Your Credit Record
If you have the right GDSR and TDSR but you have a poor credit record, you will often find professional lenders turning you down. Your credit history contains a detailed record of every charge account, credit card or credit purchase that you have made in the last seven years and in many cases even beyond seven years. Your credit record will show your high balance, your current balance and your payment record for every charge account or credit purchase in your name.
If you ran into some cash ow problems and you were late in making payments, it stays on your record. If you had a disagreement with a merchant over some goods you purchased and you refused to make payments on that account, it stays on your account as payments not made.
If your account was charged in error and then the merchant discovered their mistake and corrected their own company records, there is no guarantee that your credit record at the Central Credit Bureau will have been set right.
If you applied for credit but you were turned down, even that event stays on your credit file. Every time anyone does an inquiry against your credit record the inquiry is recorded on your file and stays there. Too many inquiries will concern a professional lender. They will question, “Why did this applicant have so many inquiries against their file? Were they applying for credit? Were they turned down…and why?”
These events will stay on your credit record for seven years or more and, in most cases, there is absolutely nothing you can do to remove them.
If you were one month late in making a payment, there will be an R2 beside your account. If you did not pay o an account for any reason, even if it was a legitimate com- plaint and it went to collections, your record will have an R9 beside your account. An R9 says, “This person does not pay his bills. He/she is a poor credit risk.” One R9 on your credit record can be enough to scare away a professional lender. Sometimes, however, there are explanations which may be considered when a final decision is being made. Even with negative information on your credit file, you still may be able to arrange for a mortgage. However, you may have to pay a higher interest rate.
A higher interest rate will be very expensive over the long run; therefore, if there is any negative information on your credit file, you should know about it and take appropriate action.
If you have any questions about your credit record, it would be a good idea to get a better understanding of your credit record before you apply for a mortgage.