When you’re considering applying for a mortgage, you might be surprised to find out that gambling habits could be part of the assessment. If you’re a frequent gambler, the lender may be keen to assess the level of risk they would face in offering you a mortgage. This risk boils down to how often you gamble and how much you’re spending on betting as a proportion of your monthly budget.
It’s still possible to find a mortgage if you’re a recreational or professional gambler. In this article, we’ll consider how gambling might affect a mortgage application, when gambling might be considered excessive and what the best approach might be if you earn income from gambling.
How Can Gambling Affect a Mortgage Application in the UK?
As a standard part of the mortgage application process, your mortgage adviser will conduct an affordability assessment of your finances. This is to evaluate your commitments and whether you can cover the projected monthly payments. Mortgage advisers and lenders need to assess your income and your outgoings and will likely conduct a credit check with a reference agency to see if you have any bad credit or missed payments.
For income, they’ll want to see proof of your employment and salary, as well as any other income you may have – such as dividends from investments or rent. This could also include income from gambling. For outgoings, the adviser will want to examine your full list of expenses including rent, utilities, household expenses, and car finance. The credit check will be conducted through an agency like Experian, so it makes sense to check your credit score for an overall idea of your credit record before you make a mortgage application.
If you have a history of gambling, you may find that it can have a significant impact on your mortgage application. However this does vary from lender to lender. Many lenders generally don’t take a harsh view on occasional gambling for small amounts, whereas others may reject your application outright even if you only gamble from time to time, let alone if you’rea losing large sums of money on bets more regularly and it’s affecting other areas of your life – e.g. your bills or mortgage payments. Fortunately, we know which lenders tend to be more amenable and can help make sure you get the best chance of securing a mortgage.
