u/Important_Camera_123

Hi all,
Looking for some opinions from people familiar with UK mortgage underwriting.
My partner and I are buying a property with a 95% LTV mortgage and there is no chain.

Our situation:
- Joint mortgage application.
- Both of us have self-employed income.
- My partner has been self-employed for several years, mainly doing tiling work.
- She has recently moved into a permanent employed role with a company in the same industry, starting this month.
- Our broker initially tried Leeds and we received a credit-scoring decline.
- A second lender virgin money also failed their soft credit scoring.
- The broker then ran a soft search with NatWest, and we were told that we passed their credit scoring.
- The full application has now been submitted to NatWest.
- NatWest has come back asking for some additional information about my partner’s previous employment/self-employment and a P45. We’ve provided the requested information and are now waiting for them to come back.
- Our credit isn’t perfect, but there are no CCJs, defaults or bankruptcies. We’ve also reduced our credit card balances since the earlier applications.
- The deposit is partly coming from a Lifetime ISA and the full amount will be available when required.

Our broker has remained fairly positive and specifically said NatWest is more accommodating on credit than the previous lenders.

So I’m wondering how people would view our position at this stage.

Does passing NatWest’s initial credit scoring materially improve our chances, or can the full underwriting still quite easily result in a decline?

And does the fact that my partner’s new employed role is in the same industry as her previous self-employed work help from an underwriting perspective?

I’m mainly trying to understand whether we’re now at the relatively normal underwriting/document-check stage, or whether there are still major hurdles that could realistically cause the application to fail.

Would really appreciate opinions from brokers or anyone who’s been through a similar situation.

It’ll be my 1 year anniversary of starting this drug next month. And I cannot tell you all enough how different I feel a year later. I gave suffered with anxiety my whole life I’m 29m and I just thought it was normal. But over the last year before hand I developed what was clearly OCD now pure O. My brain was horrible to me. I remember physically throwing myself on my bed shouting at my mind to stop torturing myself. I started sertraline/zoloft 50mg and the first few weeks were hell. It gradually went up and down for a few months. I felt better for sure but not hardly enough to be honest. I was reading this Reddit forum everyday all day to try and compare and find hope. Seeking reassurance that my experience was normal and I would feel better soon. Fast forward maybe 6 months ish, I was feeling better but would still get the same ocd thoughts and horrible feelings about myself, although less, still a struggle. But the drug had helped just not enough. So I upped to 100mg with the doctor. WOW a few weeks/months passed. Now I think finally after 3/4 months at 100mg I just have this inner peace, and it’s consistently good now sure my anxiety is there in the background but it doesn’t feel like anxiety anymore I just don’t care about those negative things anymore. I feel light I’m chilled. I feel like what most people might consider normal. So nearly a year later after starting this drug I am so much happier. I’m glad I did it. I just wish u had not been afraid to increase it sooner. I feel like there is a stigma to an increase in dose, but we all metabolise medication differently. Anyway that’s my shpeel.

Had sex yesterday. Came with like 5/10 minutes. Today it was ages and I just couldn’t cum. Tried everything. Wife is now upset. Been on 100mg for about 6 months is it? I lose count. Sometimes it’s easy sometimes it’s hard. This weather being super hot has made it difficult too. Any advice? This Wellbutrin thing isn’t really an option in the uk

Guys honest update I don’t know what going on. I have been feeling so great on 100. But my anxiety and ocd thinking has come back with a vengeance these past few days. I’ve got some personal stress going on that I think may have triggered this. But I’m back to feeling like a weakling again after being so good for so long. And it’s frustrating because it’s not like I can blame it on adjusting to sertraline anymore because I’ve been on 100mg for over 3 months. I’ve cut out alcohol again. I guess I’m just hoping for some reassurance or wise words or something I dunno really. Feeling a bit down about it

Wow I feel so different. There is no edge at all. I get some anxious thoughts every now and then but I know after 10 minutes it’ll just go. This is amazing these spirals used to last weeks and months. Thank you sertraline!

Guys I think it’s time for me to delete this app. I had suffered with OCD guilt anxiety rumination. After a while on Zoloft/sertraline it works great for me at 100mg. I think my biggest triggers if at all are from other subreddits here. I love this community and find it helpful. But I can’t seem to stop looking at other triggering content on here. So think I will try and delete and see how it goes. Feeling great on Zoloft. If you’re in the pits keep going! If you’re feeling better but not good enough don’t be afraid to increase it’ll be okay

I wanted to share this because a few months ago I genuinely thought I’d never feel normal again.

Before sertraline my anxiety was intense. Constant rumination, obsessive guilt, scrupulosity, reassurance seeking, overthinking everything, waking up anxious, feeling sick in my stomach, constantly questioning myself morally and feeling like I had done something terrible. My brain just never switched off.

I started sertraline around 6 months ago. Started at 25 mg, then 50 mg. I stayed on 50 for about 6 months and it definitely helped a lot. Life became manageable again and I stopped spiralling as badly, but deep down I still felt like I wasn’t 100%. I still had background anxiety and that constant “on edge” feeling.

If you’re at that stage where you’re thinking:
“I’m better… but I still feel like I could be better”
don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about increasing.

I slowly worked up to 75 mg and then finally moved to 100 mg on March 14th.

The adjustment phases were messy at times. Some anxiety spikes, feeling weirdly on edge, ups and downs, wondering if it would ever fully settle.

But it’s now May 6th, around 7 and a half weeks on 100 mg, and honestly I feel really, really good. My anxiety is basically gone most days. Not numb. Not fake happy. Just calm and normal again. My mind feels quiet. The thoughts still occasionally pop up, but they don’t grip me anymore and I move on quickly.

I also don’t really have side effects anymore. My body seems fully adjusted now.

I know when I was struggling I searched Reddit constantly looking for positive stories, so I wanted to post one.

For me personally, things absolutely continued improving after weeks 4 to 6 on 100 mg. I genuinely feel like myself again.

29M for context.