Getting on the property ladder is a dream for so many of us. As a self-employed athlete, when your time and your focus is so often elsewhere, it can be difficult to put the required time and effort into the project. Add to that the lack of regular income of salaried employment and finding a mortgage as a sports professional can be more difficult than for the public at large.

That’s why we’ve invited double Olympic medal-winner and Taekwondo star, Lutalo Muhammad, alongside mortgage broker, Faye Richards – who specialises in mortgages for sports professionals – to join Sporting Champions Ambassador and athletics legend, Colin Jackson to discuss this important topic.

Throughout the video, the trio will be talking about what it is you can do to make yourself more attractive to lenders and how to keep yourself financially stable throughout your career. Planning for the future is vital, including getting all your accounting in order as soon as your career begins. It may all seem a long way off, but the more paperwork you have, the better prospect you will seem to a lender.

If you want to get on the property ladder, it’s also really important to get your credit score as good as it can be. This is one of the most important parts of making yourself attractive to a lender. Here are a few tips on how you might be able to improve yours:

• Check your credit file and ensure all information is accurate and correct i.e. name, address history, accounts 
• Register on electoral roll
• Having some credit helps build a credit track record. For example, using a credit card monthly for general expenditure and clearing in full shows you can be responsible with credit
• Don’t miss any payments on any credit agreements, this includes mobile phones, utilities, insurance – even paying one day late can affect your credit profile
• Don’t go over any agreed credit limits – this applies to overdrafts, credit cards, store cards

Lutalo, Faye and Colin discuss so much around how to get on the property ladder as an athlete that we won’t go into it all here. Simply watch the video, enjoy and we hope you learn something!