Credit Report online.

A lot of the time, credit reports can be an ideal way for lenders to check the financial integrity of prospective borrowers in recent years. The records of past bank accounts and other commitments can be a good indicator of whether or not they are reliable and trustworthy. However, such checks can be paled into insignificance with first-time buyers, who because of their age may not have enough of a detailed history for credit referencing agencies to provide.

However, lenders appear to be making this a problem for the borrower more than anybody else, in a situation which has now meant that they are effectively unable to emerge on the property ladder. Of course, this results in something of a catch-22 situation – as they need experience on their free credit reports to be viable candidates for loans, but they cannot receive this experience from lenders if they are new.

Some lenders are denying that there is a problem, as they say that statistics show more first-time buyers are saving for deposits to put down on the property that they want to buy. However, experts are saying that this is not enough, because a lack of buyers in the market means that there will not be an incentive for builders to get started in constructing new properties – something which urgently needs to be addressed because of the housing shortages across the country.

So it’s a tale of two stories. There appear to be many different mortgage deals which would be of interest to first-time buyers, with dozens of mortgages which enable consumers to borrow as much as 90% of a property’s value with lower interest rates than have been seen since the beginning of the year. Statistics from Scotland showed an average decrease of interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages by a third of a percentage point.

In contrast to this seemingly accessible market, it seems that declinations from lenders are being made left, right and centre because of seemingly trivial blemishes which can be seen on the credit report of younger borrowers. Now, there are criticisms that these details from credit referencing agencies might just be a ploy by lenders to lower the amount of risk they experience, instead of an informed decision about whether a borrower will be able to pay off a mortgage responsibly through using the information available to them.

Even though not paying towards a financial commitment was previously one of the main concerns for lenders, changes in the market has now meant that late payments can also influence decisions – meaning something as small as a missed credit card bill can alter the ability of a first-time buyer to get a property.

The chief executive of Homes for Scotland had this to say on the matter: “The demand for new homes is there, but what’s changed dramatically is access to mortgage lending and the terms of that lending. None of us would encourage unwise lending, but it has gone completely the other way.”

Dealing with someone who has a gambling addiction can be painful. They have a tendency to withdraw from family and loved ones, so what are you supposed to do when someone you care about has developed a gambling addiction. The temptations of free betting are particularly hard to avoid.

There are several things you will need to do and some of them are very hard to do.

The first thing you have to do is to hide all your valuables, and if this person lives with you, then you need to keep them behind locked doors and if that is not possible then take them to a bank and lock them in a safety deposit box.

If this person is you child or your spouse then you need to limit there access to your money. In many circumstances people have spent their family's savings and kid's college funds. So if at all possible try to get that persons name of the accounts if it is not already too late, and cancel all their credit cards.

At some point you will have to confront them. When you do confront them it is important to not yell and do not get angry just tell them how what they are doing affects you. Make sure that all the persons close friends are there to help with this.

It is important that everyone take turns and tell the person how his gambling has affected their relationships, but in a non angry, caring manner. This will help the person realise that the people that care about him see something that maybe he does not and hopefully will take an honest look at his gambling.

Remember the goal of confronting someone is not to make them stop gambling, it is to help them recognise they have a gambling problem and to encourage them to seek professional help.

Some people recommend that you try to get your friend to go to a gamblers anonymous meeting, but I do not recommend this. Gamblers Anonymous is a great organisation that truly helps those with gambling problems stay away from gambling, but before you are ready for this most people need one on one sessions with a psychologist or a counselor trained to deal with gambling addiction.

After all is said and done, you must be prepared because most of the time the gambler continues to gamble, maybe they will make a brief attempt to stop before starting again in secret.

With most addictions the person with the problem needs to hit what they call a "bottom". This is when the gambler has lost everything that really meant anything to them, such as family and friends, and it is only at this point many will see the problem and seek help. If you know someone who is unwilling to admit their gambling problem I recommend that after you have tried your best to get this person to seek help if they do not, you may have to be prepared to leave them, remember at some point you have to abandon a sinking ship before you go down as well.

To find more information on gambling addiction search gamblers Anonymous and Codependence websites.