For most of us, buying a home means applying for a mortgage – and success or failure could depend on your financial history.

Your credit report is your personal financial history. It includes a wide range of information on your credit behaviour, from your credit cards and loans to your repayment record, previous mortgages and details of overdrafts.

The report also confirms whether or not your name is on the electoral roll at your current address and how many times your credit report has been searched.

Credit reference agencies – Experian is the UK’s largest – hold this data on more than 40 million people and 24 million households. So it’s likely that they have information about you.

Click here to get your free Experian Credit Report and see what mortgage lenders see!

When deciding whether or not to give you a mortgage, the mortgage lenders look first at the details on your application form. If you don’t fit their criteria for being offered a loan, they are unlikely to search your credit report. Typical deal-breakers include being too young, insufficient current earnings or too short a self-employment history.

They may then look at any previous relationship that you may have had with them and how you conducted it.

The next step is to search your credit report. A lender may use this information to help create your credit score, by comparing you to past customers with similar characteristics. The result is a numerical assessment of how good a credit risk you appear to be. Normally, the higher your rating, the more likely the company is to lend you the money you want.

Getting a copy of your report before you apply for a mortgage will allow you to check that the information it contains is accurate and up-to-date.

For example, if you had a court judgment against you but have paid the debt, you should make sure the record reflects this. Equally, if you paid off the debt within one month, the judgment can be removed from your report. Or perhaps the fact that you registered to vote has been missed and your name has not been confirmed on the electoral roll. In this case, you should let Experian know. They will investigate and amend their records accordingly.

If you believe that some of the information on your credit report needs further explanation, Experian will help you to add a brief statement or Notice of Correction to your report. This will be seen and may be taken into account by any lender using the information to which it relates.

Click here to get your free Experian Credit Report and see what mortgage lenders see!

Lenders turn down roughly one-third of all mortgage applicants. If you are one of the unlucky ones, you should be given an explanation. If not, ask for some guidance.
For example, you may not be offering enough deposit or appear to be carrying too much debt from other sources. It may be that your credit report rang alarm bells, perhaps because you had missed some payments on a previous loan.

You can always appeal against the decision and ask the lender to look at your application again. This may give you chance to provide further information. For example, your poor credit record may stem from a one-off event that no longer applies, such as a serious illness or enforced redundancy.

Finally, there’s nothing to prevent you applying for a mortgage from another company. Different lenders may take a different view. But be careful how many applications for credit you make in the short term.

If you allow a significant number of companies to search your credit report, this could damage your credit rating as it could be interpreted to mean that you are desperate for money or possibly that someone is trying to commit fraud. If you know that you have been refused credit because of your credit report, it is always sensible to check it before making any further applications.Click here to get your free Experian Credit Report and see what mortgage lenders see!

To help avoid any nasty surprises, you can keep tabs on your credit report by signing up for a free, 30-day trial of CreditExpert, an online credit monitoring service from Experian. It means that you can check your credit report at any time – invaluable when you are applying for a mortgage, when you often need to move fast. You will also be warned by a weekly email or text message when a significant change, such as a new search, is registered.

Joining CreditExpert also allows you to order a copy of your National Credit Score at the special offer price of £4.99. It only uses the information in your credit report but it will give you a good idea of how lenders will rate you.
Click here to get your free Experian Credit Report and see what mortgage lenders see!
And if you need to improve your credit report, the CreditExpert site contains plenty of advice, hints and tips that will help you to turn your dream home into reality.

Click here to view your Experian credit report online for free and see the information mortgage lenders see

Everything in your financial history can affect your chances of being granted credit or a loan. If you understand your credit record, you can improve it – and your finances.

Credit is essential in the 21 st century – often the route to homes, cars, travel, furniture and much, much more. The key to getting access to the money you want , when you need it, is your credit report.

Your credit report is your personal financial history, covering a wide range of information, such as your credit card payments, details of loans and previous mortgages and a record of any court judgments or Scottish decrees. It also confirms whether or not your name is recorded on the electoral roll at your current address and specifies which organisations have searched your credit report .

Organisations take this information, plus data from your application form, to generate a credit score – a number that they use to estimate the likelihood that you will repay what you owe and make your repayments on time. The information in your report and the score help them to decide whether or not to gran t a loan and to set conditions such as interest rates.

