credit profile.
If you are unable to go on the Voters Roll,
then the linked addresses section we just looked at
is going to be more important to you.
Make sure that all of your address records are correct
throughout your bank and credit providers
and you should be good.
So the next thing we need to do is navigate
to the Voters Roll section, which is named Electoral Roll
and will be just before the linked addresses.
Here, you will see all of the credit agencies
and the addresses they currently hold.
And the agencies that do not have your information,
will show as no information returned and a gray box.
It's worth noting that sometimes the same address
can be shown multiple times on different pages
so be sure to check all of the information.
If you're on the Voters Roll,
but your file does not show the data,
I would fully recommend getting in touch
with the credit file agency and getting this updated.
I've put the links to all of the credit agencies contacts
for your convenience, in the description the below.
Payment history; the final area is
to check your payment history.
This is at the start of the credit file and will show
as Active Account Payment History.
You should see records of the bank accounts,
mobile phone providers and any associated credit.
If any credit agencies are not reporting
your payment history, there will be no information
in the gray boxes below the associated credit provider.
This means that credit providers will not hold any
of the data on you and if you applied for a mortgage
with a lender that used this credit agency,
they may not be able to pull in your credit profile,
which could mean a delay and the lenders would therefore try
to find your information manually.
If they cannot find your data, this could lead to a decline.
Missing data is often linked
with the credit agency provider either not having
your Voters Roll records or linked address records.
I would recommend to get in touch with any agency
that is missing information
so you can update the records accordingly.
You will also find that your payment history records
show details of any missed payments or defaults
which will be highlighted with the key
at the bottom of each page.
County court judgment, IVAs and bankruptcies
will be shown towards the end of the report
along with any search history.
A little tip for you is that you may, at some point,
get into a dispute with a mobile phone provider
or a utilities provider or something of that nature,
disputing a small amount of money,
fifty pounds, a hundred pounds, something like that.
Your natural reaction may be not to pay the bill
until the situation's resolved.
My advice is to pay the bill and then look
to get the money refunded,
as I so often see first-time buyers with small defaults
on their credit files caused by a dispute
over a small amount of money.
This turns into a default because the bill
has not been paid.
This leads on to much bigger consequences
when trying to obtain a mortgage.
So my advice is just bite your tongue, pay the bill
and then look to get the money back
if you feel it's a situation that's not your fault.
If the credit provider insists it is,
and it's a small amount of money,
for the sake of your own credit file
and your future when buying a property,
I would just bite the bullet and pay it and move on.
Today's question, let me know how you get on
with your credit files.
Do you have any missing information?
Let me know, I would love to help you put it right.
So your address records are the most important element
of your credit file and you can see it's so important
that this data is correct for other areas
of your credit profile to hold correct information,
which will therefore give you a greater chance of success
with your mortgage.
Paying creditors on time and having
a correct address history are the most important elements
and will open the door to high street lenders.
Any missed payments, default, CCJs, et cetera,
will mean specialist adverse credit lenders would be needed.
Please note, we do need to let you know
that your home may be repossessed
if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
So thanks for watching today's video.
I hope it's provided you with some useful tips
that will provide you with value.
Please check out the show notes for a recap
on today's video, with access to any links discussed today.
Please do consider subscribing and ringing the bell
to receive further notifications when we release our videos.
I've been Alex Kerr providing the best tools and tips
to first time buyers.
Till next time, stay safe, take care of each other
and we'll see you in the next one.
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