Whats the latest on getting a mortgage with unspent convictions, i own my house outright but looking to move and will require a small mortgage but worried about not being able to get through the forms, solicitors etc without the dreaded question ..

Has anyone taken one recently with success on the forms etc ?

Is the unlock list still upto date as far as the ones with no criminal record questions ?

Thank you 

There are multiple mainstream lenders - including Nationwide - who do not ask about criminal convictions.  They are more concerned about affordability - can you demonstrate sufficient income less expenses to cover the repayments.

The thing to be careful of is Buildings insurance as these will ask the question or will have it somewhere in their T&C's that the premium is based on no unspent convictions.  The approach I used was to decline the insurance from the mortgage lender (which is usually sensible anyway from a financial perspective) and then arrange via a specialist insurer from Unlock's list of brokers. Your solicitor will need to see a copy of the policy before completion to be able to tick a box for the mortgage company before releasing funds.

The other option is to use a financial advisor / mortgage broker who you would be prepared to share your conviction information with. They will then use a lender that they know does not ask the question - with a broker the lender also does less due diligence of the borrower as there is an implicit assumption that the broker has done their own KYC/diligence checks on their clients.

Hi

Thank you yes i have proof of income to cover payments, , i did wonder about going to a broker but are they not due bound to tell mortgage companies which then means if refused then you have to tick have you ever been refused a mortgage ?

The only other thing I'm concerned about is when i went to prison i could not pay my mobile bill so with help from Nacro i sent a letter to give permission for my wife to speak with EE to clear the contract but the delay with prison mail and getting the appointment to send letter they sent a debt bill which my wife paid and i was never given a bad mark on my credit score but what it did do was left an address tag on my credit record of HMP ...

Does anyone think this will affect anything ?

Well, I think a broker would only tell the lender if they were totally unable to arrange insurance cover. Meanwhile, you can approach brokers on Unlock's list and make arrangements in principle ready for when you need to start cover, then arrange the mortgage and decline the lender's insurance. They will then only want to see proof of insurance.

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If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)