Eligibility for a mortgage can depend heavily on the lender, with certain banks preferring some types of borrower over others due to an aversion to risk. This is a problem often seen with self-employed people, but can also affect people with a low credit score.
One of the biggest reasons for a low credit score is the result of a county court judgement, which often requires the help of CCJ mortgage specialists to work around, depending on the nature of the judgement in question.
A CCJ is a judgement a creditor can apply against you if they believe that money that is owed to them by you will not be paid back. This typically comes after a payment default, or a failure to repay debts to the point that the lender closes their account with you.>
The CCJ is a court order that, if a judge agrees, can legally demand you pay the money back, which can be done immediately (which annuls the CCJ and means it does not appear on your credit history), set up a payment plan, dispute the claim or make a counterclaim against the creditor.
In the case of a disputed CCJ that has been proven to the courts, the CCJ will be ‘set aside’ or not recorded. Otherwise, it will sit on your credit register for six years, whether it has been paid or not (although it will show if the debt has been settled).
Ignoring a CCJ can have major consequences in the short and long term, such as an attachment of earnings that takes a percentage of earnings directly until the debt is repaid, send enforcement officers or even bailiffs to the home to collect money or goods that could be used to repay the debt.
