Mortgages: Thinking of moving house this Spring?

Barry Stamp
03 April 2008

As the weather finally warms up and the clocks go forward, the onset of lighter evenings signals the time of year when many of us think about moving home.

Spring has traditionally been one of the most popular times to move house - although the impact that uncertainty over the current UK housing market has on this trend remains to be seen. House prices fell for the 5th successive month in March, bringing the rate of annual growth down to its lowest rate since 1996. You can easily see recent house price sales and trends for your own area, or for any other postcode, on our Free Postcode Check service.

Fears are also being voiced about the availability of mortgages - especially for first time buyers - with some providers withdrawing products in the wake of the global credit crisis. We don't think that most people need to worry, though. There are still thousands of mortgage products on offer, and if you know where to look, you can still get a very good deal.

If you're thinking of a house move, or a remortgage, we recommend Worldwide Financial Planning - multi-award winning independent financial advisors who remain 100% independent to ensure they search the whole market to find you the right mortgage product. You'll get friendly, honest advice from the company voted Financial Times Adviser UK Mortgage Broker of the Year for 2005, 2006 and 2007.

If you are moving, there are a couple of things you should definitely add to your 'to do' list.

First, remember that when you move, your credit score will temporarily reduce, because the 'stability factors' in most credit scorecards, such as 'time at address' and 'time with bank' will
reduce. So if you are looking for credit, such as a car loan or a new credit card to help tide you over some of the nasties that tend to creep out of the woodwork, you'd do well to apply before you move, while your score remains high. Not only will this increase your chances of being approved, but also more and more lenders are 'pricing for risk', which means they'll charge you more when your credit score drops.

Whilst there is no reason to suspect that the people who move into your old house will be trying to defraud you, having mail redirection in place will ensure that any post from those organisations that you forget to tell about your move will still go to the right address.

Make sure you register on the electoral roll at your new address and update your details with your bank and credit card companies as soon as you can.

Once you've moved and have updated all your details, it's best to check your credit file online to make sure everything is as it should be. You'll be able to see quickly whether any of your lenders still have your old address on file.

If you're renting out a house that you used to live in, you'll be able to include the address in the report - even though you aren't there now - and check that no new accounts have been opened at your old address without your knowledge.

Other than for family members, the financial records relating to previous occupants cannot be linked personally to you once you move into a new property, except for fraud warnings.

Fraud warnings are the only part of a credit file that are based against an address, rather than an individual, and so there is a small chance that when you move house, you may find a fraud warning on your credit file which does not relate to you. This does not affect your credit rating and is there to protect you, though you will find that any applications you make will be subject to additional checks and delays whilst the lender double checks your application.

Finally, if you are at all worried about identity fraud and want a concise, fact packed guide about staying protected, you can order a copy of our publication Identity Theft: prevention and victim assistance for £4.99 including post and packing by clicking here

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