Every organisation uses a slightly different formula to work out your credit score, which can even vary depending on the type of finance you want. Every loan application you make can therefore generate a different credit score. Your credit score will also change as your circumstances and the information in your credit report change.

In general, a higher score means you will find it easier to get the money you need. A poor score can result in a rejection or adversely affect the terms. For example, it can mean that you pay a higher rate of interest.

Following these simple steps could lead to a marked improvement in your credit report and increase your credit score , which will help you to get the loan or credit card you need.

One of the easiest ways to check your credit report is to sign up for CreditExpert, an online credit monitoring service from Experian, the UK 's largest credit reference agency. It means that you can check your credit report online as often as you like. You will also be sent a weekly email or text message when there is a significant change to your report, such as a new search by a lender.

Click here to get your free Experian Credit Report and see what mortgage lenders see!

Instant online access is subject to authentication to ensure that only you can access your report. So, for your own protection, CreditExpert may ask for additional proof of identity.

Set the record straight is easy. If anything on your credit report needs updating, ask Experian to investigate and amend the record accordingly – use the Query Your Report tab on the CreditExpert website. Experian will also tell any companies that have searched your report in the last six months if it changes information on your report .

If you are registered on the electoral roll and this is not shown , ask Experian to investigate. And if you haven't registered, do so immediately. You can use www.rollingregistration.co.uk to register .

If there are special circumstances surrounding a particular entry – f or example, you may have been ill and missed a few payments on a loan, although this has never happened before or since – Experian will help you to add a short note , called a Notice of Correction to your report, so lenders can see that you are unlikely to get behind again. If you add a Notice of Correction to your report, lenders must read it , although they do not have to take it into consideration before making a lending dec i sion.

Protecting  your identity is essential. If you notice something surprising on your credit report, such as a loan application you did not make, you could be a victim of identity fraud , when a criminal impersonates you to take out loans and credit cards. It is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the UK , affecting more than 120,000 people and costing the country £1.3 billion a year, according to the government.

The credit monitoring service provided by CreditExpert means that you will be told if lenders check your Experian credit report in the same week that any new applications are made.

If you discover anything unusual or unexplained in your credit report, use the CreditExpert site to tell Experian. They will help you to sort it out and ensure that you don't end up with incorrect information in your report.

Keep the record straight, includes a section listing anybody with whom you have a joint account, mortgage, loan or credit card. These are your financial associates. Lenders may take a look at the financial histories of these people when you apply for a new loan. If they have a poor credit record, you could be rejected.

If you are now financially independent , are no longer part of a previous financial unit or no longer share a joint financial agreement, you need to advise Experian and they can remove the financial connection from your credit report. You can use the CreditExpert service to do this .

Don't leave unnecessary footprints when shopping around for credit, ask companies for a quotation before making a formal application. If the company needs to check your credit report to give you a quotation , make sure it only makes a quotation search . Lenders may interpret an abnormal number of credit application searches as indicating that you have applied for an unmanageable level of credit. They may even suspect fraud.

If companies have searched your credit report more than once in response to a single application, ask them to remove the extra searches. Use CreditExpert to investigate.

Don't let debts pile up and pay your existing credit card bills and loan repayments on time each month – this will help to show potential lender s that you are in control and more likely to meet future repayments. Better still, t ry to pay off any outstanding amounts on credit card accounts completely .

Talk to your existing lenders if you are having difficulties. You should be able to agree a schedule of payments you can afford.

Avoid credit repair companies. These are not credit reference agencies and do not have the authority to amend your credit report. Don't be tricked into paying for expensive services that you don't need.

Telling the truth and never lie or fudge the truth on an application form. This amounts to a fraudulent application. Lenders find out and any inaccuracies on your form will tell against you and cause difficulties in future applications for credit.

Order your National Credit Score as this is the most cost effective way. When you join CreditExpert, you can order your National Credit Score from Experian for the special price of around £5. It is compiled using only the information in your credit report, so it won't be identical to the scores generated by lenders – but it will give you a good idea of how your credit report will influence their decision.

It's worth ordering your score before you make a new loan application, so you can see how well you are doing.

Make  sure you keep on checking so your credit report is not frozen in time. By following up on any significant changes notified to you by the CreditExpert service, you can ensure there are no nasty surprises the next time you approach a lender.

Click here for a free 30-day trial of CreditExpert and to view a free copy of your credit report