Our son has 3 houses that he rents out, most recent tenants are from South Africa, they were unable to meet the credit checks, due to failing the credit reference agency checks. They paid 6 months rent up front and so far have been good tenants, apart from sneaking in a dog after the agreement was done, but then that is covered by them taking extra insurance to cover any damage done by the dog. In the case of getting a mortgage in my experience there is always somebody out there who will advance the money however there will be a premium to pay. Suggest that Buckman's family start looking for a mortgage specialist out side the mainstream providers now. Find somebody you are comfortable with and whatever you do tell the truth and give them the whole picture, they make their money from lending , so they will want to do a deal, it may be that the interest rate will be higher, but the secret is to get that first mortgage, and get on the ladder, then maybe 3 years down the line, when they have a UK credit history, renegotiate the deal. Just make sure you are not locked in to expensive penalty clauses for settling early. On the issue of Credit Agencies our son has the houses all mortgage free, has always paid cash for his cars, holidays etc, is in a well paid job, his only credit has been his mobile phone, so when he went to buy furniture the sales person offered him interest free credit which he didn't want, but suspect there was an earner in it for the sales person, he failed the credit check, because he hadn't got a credit history.