FAQS

Mortgage lenders calculate your maximum loan amount available based on the risk that they believe they are taking. Each lender can differ greatly on the size of the loan that they are prepared to lend to applicants and take many factors into consideration. Age, income amount, income type, term of the mortgage, property type, credit status and history, existing credit commitments, dependents, and the size of the deposit available all contribute to a lender’s decision of the maximum loan amount available. This being so complex is one reason why taking advice is crucial. We assess and establish your mortgage affordability for you, we then advise of the most suitable lender and product.

With so many things to consider, buying a home for the first time can appear daunting. We will fully explain all that is involved from establishing how much you can afford to borrow, applying and managing your mortgage application with the lender, the likely costs involved and the process of how it all happens. In addition to advising and arranging your mortgage, we can assist with other services that you are likely to require, these include conveyancing to complete the legal work on your behalf, surveyors to assess your proposed property purchase and ensuring your property is fully insured upon exchange of contracts.

As we previously said, the mortgage market is complex and viewed so differently between lender to lender. Aside from the lenders own mortgage affordability assessment, the main difference between them is due to their lending criteria. The difference in this can easily result in a declined application from one lender when another would have happily accepted, it could also waste time and money and possibly damage your all-important credit file. We believe that randomly contacting any bank or building Society is highly unlikely to result in the most suitable option when compared with seeking our advice. We are not stating your bank is necessarily a bad choice, who knows, it may be them we recommend.

We currently deal with over 65 lenders for residential purchases and re-mortgages. These include many lenders that you will be familiar with and many that you possibly will not be. Having this many lenders at our disposal not only allows us to obtain the most suitable option for you but also enhances your chances of borrowing should you present us with a case that is not straightforward due to your personal circumstances or the property itself being of non-standard construction.

This will depend on your circumstances and the nature of the case you present us with. Our costs range from fee free in certain situations to £999 for highly complex cases such as debt consolidation or cases with existing or previous adverse credit. Typically, we may charge a £199 fee paid on application and £199 paid on completion for a property purchase, should the case not complete then the completion fee would not be payable.

Please visit our Tariff of Charges page for more information.

This is not a problem, we advise many clients on a remote basis, our back-office system has its own video calling software, we can also use Microsoft teams, Zoom or Skype. And if technology isn’t your thing, then we simply speak with you on the telephone.

The documents that we require to assess your options will depend on your situation, typically these will be your income documents, bank statements, identification and evidence of money being used as a deposit. We have an encrypted online portal system which allows you to upload these electronically and inform us of other information too. Doing this prior to us meeting would allow us to have a great head start with your case, by the time we meet or have a video call, we will be much nearer to presenting you with your options. Use of the portal is optional of course; you can forward the documents using a secure source of your choice or even by post.

Many lenders have products that require just a 5% deposit, there are also schemes available to help first time buyers and schemes available with assistance from relatives. If your deposit has been gifted to you from relatives then this is not a problem, in some cases it is possible to use deposit money gifted from someone who is not a relative.

Not necessarily, this will often depend on the severity of your status, some lenders have a more flexible approach to applicants with adverse credit, there are even lenders who specialise in this area, we have all the tools and knowledge to help establish the likelihood of you being accepted, in the event that you cannot borrow right now, we may be able to guide you in preparation for being accepted in the future.

The answer to this highly likely to be yes, you wouldn’t leave your home uninsured, would you? in our opinion you should insure yourself too and we will fully explain why. Of course, everybody’s situation differs, and our advice will be tailored to your needs and suited to your budget, whether it’s for mortgage protection, family, or personal protection, we have vast knowledge and experience in advising on all protection needs.