• A mortgage is a loan you take out with a lender for a number of years
• The length of time over which you have a mortgage is called your “mortgage term”
• Mortgage terms can be anywhere between 5 and 40 years
• A mortgage is a type of secured loan, which means it’s secured against a property – usually the property you want to buy with the mortgage
• Using a property as security for a loan means that the lender can repossess it if you don’t keep up the mortgage payments
• To take out mortgage, you must put down a mortgage deposit of at least 5% of the purchase price – the mortgage itself makes up the rest

• When you take out a mortgage, you’re given an introductory interest rate for the first few years – typically between 2 – 5 years

• A popular kind of interest rate for first-time buyer mortgages is a fixed rate, which is where interest is charged at a set rate for a certain period.  Fixed rates are particularly good for those who like to budget
• After the introductory period ends, you’re transferred onto your lender’s SVR (standard variable rate), which is the interest rate they set themselves.
• This is typically higher than the introductory rate, so you would often remortgage onto a new product with a new lender when your introductory deal ends or take a new product with your existing lender

• You pay back your mortgage with interest
• There are 2 main types of mortgage which determine how you pay the lender – repayment and interest-only:
  • With a repayment mortgage, you pay back a bit of the outstanding mortgage balance – i.e. the amount you borrowed –  each month alongside interest payments
  • With an interest-only mortgage, you only make interest payments each month and repay the full mortgage at the end of the mortgage term

You can either arrange a phone appointment, a zoom call or a face-to-face meeting with us (in our socially distanced outdoor meeting space).  We will ask you some questions to determine your feasibility and affordability, before doing some research to find the best deal for you now and in the future.   (We’ll arrange a follow up thereafter.)

Once you’re happy with your advisor’s recommendation, we’ll go to work securing your Decision in Principle.  This is basically a pledge from the lender that they’ll borrow you money you need to purchase the property provided that the information you’ve provided is accurate (and subject to a valuation of the property)

After you’ve got your ‘Decision in Principle’, you’ll be in an excellent position to make an offer on a property you like because as you can show a seller you can afford the purchase and are serious about buying.  (This is the fun part)

After a seller accepts your offer, we’ll ask you to gather up all the documents we will need to send to the lender. We’ll check over everything and be in contact with both you and the lender throughout until we have everything we need firmly in place. Once we’re happy, we’ll submit the final mortgage application for you.

The lender will verify that the information you’ve provided is correct and assess all your documents for themselves. They’ll also ask for a property valuation to make sure the property hasn’t got any significant issues and is inline with the purchase price.

If your lender is happy with everything, they’ll send you your mortgage offer.

When you’ve accepted a mortgage offer, you’ll go through a legal process referred to as conveyancing. This involves solicitors drawing up contracts and handling the actual purchase of a property. You’ll also need to arrange buildings insurance before progressing to exchange & completion.

Once everything is in order, your solicitor will exchange contracts with the seller’s solicitor. You’ll be asked to pay your deposit, at which point you are legally bound to purchase the property. (You’ll forfeit the deposit if you pull out after exchange.) The property purchase completes when money is transferred on an agreed-upon date.

It’ll be a lot harder to get a mortgage as a first-time buyer with no credit or a bad credit history unless you have a large deposit. There are ways you can improve your credit score and overall profile though.

• Pay all bills on time – the lender needs to make sure you’re going to make your mortgage repayments and a history of late or missed bill payments indicates unreliability
• Put all credit commitments onto direct debt as opposed to ad hoc payments – a history of direct debits that were taken on time highlights financial stability
• Don’t use all available credit – i.e. don’t max out your credit cards as this suggests you push your finances to the limit
• Register on the electoral roll – sometimes called the “voters roll”. Try to be registered on the electoral roll for at least 3 years before you apply for a mortgage as this makes it easier for lenders to trace your recent address history
• Don’t use payday loans – the need to take out a payday loan indicates financial instability
• Always pay rent on time – if you miss rent payments, you risk your landlord taking out a CCJ (county court judgement) which greatly reduces your chances of having a mortgage application approved

There are no 100% mortgage products on the market anymore. You’ll typically need somewhere between 10% and 20% of the value of a property to purchase it. There are some 95% mortgage products that surface on the market (meaning you only need a 5% deposit), but they are not consistently available.  Speak to us to assess your affordability.

You can only legally rent a property to which the mortgage product allows letting out of the property.  Normal mortgages are designed for the person who intends to live in the house.  We will need what’s known as a ‘Buy-To-Let’ mortgage, which we can help secure for you and guide you through,

If you move home you’ll have new home insurance requirements. We can help you find the most suitable deal for your new home and can also help you organise life insurance and other types of protection.

There are several upfront costs in involved in buying a house that you should be aware of.  These include:

• Your deposit (Typically 10-20% of the property value)
• Valuation fee (£150 to £1,500 depending on property value)
• Surveyors Fee (£200-£600)
• Legal Fees (£850-£1,500 inc VAT)
• Estate Agent Fees (only paid by the seller, at around 1-3%)
• Moving/Removal Costs  (or you can rent a van yourself!)

Yes!  There are several later life lending options.   Speak to us and we’ll advise you what the criteria are and if you qualify

There are a few different factors that determine which mortgage term you should choose.

These include:

• Why you’re moving
• How long you plan to live in the property
• What you can afford in monthly repayments
• The amount you want to borrow
• When you are looking to retire
• Any expected future financial changes

We’ll guide you through the options and find you the mortgage that best suits you.

On a fixed rate mortgage the interest rate you pay will stay the same throughout the length of the deal no matter what happens to interest rates.

A variable interest rate is an interest rate on a loan or security that fluctuates over time because it is based on an underlying banking interest rate that changes periodically.  With variable rate mortgages, the interest rate can change at any time.