How much you can borrow depends on:

• Your income, outgoings and any expected changes to these.
• Your credit history.
• Whether you’re able or prepared to make changes to your lifestyle that may reduce your other outgoings.
• How much deposit you can afford.

You should find out how much you can borrow before making an offer on a property. Some lenders will work out how much they’ll lend you before you find a property – this is called an approval in principle. This will help you know the maximum offer you can make on a property and will also speed up the mortgage process.

Lenders usually base their calculations on your guaranteed earnings such as basic pay, but most will also consider some or all of any regular overtime or bonuses. They’ll usually want to see proof of your income.

Consolidating debts – If you have existing debts, it may be possible for you to add these to your mortgage rather than continue with your existing repayment arrangements. This is not suitable for everyone and you’ll need to carefully consider this with your adviser. When you add loans to your mortgage, it is important that you understand the risks:

• Adding short term loans to your mortgage means that you will repay them over a longer term. This is because unsecured loans are generally paid back over a shorter term than mortgage loans. So, whilst the interest rate on your mortgage may be lower than you currently pay on your loans, by adding them to your mortgage you’re likely to pay more overall.
• Your existing debts might not be secured on your property. By adding them to your mortgage they become secured on your property.

Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Further advances – If you need to borrow more money in the future it may be possible to do this by way of a further advance. Talk to our adviser for more information.

We do not charge for our advice. Instead, we simply charge a fee for processing your application. Our typical fee is £299, however the actual fee will depend on your circumstances.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Lists of links to other pages

• The Cost of Buying your Home

  Just what costs are involved when moving home?

  

• What is a Mortgage

  Put simply, a mortgage is just a loan but with a key difference that it’s secured against your home. This means that if you don’t keep up your mortgage payments, your lender may be able to sell your home to recover the money you owe.

  

• A Guide to Mortgage Types

  We understand that buying a home is a big step and one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make in your life, and can seem a daunting and complicated process. Through this online guide, we hope we can help you find your way through the maze.

  

• Ways to Repay Your Mortgage

  There are two basic styles of mortgage – ‘Repayment’ and ‘Interest Only’.