The Importance of Changing Your Address in Doncaster

Don’t Pretend to Live Somewhere Else

After we move home, there’s always the stress of updating accounts to match your new address, so that bills and other bits of post go to the right place. From your doctors surgery, to your Amazon account, there’ll be plenty to work through.

Oftentimes you can miss an address when doing this, leaving multiple varied addresses tied to your name. When you are applying for credit, you’ll find that having less varied addresses on your accounts, the better it will be for your credit score.

Because of the impact it has on your credit score, this means it will also be beneficial for you when it comes to applying for a mortgage on a home purchase.

In recent times, first time buyers in Doncaster and home movers in Doncaster perhaps feel like they have a much better understanding of how credit scores work and will look to intentionally use their previous and current addresses to their advantage.

Generally, this is most commonly spotted in applicants who have moved out of their family home and are now renting their own place. Despite having a new address, they don’t see the harm of leaving their credit cards, electoral roll information and bank statements, at their previous address.

By doing this, the idea is that they won’t have multiple addresses listed under their name, with a long-standing stable address to your name, giving you the advantage during the mortgage process. Plausible in theory, but not in practice.

Records of Your Address

The reason it does not work in practice, is that somewhere along the way, if you have moved house, there will be a record of it somewhere on your credit report. It is a very flawed strategy to try and stay tied to your old addresses.

Whether you have bills related to the running of your home, car insurance, previous orders from places like Amazon, eBay or other online stores, anything you have ordered in the past, will all show up with a record of your current address.

This can make it seem like you are either living in two places at once or have failed to disclose information to the mortgage lender, which can go against you during your mortgage process. After all, your mortgage lender needs to be able to trust you.

Keeping Your Address Up-to-Date

The best thing you can do if you are looking to buy a new home in Doncaster and apply for a mortgage, is to make sure that all of your addresses are up to date and accurate.

This means checking all those shopping accounts, electoral roll, credit cards, anything you can think of that has your address, are all correct and have the right address for you and your current home.

When it comes to updating your address to your current home location on the electoral roll, make sure that you definitely get the right dates for when you moved in and out, as getting this wrong can also give off the impression that you are living in two places at once.

Keeping all of your addresses and move-in/out dates up-to-date is a much more open and honest way of applying for a mortgage with a lender. Not only will it work in your favour in the eyes of a mortgage lender, but it will make your process just that little bit easier.

What else can be done to help me obtain a mortgage?

Aside from keeping your address up-to-date, there are a variety of different tips that could also be beneficial to first time buyers in Doncaster, ahead of taking on the mortgage journey.

Tips include maintaining your bank accounts, avoiding unnecessary charges if you can help it and limiting gambling transactions, if that is something you do regularly. The latter can have a largely negative effect on your mortgage process if you do it too often.

Remember that your bank account will be a reflection of your ability to maintain payments, generate income and handle your finances appropriately. This is a large factor in determining whether or not you are able to get a mortgage.

Gifted Deposit

A gifted deposit is a great way for helping first time buyer during their mortgage process. This is where a family member or friend, gifts a portion or the full amount of a deposit to a homebuyer, to help them in their journey.

It’s important to remember that this is purely to be a gift and not a loan to be repaid, something your mortgage lender will want to see confirmation of.

Check My File Credit Report

We would always recommend that customers, whether new or existing, look to obtain an up-to-date credit report. Check My File is a fantastic tool that can pull together information from various sources, to get a more complete view of your financial state.