Thank you for your replies.

We purchased our credit reports and at first glance I thought they were ok. No CCJ's or anything of that scale. Just have a few defaults on there and a couple of agree to pay arrangements. All the other things like electrol roll are in check too. The only thing I saw which I didn't really understand and to be honest I don't believe is, there's a section that says creditors have said iv defaulted 1300 times which I find unbelievable. Iv missed a couple of payments here and there over the last couple of years but then payed double the month after. I think that has to be incorrect.

I don't know why the score is so low, like I said except from a few defaults I have nothing like CCJ'S. My partner alone earns over 20k p/a.

Also I'm unsure to why you would need a credit check for the rent to buy scheme as your under
No obligation to buy after the 5 years

I agree totally with Huckster.

I am a mortgage broker and on the face of what you have told me I can see that your only mortgage option is likely to be with a bank busting high interest rate provider and more often than not the house buy schemes require the applicants to havr a good credit rating so you would most likely not qualify for the scheme.

As private tenants you would likely be declined by the credit checks so it seems some sort of council housing rental will work out best and as Huckster has said, this will give time for your credit to repair and after minimum of 5 years you would have the option to buy the home you are renting from the council (at significant discount) or if you are able to save (and now would be the ideal time to start if you are stuck for a few years) you could save for the deposit on a house in an area you like and would like your children to live and be proud of.

Council tenancy or private rent would probably be the best idea. There are mortgages available for people with poor credit ratings, but the interest rates are quite high and if they are ever increased, you might get into trouble. Not a great idea, if you have new baby to look after, clothe, feed etc. You could look up independent mortgage brokers in your local Yellow Pages and then book to see them for a quick chat about what might be available at the moment. If there are high interest rate mortgages available, you can then work out whether this is likely to be affordable or not.

If you have any CCJ's on record, you may even have problems with private rentals, as letting agents will make checks.

Would suggest that you book to see your local councils housing people asap, as it may take awhile, for any suitable housing to be found. The government are looking to sell off more council housing at a discount, so if you are placed in council housing that you like and at some point are then in a position to buy, this may become an option for you.

After 6 years of debt being on on your credit record, they should come off automatically. Once they start to drop off your record and you reliably deal with all finances in the next few years, you will start to see your credit rating improve. Where ever, you move to, make sure you are on the electoral register as that will also help.

Hi All. I'm probably going to be answering my own question here but i thought id give it a shot and hope someone had a miracle up there sleeves.

Me and my partner currently living with my parents are in need of finding our own home due to wonderful news that we are going to be parents in 5 months time.

We both have horrible credit reports due to silly mistakes we made almost 3-4 years ago with things such as credit cards, mobile phones, etc etc.... We have checked our credit reports and our ratings are around the 250 point mark (very poor) with a few defaults here and there. All being paid off currently and we are back on track with them now.

Now, i have a feeling our only options are council tenancy or private renting. But i was hoping a government scheme could help us? such as the Rent to Buy scheme where you rent for 5 years before deciding if you want to buy. Or does anyone know of such a company that either rents new build homes? or a company that supplies bad credit mortgages?

- i ask these questions as i myself have grown up on a council estate and whilst i cant speak for all of them within the UK, i aspire for better things for my future family.

Thank you all for your help.