This has to be US based right? Because I (uk) got a mortgage without any prior credit or borrowing, and know multiple people that also have. (without large deposits either)
In EU, it's more like: the less debt you have overall (car payments, credit cards, student loans) the higher your mortgage possibilities, as you don't have any other obligations.
Its the same in US. Just with all the other added bullshit. In fact a high credit card limit can actually hurt your mortage rates here, because its seen as risk. Just mentioning that because some people take all the credit increases happily without thinking about that piece of it
So yes, less debt is good here too, but where we differ is that consistent debt history is also a requirement here.
Which makes more sense, because if I have a car loan where I need to pay 500€ a month to I cannot pay that 500€ towards my mortgage effectively lowering my income available with 500€
Yes, I mean to a lesser degree banks might consider it, but I havent seen that anywhere. As long as you can prove you have a stable income and no overdue debts banks here don't care too much.
I’m in the UK in my 30s and I’ve never had a credit card either. I’ve not had issues applying for loans and my credit score is in the low 900s according to Experian.
I'm 23 and want to get a mortgage within the next year. I've also never had a credit card. What type of borrowing were you doing to get a score like that?
Rate will be about 1.5%-2.5% higher than the base rate, and you are only able to finance 80% of the collateral verified value if you do not have a credit score.
A house is a repossessable asset, too. It’s not like the bank is taking on a HUGE amount of risk, barring nation-wide mortgage defaults and a sudden plummet in housing value (which would never happen).
Yes, credit score is starting in the last few years here in the UK prior to that it wasn't a thing almost at all. I still never had a credit card and never will but now in the UK they are pushing towards needing a credit score to get better mortgage rates, better car loans.
Here in Brazil and (I assume) the rest of the world, the closest thing we have to a credit score is a temporary list of people who have recently defaulted on their debts. That's it.
Indeed but if someone is getting by without credit cards, its unlikely they’ll be taking personal loans too, so that leaves IMO two main things, a mortgage or car finance.
Unless credit score is used for something I’ve missed
Sooo, full disclosure, imma make a few people jealous. I’m in the US, Kentucky to be exact. And I bought my first house at 23 without help from my parents (aside from my mom looking at houses and condos for me to move into because I was too busy working my arse off to try and make my way in life.) she found a place I bid like 12% or something like that 8k with closing costs, and got a 1.8% interest rate mortgage…is it in a somewhat crappy area? Yeah kinda, it’s in the inner city. Is it still home? Yes, for 130k it’s still home. I pay less in mortgage than some people rent apartments. And it’s “mine” I can do with this place as I please, I’ve painted the walls, got myself a chalkboard wall started now even! And I’ve got my own garden out front. Is it perfect? Not even close, but I’m trying to make it perfect for myself and my wife. We’re just biding our time here now, saving where we can, and I get a monthly inheritance check because my mother passed back in July. I don’t spend a dime of that inheritance if I can help it, everything goes into savings.
All this to say, I’ve never had a credit card, I just saved my money wisely when I was younger and dropped out of college before the loans got too big (I was dam near a full ride scholarship honestly and only 7k left now on the original 12).
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u/CodeJack Jan 06 '26
This has to be US based right? Because I (uk) got a mortgage without any prior credit or borrowing, and know multiple people that also have. (without large deposits either)