Gambling & Mortgage application?

Hi CM,

I'm very interested with what people would say about this post ! My last gambling binge was 9 weeks ago , my wife and I are also planning to get a mortgage end of this year/ first quarter of next year . We have no loans , credits or anything like that but i managed to blow 4k of our savings on my last binge! We have now £75k in savings and i’m also worried that in 6 months time they may call me out on spending £4k gambling online !

Any advice would be great ! 

Neversurrender

Hi, 

Its just an awful addiction that grabs hold of me every 3 or 4 months. I start off saying to myself I cant lose £40/50 and it then always ends up with me losing £300/£400 before I actually stop! I then stop and then 3 or 4 months later I give in again, its like that on repeat with me. 

I don’t spend much, i dont smoke , i dont go out drinking that often so its not the end of the world just not ideal now when planning on buying our first home within the next 6-12 months! 

I have to stop now as I dont want to be the one stopping us from getting a mortgage. 

I have read that some lenders dont require bank statements so will look into that but even still I want to stop and have clean statements going into applying. 

Hi CM3003/Neversurrender

Typically lenders will ask for your last three months statements although some only want to see 60 days and others upto 6 months. 

This is not specifically directed as either of you because I do not know your individual circumstances but I would suggest anyone who even thinks they might have a gambling problem should think seriously about how under control they really believe their gambling is and discuss it with their partners. Taking out a mortgage together is a huge joint financial commitment and our partners are tying themselves financially very tightly to  someone who may have a pre-existing gambling problem. I would be a bit annoyed to say the least if I took out a mortgage with someone who then turned out to have an existing gambling problem and did not tell me so I could at least judge the risk and put suitable measures in place.    

Take care

Muststop123

Hi guys,

Hopefully someone from Gamcare will see your postings and be able to give you a definitive answer. The only assistance I can give is to confirm that when we applied for our mortgage in 2012 our mortgage supplier did require 3 months of bank statements. Whether this still stands in 2020 I'm afraid I don't know.

I'm pretty sure it's 3 months.   I had 4 fairly chunky transactions next to each other on my account and my bank refused a loan and specifically called this out as the main reason. 

Hi all, 

My girlfriend is aware of my problem, have been together almost 5 years now and this happens i would say 2 or 3 times a year. 

I am fine for 4 or 5 months and then bang I go on a losing run and cant control it. I have been keeping a record and since the new year I am down £800 now, not the end of the world but it is the amount of time i waste on gambling that effects me the most, the weekend just gone gambling took over most of it. 

We have £55,000 saved for a deposit and I have never gambled with any of my savings. We are talking about getting a joint account soon which I feel will help me control it, I cant be gambling a lot if she also has access to the same account as me. 

I left it six months when I got mine then applied and if was fine back in 2015.

I work in the property sector. Most lenders require 3 months pay slips as standard. Best wait 3 months until your account is free of the gambling transactions. Payday loans are also a big no no, especially within 12 months of the application and even old payday loans can severely impact an application as the use of such loans implies that you cannot manage your finances. Best instruct a reputable mortgage broker who can advise you of individual lender requirements and may have have helpful BDMs who they can put your case to. Good luck.

Hi CM

You have to be very careful when thinking that its "only" a certain number of times a year or a binge. Binge gambling is just as dangerous and there is no control during that or any session

That is the body  and mind trying to do a damage limitation exercise but the truth is you dropped that money down a grid and don't feel happy about chucking it away. If I took that money from you in the street your girlfriend wouldn,t hear the last of it

Binge gambling gets so chaotic and random. I used to kid myself because i walked away after a certain amount one time but the next time I gambled everything in my bank account and credit card.

I spent decades thinking its not the end of the world but the truth is I didnt have that sort of money to throw away and I was doing without things that would have been nice to own.

The problem is that the addiction can only progress and it also gets triggered by stress and depression. Bad news would set me off on a major session and I was also very depressed and lonely which was festering away without me realising how ill it was making me.

The addiction is fighting you as a mind control illness. Its telling you that you dont drink and smoke so you write that down. However you have lost a lot of money in anyones book and thats the problem in that we look at these sums of money and consider it acceptable because we want to stay in a comfort zone.

The truth is we want to stay in that "comfort" zone because we want to gamble again.

You have to give the addiction something to fear. Tell your girlfriend what you have been up to and you both know whats needed she will keep an eye on those savings and all your money. It actually needs to be under her control which may scare you but you have been binge gambling with no control over your own mind.

That money gambled away is a lot to you. A pound is a pound and you are chucking it away on those odds.

Food for thought. Thinking you can handle those losses is dangerous. If your girlfriend is aware, why may I ask is she allowing gambling and losses like that?

Ive got to be tough to be kind here. Its a nasty insidious addiction which weedles its way into your bones. You need to abstain with a full recovery or its got bigger losses and horrors in store for you.

Best wishes from everyone on the forum

Hi all, 

I have been speaking with my girlfriend about it in more detail tonight. She has started talking more about mortgages this last week and she could tell something was up with me. 

She knows I have been gambling a lot recently but she didnt realise it was £300 in less than 2 weeks.

Unfortunately I have suffered with depression a lot over the last few years and I know its not an excuse more of a reason as to why i gamble. I have worked every day throughout this pandemic too the last 3 months and am getting tired, havent spent a penny on anything so have just felt like its not the end of the world losing a bit gambling, its just turned into a lot more than I hoped I would lose now. 

I have cancelled my Monzo account which was the account I was doing all my gambling on and now want to keep my main account clean so should be easier to not give in now. 

it really all depends on your finances if you have a good wack in the bank and can show you are able to make the repayments the lender wont really care what the transactions are 

if you are living on the breadline and have credit cards / loans comming out of your ears they are far more likely to start looking into the transactions 

Hi all,

nice responses by everyone , i’m feeling a lot more positive that we will get our mortgage having £75k in the bank and no loans or paydays stuff or credit cards delayed payment. Like what ive said i only had 2 binge in 2 years one was last year £2k ( but i brokeven) then this year £4k down 64 days ago ! I am not going back there . One day at a time , when i get to 180 days ( 6 months ) we will start looking for a mortgage hopefully our saving would be at least between £80-82k.

 Wife and I are both full time and works for the NHS ( both frontliners )

Neversurrender

Hello all

At GamCare, we don't give financial advice. While it's great that some people on the forum are posting views based on their personal experience, remember that it is not a substitute for formal financial advice. You might want to consult reputable sources of financial information such as the Money Advice Service website to begin with.

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en

Best wishes,

Deirdre
Forum Admin