Having a flutter might seem like just harmless fun, but placing a bet may spoil your chances of getting a mortgage, an adviser has warned.
Some brokers are warning that gambling transactions can be a red flag for mortgage lenders cautious about who they lend to.
Joe Childes, mortgage adviser at Right Choice Mortgages, has told Sky he recently saw banks turning down applications based on gambling transactions on clients’ bank statements, even if just the odd flutter.
He said the tolerance for gambling transactions seems to vary from lender to lender, adding: “We have seen cases declined where clients have separate accounts for placing bets, but even just those who bet on the football at the weekend.”
Mr Childes added gambling transactions can be questioned by an underwriter or lead to straight declines made with no grounds for appeal in some cases.
The expert said “habitual spending” on betting seemed to raise most concern with lenders, even if having a flutter was affordable for applicants.
He said Right Choice Mortgages has seen applications turned down from clients where betting is a hobby where the amount spent isn’t excessive in relation to their income.
Matt Zarb-Cousin told Sky people should be considering whether they are chasing losses in their gambling or losing interest in other things because they’re thinking about their next flutter.
The co-founder of Gamban, software that blocks gambling, said such behaviour often leads to “significant” loss chasing that is causes “significant” financial difficulty.
He said betting transactions can affect mortgage applications, but lenders’ main concern is that applicants aren’t getting into debt to fund gambling.
Meanwhile, mortgage default rates among households have increased in the past few months – and are expected to rise again in the run-up to Christmas, according to the Bank of England’s Credit Conditions Survey.
The quarterly survey also found demand for mortgages from home buyers and borrowers looking to remortgage is expected to increase in the next few months.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Mortgage default rates are mounting, and we’ve not yet reached the peak. Banks expect them to be up again by the end of the year.
“Given that those on lower incomes don’t tend to have mortgages, it demonstrates that higher mortgage rates are hitting middle earners hard.
“Anyone who has overstretched themselves in the property market, or took on too many fixed costs while mortgage rates were lower, has faced a Herculean task when they remortgaged.”
