Mortgage lenders tighten lending criteria further

Mortgage lenders could consider minor misdemeanour data as part of tightening criteria in light of the credit crunch, it has been suggested.

Neil Munroe, external affairs director at Equifax, said that while lenders may have ignored such information in the past, this could now "rise in prominence".

He said mortgage lenders will be "tightening up" and more applications could be rejected as a result.

However, rejected applicants need to take care that they do not apply for too many mortgages in a short space of time as mortgage lenders may see such people as a risk or think there is fraud going on.

"Either way, it might mean that too many searches in a very short space of time might start to worsen the person''s credit file or credit rating," Mr Munroe said.

He advised mortgage applicants to ensure their credit file is "as good as it could be" before they apply for a loan.

According to Credit Action figures, the average UK household owes £55,877 including their mortgage.

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