two weeks to settlement - freaking out

Has your partner now signed up to get the same alerts on their credit file? It's something everyone should do in my opinion.
How large was the unpaid bill? The $ amount can be a determining factor in how lenders look at it, eg a $180 default is less detrimental than a $1000 default.
Macquarie Bank have some very quick turnaround times at the moment, but they're not so great with defaults/poor credit scores.

 

None of this seems have been done with any planning.

Credit cards are bad if you cant control spending, or it will lower your borrowing capacity. With a high income you probably didnt need to do that at all. Or just switch to a debit card.

going to a low limit card and then keep spending over leading to declined transactions is crazy. You know how much you spend a month.

finance rules might not always make sense, but you dont get to ignore them unless you dont need loans.

 

If there are declined transactions this could prevent you getting finance

 

Opp won't be able to refinance just yet - as they are paying LMI.

 

really??? So I should have kept a high-limit credit card??? This is nonsensical...It's this type of nonsense that makes me hold bank underwriters with such contempt. That card is literally my "splurge" bucket, ie non-essential whims.

Why don't they instead consider that I put 6k a month away in savings, plus pay a rent of 2.5k on the dot every month...just ridiculous..

 

Yes really.

 

So, the assessment system penalises people that take positive steps to keep their discretionary spending low, yet doesn't take into account all the bills and rent paid on time, and all the monthly savings put away? W..T..F??

I'd have happily torn up my CC, but hotels and car rentals do still require it.

 

Not to mention, I was a former client of StG for seven years. Had savings, transaction accounts, credit cards, trading account. Paid everything on time.

 

declined transactions indicate you cannot meet your financial commitments. If a lender lends you money there may be a higher chance than normal chance of declined transactions there too.

It is irrelevant that you were a former client or XX and all paid on time - this would not even come into consideration. All the lenders will look at is the last month or so of savings and credit transactions.

It is their money and if you want to borrow it you need to meet the lender's requirements.

 

declined transactions is completely different to paying off the card on time, dontcha think? but logic doesn't seem to be a factor here. the royal commission did nothing to this rotten industry. They should be looking at my rent payments. And closed off other loans.

There isn't a big 4 bank I've consulted for that wasn't completely bogged down in inane bureaucracy.

 

C'mon now, you're using logic, lending policy's/requirement aren't based on logic, we're dealing with BANKS remember ??
I can understand the perplexed reaction to some of the lender comments/requirement but it is the new normal when applying for a home loan these days

 

Yes they are completely different.

But what does a declined transaction mean to you? To me it means that the client tried to pay for something that they didn't have the funds for. I could be wrong though.

 

You're forgetting the golden rule mate. They hold the gold. If you don't like their assessment policies don't borrow. Harsh I know and I do tend to agree they are ****ing stupid sometimes.

I would also say that the barefoot investor can make borrowing more difficult . You are not the first person I have see with this issue. Sending money from account to account here and there and everywhere ending up overdrawn / over limits etc.

 

Should be called Barefoot Budgeter at best....

 

Hold on to that outrage and dont knuckle down to the system. Buy that property with cash!

debit card would have worked here. Or better monitoring? Check card balances every week? Or just overpay it by 5k to start with?

 

Something does not add up in the story, IMHO.

Someone on a 250K+ income + spouse income (50K) = 300K+ household income
Worst case scenario you are drawing: $15K per month (nett after tax, etc)

Saving: 6K
Rent: 2.5K
---------------
Total: 8.5K

So your monthly living expense = 6.5K!

I dont think Barefoot will be proud of this client.

 

You do know that you can put extra money on the credit card? It can be in surplus. If your budgeting indicates you spend $6k per month and you've got a $1.5k limit card, then make sure that it's showing +$5k at the beginning of each month.

The argument that your card limits are now too low for your lifestyle are irrelevant. Declined transactions are easy to avoid if you manage your money well.

 

Not that hard to do, particularly with a couple of kids.