Hi imcville.

I think that this is where a good mortgage broker will be able to help.

Lenders ask different questions on their application forms. Some may be concerned about whether you have ever suffered a personal insolvency event and ask about this as part of an application. Others may rely purely on the content of your credit report because they've concluded only your recent credit history is of interest to them.

As well as questions asked directly on application forms, certain lenders may do their own background checks if this subject is important to them. They may have kept their own records of personal insolvencies or might refer to information kept on the Edinburgh Gazette for example. Other lenders might not consider this to be an important part of their lending process.

We don't know enough about individual lenders application forms or background checks but a good mortgage broker may well do.

Overall, I think you'll be in a significantly better position the day after the trust deed vanishes from your credit report than the day before. Choosing the right lender will probably be important to take advantage of that.

Many thanks TDA - a prompt and informative reply as always!

Tomorrow's appointment with the mortgage broker is very much a fact-finding exercise, so that I know exactly where I stand. I'm hoping to confirm realistically how much I might be able to borrow, how much of a deposit I would need and essentially what my overall chances of success will be based on my circumstances.

The deposit is what concerns me most - I've read that as much as 25% - 30% can be required when applying for a mortgage post-Trust Deed, which these days equates to tens of thousands of pounds. With the best will in the world, I've no idea how I would ever manage to save up such a large amount of money.

It might well be that you're not considered to be in the "needs a 25%-30%" bracket at all any longer imcville. Certainly with some lenders anyway given that the trust deed has dropped away from your credit report.

A larger deposit massively reduces the risks for a mortgage lender. It makes it quite hard for them to lose money, so they'd see that as being a lot of insurance against someone they consider to carry certain risk factors.

Hopefully you can be matched with a mortgage lender that doesn't associate any trust deed risk factors with you given that the trust deed was longer ago and no longer apparent on your credit file.

Best to tell the mortgage broker absolutely everything so that you can be fairly confident about where you stand. If they're unduly negative try another broker as well. We do hear about some brokers that are shy about getting involved in anything but the most straightforward of cases.

Hi imcville,

When I purchased my property last year I used a mortgage broker who was fantastic. I had a 10% deposit which was enough for the property I was buying and for the mortgage company I was using for the mortgage. I guess the bigger the deposit you can accumulate and save the more chance of securing a mortgage.

I did a search on the internet for reviews of my mortgage company and was shocked at how many negative reviews there were for them to the point I almost reconsidered using them for my mortgage. My broker said not to worry about and my mortgage went through without any problems within 21 days from application to completion and release of funds. I had no issues or hiccups with the mortgage despite the amount of negative reviews surrounding the company and they were really negative!

A good broker who knows the market can make a big difference but as TDA has said, some brokers can be negative towards a person who has problems with credit in the past and not bother trying to really help them. If you find that to be the case look elsewhere.

There are options to purchase properties with only a 5% deposit under the Governments Help to Buy Scheme but I don't really know much else about this. I think you'd need to speak with the organisations/home builders involved in these schemes to see what the eligibility criteria is.

Thanks for the information David - very much appreciated and I find that much more encouraging than other bits & pieces I've read.

Hopefully the mortgage broker I'm seeing tomorrow will be able to provide some real clarity around the questions I've got. Even if not, I'm also intending to speak to two or three other brokers as well in the near future.

Thanks again!

No problem imcville, happy to try and help.

Keep us updated and let us know how you get on as it will be useful for people to know.