Historical guide: written for the circumstances and rules of March 2025. This article forms part of our backdated information archive; it is not a live product quotation.
A County Court Judgment can make a mortgage application more complicated, but it is not an automatic answer of no. If you are looking for a mortgage with a CCJ in Fareham, Portsmouth or elsewhere in Hampshire, the useful starting point is the judgment itself: when it was registered, how much it was for and whether it has been paid. A headline credit score cannot tell that whole story.
What mortgage lenders want to understand
Lenders look at the age, amount and number of judgments, alongside the rest of your borrowing history. One small, older judgment is a different proposition from several recent judgments with continuing missed payments. They also consider your income, commitments, deposit and the property. A stable financial position since the problem can help explain the picture, but no lender is obliged to overlook a CCJ. Their criteria differ, so an application needs matching to the actual facts rather than a hopeful guess.
Satisfied does not mean erased
A satisfied judgment is one that has been paid. If a CCJ is paid in full within one calendar month, it can usually be removed from the register once the court has the necessary evidence. If you pay after that point, it normally remains on the register for six years, marked satisfied when updated. That distinction matters when you read your report. Keep evidence of the payment and ask the court or credit reference agency about any inaccurate record rather than assuming it will disappear immediately.
How long should you wait before applying?
There is no universal three-year rule, and it would be misleading to promise approval after a particular anniversary. Some lenders want a longer clean period than others; specialist lenders may assess more recent adverse credit, often with different deposit requirements and pricing. The relevant date might be registration, settlement or both, depending on the lender. If you are not in a hurry, waiting and improving the wider record may change your options. Compare that with the practical cost of delaying your move before deciding.
Will a larger deposit solve the problem?
A bigger deposit reduces the loan compared with the property's value, but it does not cancel credit history. For example, a £30,000 deposit on a £200,000 purchase means borrowing £170,000, or 85% loan to value, before any fees added to the loan. That calculation is only an illustration, not a lender offer. The deposit must also come from an acceptable, evidenced source. Avoid taking another loan simply to make the deposit look bigger: that new commitment can reduce affordability and create another underwriting issue.
Get your paperwork together first
Obtain your credit reports and check names, addresses, dates, balances and judgment details. Have the judgment reference, explanation of what happened and payment evidence available, alongside payslips or accounts and bank statements. If a judgment is disputed or you believe it should be set aside, take appropriate legal guidance; a broker cannot remove a valid court record. For an initial enquiry, a summary of dates and amounts is enough. We can explain a suitable way to share supporting documents before you provide sensitive paperwork.
Avoid turning one problem into several applications
Submitting repeated applications without checking criteria can leave a trail of searches and still produce no useful answer. Ask whether an initial lender check is a soft or hard search and what it establishes. An agreement in principle is not a final mortgage offer: the lender still checks documents and the property. A specialist route may cost more overall, so compare fees, the initial rate, early repayment charges and your longer-term plans. Easy Mortgages' specialist broker fee is £895 where that service applies; any applicable fee should be explained before you proceed.
A sensible next step in Hampshire
If a CCJ is making you put off asking, start with the facts rather than assuming the worst. We can talk through the judgment, your deposit and the sort of home you want, then explain whether an application now or more preparation looks worth exploring. Nobody should promise a mortgage before the case has been assessed. A clear explanation of the options, including when waiting may be sensible, is much more useful than another unexplained decline.
Talk it through with Easy Mortgages
If you would like to understand how this relates to your own plans, contact Easy Mortgages for an initial conversation. We can explain the next steps and the information a personalised review would need, without assuming a particular product is right for you.
This is general information, not personal mortgage, insurance, legal or tax advice. Rules, lender criteria and products can change after March 2025. Any recommendation requires an assessment of your circumstances. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or other borrowing secured on it.
Further reading: CCJs and credit records: GOV.UK. Official guidance may subsequently be updated; the explanation above is framed for the archive date.