Old financial sins may not cost you a mortgage - Mortgages, Money - The Independent

Old financial sins may not cost you a mortgage - Mortgages, Money - The Independent

Keeping track of your finances is a balancing act at the best of times, but, when unexpected events such as death, divorce or redundancy strike, things can get out of hand faster than you'd think.

A late credit-card payment, a temporarily missed gas bill or a phone bill settled a week later than usual might seem like trifles, but in a post- credit-crunch world, they could be the death knell if you're trying to get a mortgage. Britain's biggest high-street banks are short of cash to lend and they're cherry-picking the very best customers for a loan. But where does that leave the rest of us?