Can I remortgage my house with a bad credit score?

Last Modified 16th of February 2021

Remortgaging your home regularly is essential if you want to ensure that you get the best deal on your monthly repayments. Choosing the right financing option can save you thousands of pounds over a few years. Unfortunately, if you don’t have a great credit history, you may find that refinancing options are not open to you. Just as with a regular mortgage, there are no set requirements for getting a remortgage, the requirements vary between different lenders.

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Has anything changed?

If you are thinking about remortgaging then you must already have been accepted for a mortgage once. To assess what your chances of getting a new mortgage are, consider whether any factors have changed since you last took out a mortgage:

Income

If you have moved jobs or been made redundant recently, then you may find financing is harder to get. If your income has dropped a lot then consider waiting until things improve before looking for new finance. If your income has increased of course, then you will stand a good chance of getting accepted.

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Credit history

Presumably your credit history was good enough last time you applied. Have you had any rough patches recently which might have harmed your credit history? Remember that since you first took out your mortgage, you have been making regular payments, which will have improved your credit rating, so a few slips here and there might not matter as much as you think.

Equity

If your house value has dropped then you might find yourself with less equity than you started, this could cause problems unless you are able to put in additional savings. If you need to borrow more than 90% of your house value then you will need very favourable credit.

Of course, criteria changes between lenders. To get the best deals you will probably need very good credit, but ask around and try to get a feel for whether you are going to be able to save money. If you have recent history which may be affecting your chances of getting finance, you can always wait for 6 months before remortgaging.