We hunt out the extremely limited sub-prime mortgage options available

The sub-prime mortgage meltdown has been well documented and the UK market has been all but obliterated in the last two years. Many sub-prime lenders simply shut up shop, with others stopping all new lending and existing with a skeleton staff servicing existing clients.
Back in 2007 the sector was thriving with dozens of lenders distributing a vast range of products to borrowers with pretty much any level of bad credit history.
Undischarged bankruptcy? No problem.
Unlimited County Court Judgments (CCJs)? Step right up.
Massive mortgage arrears? We've got just the deal for you.
After all, with house prices booming the lender always had the secured property to fall back on, didn't they?
And rates were keen as mustard, with many bad credit borrowers paying very little more than mainstream mortgagors. It could be argued that the cheap deals on offer gave little incentive to clean up your credit history and get back on track, since there was always another deal to switch to at the end of your current one - whatever your financial problems!
That's not the case anymore though.
Few and far between
If you have a bad credit history, mild or serious, you will struggle to find a deal in the current market - especially if you try to go it alone.
But there are still some sub-prime mortgages available if you go through the right channels, albeit limited to borrowers with very mild credit problems. They are all available though mortgage brokers only, meaning you cannot access these products yourself via phone, online or in a branch. Indeed the lenders operating in the sub-prime market don't have branches.
Who is lending and what's on offer?
Platform Home Loans is part of Britannia Building Society and therefore now part of Cooperative Financial Services.
It is now only offering products to those with the mildest of credit problems in its 'Almost Prime' range. The broker-only lender will accept CCJs per applicant up to £500 providing none are in the last three months and a bankruptcy or IVA discharged or completed at least four years ago. However, it won't accept borrowers currently in mortgage arrears.


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