Am I eligible for a Near Prime mortgage?

16 September 2021

Mortgages

Jonathan Smith
Jonathan Smith
Bald man with beard smiling whilst on the phone and reading a piece of paper displaying his Atom bank mortgage letter

Am I eligible for a Near Prime mortgage?

Securing a mortgage can be challenging — especially if you don’t have a pristine credit history. You may have a deposit ready to go, but lenders can still be cautious about providing a loan to someone that they consider a risky prospect according to their criteria. Even if you’ve improved your record recently, past issues can still trip you up.

As a result, many people turn to solutions outside of mainstream lenders and products to improve their options. This is where applying for a Near Prime mortgage can be useful, as it can provide more flexibility for a lender to offer a loan where others won’t.

In this blog post, we’re going to take a look at who is eligible for a Near Prime mortgage and what they might be able to offer you.

What does Near Prime mean when it comes to mortgages?

Near Prime is a term used to describe borrowers who fall between Prime (those with a strong credit score) and sub-prime (those with a low credit score or limited credit history). When it comes to mortgages, Near Prime products are an emerging market as more lenders identify that there is a need to cater to customers in the middle of the scale.

A Near Prime mortgage is purposefully designed for those with less-than-perfect credit. This means that the lender will consider applications from customers who sit just below the threshold lenders use to identify someone who has a strong credit score. A Near Prime product will typically have some adjustments to account for the additional risk.

Who are Near Prime mortgages suitable for?

If you fall into the Near Prime category, you’ve probably had some financial difficulties in the past. They might have been more serious problems that you’re now recovering from, or they may be some minor issues that have affected your credit recently. Either way, it means that your credit record falls just short of being considered Prime.

There are a few issues that can harm your credit, but some of the most common are county court judgements (CCJs), defaults and missed payments. You can read our blog post on the factors that negatively affect credit for more detailed explanations.

Who is eligible for a Near Prime mortgage at Atom bank?

At Atom bank, our Near Prime mortgages are ideal if you’ve had financial difficulties but are working towards building up your credit record.

We offer both purchase mortgages and remortgages, so we can support you whether you’re buying a property or looking to get a better deal on your current home. They can help you if you’ve had the likes of a CCJ, default or missed payment on your history. And, we don’t currently use a credit score to assess applications.

Below, you can find an in-depth look at what the eligibility criteria are for a Near Prime mortgage at Atom bank.

Eligibility Criteria
CCJs
  • You can apply as long as you don't have any CCJs issued in the last 12 months. We will accept up to a maximum of four CCJs issued over 12 months ago. Any CCJs must be satisfied in full or have a total combined value of £500 or less if unsatisfied.
Defaults
  • You can apply as long as you don’t have more than four defaults, provided they were issued over 12 months ago and three or more have not been issued in the last 24 months. Any defaults must be satisfied in full or have a total combined value of £500 or less if unsatisfied.
  • If you have defaults from over 36 months ago, they’re not counted towards the maximum of four. However, they can’t have a value of over £500 when combined with any other defaults.
Missed payments

You can apply if:

  • You don’t have any current missed payments on an item of credit at the time of decision.
  • You don’t have a missed payment on a loan or credit card in the last six months.
  • You don’t have a missed payment on a mortgage in the last twelve months. You can still apply if you have up to two missed payments between 13–24 months ago.
Other criteria
  • You can apply as long as you don’t have more than one month’s arrears on a loan and more than two months of credit card arrears in the last 12 months.
  • You can apply as long as you’ve not taken out any payday loans within the last 12 months.
  • If you’ve declared bankruptcy or agreed an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) in the past, it must have been six or more years ago.

How do I apply for a Near Prime mortgage with Atom bank?

Does a Near Prime mortgage with Atom sound like it could help you? Then it may be beneficial to speak to one of our brokers to explore your options.

We work exclusively with mortgage brokers to make sure that you can always get helpful advice when you’re looking for a great deal, whether it’s with us or with another lender. Be sure to read our blog post on the benefits of using a broker to find out more.

Even if you think Near Prime isn’t quite the right product for you, it’s worth taking a look at the rest of our range, including our first-time buyer and moving home mortgages, as well as our remortgages and product transfers.