The sub prime problem that seems to have started in the United States is affecting people here. Why? Because the lenders are nervous. They now want more security, more interest, more guarantee that they won’t lose money.
A sub prime borrower is someone who is not so good a risk as a prime customer. Perhaps they have a history of credit problems, or have a lot of existing credit or don’t earn quite enough. Whatever it is the banks are now turning people down or increasing the interest rate.

Any applications for credit now need to be as accurate as possible. Declare your real income, make sure that you understand all of your outgoings, be sure that the property (if appropriate) is not overpriced. Even though you might not get the credit or end up with a higher rate than you envisaged, it is far better that this happens than you get a loan and cannot keep up the repayments.

Please don’t let salespeople encourage you to take on credit that you cannot support. If they try to get you to inflate your income or suppress current outgoings and existing credit, then dump the saleperson. They are only thinking of their profit and do not care what happens to you!