‌As the cost of living disaster continues, households could also be feeling squeezed, making it tougher to get onto the property ladder.

A couple was left devastated after a small blip of their file meant that their mortgage software was rejected.

Having spent months rigorously saving up a deposit of £8,665, Kerry Hepton and her associate Jamie Metcalfe have been shocked when their mortgage software was rejected by NatWest as a result of a CCJ Jamie had accrued in 2017 for a missed invoice for £350.

This was one thing neither of them had been conscious of and regardless of Jamie rapidly paying off the debt, they knew that getting a mortgage from a High Street lender was going to be extraordinarily tough.‌

The inflationary pressures are taking their toll on households, making it far tougher to get on the housing ladder as a result of extra individuals having a less-than-perfect credit score rating.

The Financial Conduct Authority reported the variety of adults who missed payments or mortgage funds in at the least three of the final six months has risen by 1.4 million to five.6 million. The proportion of these with “blips on their record” is already rising dramatically and impacting extra earnings brackets.

Internal knowledge from the specialist lender Together exhibits this yr, 14 % of the primary cost mortgages it has funded have had credit score points, with expectations it will proceed to rise.

This is alleged to trigger actual challenges for all would-be owners making an attempt to safe a high-street mortgage within the close to future.‌

Among those that’ve had a mortgage software rejected, a fifth (20 %) couldn’t safe the mortgage they wanted in time so misplaced their dream house and 16 % gave up on buying altogether.

Kerry and Jamie have been eager discover a fast resolution that might give them choices for a primary correct household house, the place they may elevate their younger son, in strolling distance to the native nursery.‌

They got here throughout Together who helped them safe one other mortgage lender and recommended the couple take into account Shared Ownership.

Ms Hepton stated: “Together handled everything so quickly from the first phone call and we were delighted we could find somewhere that was so nice, shiny and new. We never realised just how much more you could get for your money with Shared Ownership.

‌“I’d highly recommend the Shared Ownership scheme to my friends and anyone else who is out there struggling to get on the property ladder.

“While our journey to homeownership started out a little rocky, everything was soon resolved, and it’s helped us get on the ladder that much faster!”

While the danger urge for food and standards of excessive road lenders continues to tighten, specialist assist the place individuals’s funds are handled on a case-by-case foundation affords an answer, serving to extra individuals pursue their property plans even with a missed invoice or mortgage cost on their document as a result of the price of residing.

Alan Davison, Personal Finance Distribution Director at Together, stated: “With everyone’s finances under pressure and the threat of recession, our research makes clear the impact on potential mortgage borrowers of having a blip on their credit record – and the emotional toll that can bring.

"And yet people who may have missed paying a single bill, for example, could be locked out by mainstream lenders’ strict criteria, potentially deterring them from pursuing homeownership altogether.

“We found a fifth of applicants were rejected by the high street, so opted for a specialist lender instead.

"While this might not be the option for all, it does offer a route onto the property ladder as people’s missed payments are instead assessed on a case-by-case basis.

“So long as there is a plausible explanation for past payment difficulties, most specialist lenders will be able to look to provide the secured finance needed to meet the applicant’s ambitions.”

He added: “There’s a longer-term case to make mortgages fairer to all and ensure the industry is adapting to people’s changing financial circumstances as this will prevent more people from being automatically rejected for historic payment issues.”