In This Article
What is a CCJ?
A CCJ stands for a County Court Judgement. What that means is that it has been ruled in court that you owe money to an individual or a company and you now have to pay them. This could be for any reason, e.g. you have a parking fine and it’s never paid, it may go to court and a judge may decide officially it now needs to be resolved.
You will be given a certain amount of time to settle this bill and if it is not settled it will now appear on your credit file as a CCJ.
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How do I get a CCJ?
It is possible to get a CCJ for an unlimited number of things but ultimately it will mean that a judge has ruled that you owe someone money and this has not been paid.
For example, you may have had building work, the builder has finished the job and the bill now needs settling. The bill has not been paid so after many attempts, the builder has taken you to court.
The judge has looked at both sides of the argument and after assessing all information, has ruled that the builder was correct and this bill needs to be settled. You are now given a time period in which to pay this cost and if it is paid, there will be no entry on your credit file as it is just a lost case.
If it is not paid within the stated time period, you will now have a CCJ on your credit file.
Can you get a mortgage with a CCJ?
Yes, there absolutely lenders that will lend to people on a residential mortgage that have CCJ’s. Some will want them to be settled before they are prepared to lend and depending on what the CCJ is, some may we willing to completely ignore them.
For example, a £200 CCJ over an unpaid parking ticket may not look as serious as a £5,000 CCJ for another unpaid bill. Different lenders have different criteria around the amount of the CCJ, when it took place, who it was to, what it was for, whether it has been settled and so on.
There are definitely also lenders that would not consider the case and would need the CCJ to be off of the credit file before they considered the case.
Would you need a specialist lender if you have a CCJ?
It really depends. If the CCJ was new and quite large (for example over £1,000) and your deposit was only 10-15%, it may be that to get the mortgage through at all, you would need a specialist lender with an appetite for adverse credit. If this is the case, the rate and fees of this type of mortgage will likely be higher to factor in the adverse credit.
In this scenario, we would recommend speaking with a professional mortgage adviser who could work out your options.
Would you get a secured loan with a CCJ?
Like the mortgage question, there are lenders that offer secured loans for people that have CCJ’s. There will also be lenders that would not consider the case. The details of the CCJ along with any other adverse credit, overall indebtedness, equity within the property, amount of first charge mortgage, income and monthly commitments will be a factor when looking for a secured loan lender that can allow CCJ’s.
How long does a CCJ stay on your credit file?
A CCJ will remain on your credit file for 6 years from the point that it is registered. It may be that you clear the CCJ before this time but this will not completely remove it like it never happened, it will instead show the CCJ as settled rather than active.
Once the 6 year time period has passed, the CCJ will eventually drop off your credit file.
Should I settle my CCJ and will this help me get a mortgage if I do?
You will always look better in a lender’s eyes if you decide to settle your CCJ rather than leaving it unpaid, it also may boost your credit score if you do so.
There is no guarantee that a lender that was not willing to lend before will now do so because you cleared it but it will definitely look better than if you refuse to pay back what you have been ruled to owe.
How do I check my credit file?
If you’re unsure whether you have a CCJ or any other bad credit on your credit file, you can go to one of the leading credit reference agencies to get a copy of your report to then check this out. We would advise looking at Check my file as this shows all three of the major credit reference agencies which Experian, Equifax and Transunion.
If there is a CCJ on the credit file, it will be near the bottom of the report. It will not tell you what it was for but should tell you the date it was issued, the court that issued it, the amount it was for and whether or not it has been paid yet. Read about: Mortgage With Defaults Success Stories.
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Can I get a buy to let mortgages with a CCJ?
Yes, like residential mortgages, there are buy to let mortgage lenders that allow adverse credit and can lend to applicants that have a CCJ. They will be looking at the full picture so the level of the adverse credit, the rental income that the property generates, your personal income and level of debts.
To find out who will lend to you on a buy to let property with a CCJ, complete the contact box.
Can a company get a CCJ?
Yes, companies can get CCJ’s. Like an individual, if a company owes money and it is not paid, they may end up in court and be issued with a CCJ.
Companies also have credit files and if there are adverse entries such as CCJ’s this may stop a lender giving them a commercial mortgage or another company giving them credit.
If you want to perform a credit check on your company, Company check may be of use.
How long will the CCJ remain on my credit file?
CCJ’s remain on your credit file for 6 years from the date of registration. Paying them off only shows them as settled and does not remove them.
There is a process to have them fully removed if they are on there in error but this would mean applying to the court that issued it and them agreeing that it was an error. It may be that they would need to liaise with the person or organisation that you had the dispute with and they have to agree that it was not your bill to pay in the first place.
As a result, it is a rare occurrence that one is removed and usually they come off due to the 6 year period passing by.
Conclusion
CCJ’s on your credit file are not a good thing and they can definitely stop you from getting a mortgage. Therefore to answer the questions – Can You Get A Mortgage With A CCJ?. The answer is yes!
This does not always have to be the case though and there are other things to be taken into account when you have one.
It may be that the size of the CCJ is not enough to put off the lender that has the best rate. It may be that you need to put down a higher deposit or possibly use another lender.
If you are raising money and have a high street mortgage, you may not want to move to an adverse lender so take a secured loan for the top up with a view to remortgaging in the future once the CCJ is old or is off the credit file.
For any of these scenarios, the best thing to do is get advice from a professional mortgage adviser who can look at the options and then explain your options.
If you would like to hear your options from a qualified mortgage adviser, complete the contact box and I NEED ADVICE will arrange this for you.
They are experienced, which can boost your chances of being approved.
