Get in touch with us as early as possible in the process. We will tell you what size deposit you will need, how much you can borrow and give you an idea how much it will cost you each month. How much it will cost each month will depend on the interest rate and the length of the mortgage, we will advise you on the best option for your budget and circumstances. We will also outline the whole buying process and the next steps for you to take.

If you are happy with our mortgage recommendation and wish to proceed we will go ahead and secure a Decision in Principle with our chosen lender. The Decision in Principle means the lender will agree to lend you the money you need to buy your home, subject to the information provided being correct and a valuation of the property you intend to buy. Once you have your Decision in Principle you can go ahead and place an offer on your chosen home.

Now that you have your Decision in Principle in place you can go ahead and make an offer on your potential future home. Having a Decision in Principle in place puts you in a strong position and it is attractive to a vendor as they will know that you are a serious buyer and are in a position to proceed.

Great news your offer has been accepted by the vendor. At this point  the estate agent selling the property may ask to see your Decision in Principle and proof of deposit. You will also need to let us know the good news so we can go ahead and submit your application to the lender.

It is now also time to have a solicitor / conveyancer in place, that will act on your behalf to purchase the property. If you need help with this we can introduce you to an expert in this area that is highly recommended.

Now that your offer has been accepted it’s time for us to submit your mortgage application to the lender. We will need some documentation from you so we can submit certified copies to the lender to support your application.

The lender will then check your application and supporting documentation, verifying that all the information submitted is correct.

The lender will then instruct a valuation of the property for mortgage purposes. This is normally a basic valuation that will check that there are no significant problems with the property and that it is suitable for mortgage purposes and the mortgage amount proposed.

Once the lender has received a satisfactory valuation report and is happy with the verification checks they have undertaken, it is now time to proceed to mortgage offer. The lender will now send you a mortgage offer, they will will also send a copy to your solicitor and send us a copy also.

Following acceptance of your mortgage offer, you are nearly there. It is now down to your solicitor / conveyancer to carry out the legal purchase of your property. They will likely have already completed searches to check that there are no complications with the property. Your solicitor / conveyancer will draft the contracts required to purchase your property and liase with the vendors solicitor to set a date for exchange of contracts. 

It’s important to remember that you will need to have buildings insurance in place for exchange of contracts. We can help arrange this for you, making sure you have a policy in place to protect your new home.

Your solicitor / conveyancer will have all the contractual documentation drafted ready to exchange contracts with the vendors solicitor. Your solicitor will request your deposit from you and once exchange has taken place you are legally obliged to buy the property. Your solicitor will liase with you and the solicitor of the vendor to arrange a date for completion. On this date the money is transferred between the parties and you will receive the keys to your new home.

A mortgage is a type of loan that is secured against a property. If you are unable to keep up with mortgage repayments then the lender can repossess the property to repay the loan.

You will need to provide a deposit of at least 5%, which would be £5,000 on a property purchased for £100,000. The mortgage  lender will provide the balance needed to complete the purchase.

A mortgage term can be anywhere between 5 and 40 years. The Mortgage term that is most suitable is based on your individual circumstances, taking into account factors such as age and affordability. A shorter mortgage term could mean higher monthly repayments but less total interest paid over the life of the mortgage. A longer mortgage term could mean the opposite, lower monthly payments but more interest paid over the lifetime of the mortgage. 

A fixed rate mortgage is a type of mortgage where the interest rate remains the same for the agreed duration of the fixed rate. This means your monthly repayments will stay the same each month until the fixed rate comes to an end. Common fixed rate terms are 2, 3 and 5 years. Once a fixed rate agreement comes to an end your mortgage will revert to the lenders standard variable rate. We will contact you when your rate is coming to an end and look at the best options available to you, which could be a new fixed rate or whatever best suits your needs at the time.

The lenders Standard Variable Rate (SVR) is the rate a mortgage reverts to at the end of an introductory rate. This is usually higher than the introductory rate that you had previously. The SVR is a variable rate that can rise or fall, usually at the lenders discretion, in line with the Bank of England base rate. When your introductory rate is coming to an end, we will contact you for a mortgage review and look at the best rates available to you at that time.