How to Start Getting a Mortgage in the UK

Right, so this is something I get asked about a lot. And I get it, because when I was first looking into buying my own place, the whole mortgage thing felt like this enormous wall of confusing jargon that I had absolutely no idea how to get past. Nobody really sits you down and explains it. You sort of have to figure it out yourself, which is not ideal when you are talking about the biggest financial commitment of your life.

So here is what I wish someone had told me at the start. Nothing fancy, just the actual steps in plain English.

First things first: sort out your credit score

Before you do anything else, go and check your credit score. I mean it. Do it today if you can. In the UK you can do this for free through Experian, Equifax or TransUnion, and it takes about ten minutes. Your credit score is one of the main things lenders look at when deciding whether to give you a mortgage and at what rate, so you really do need to know where you stand. Have a proper look through the report too, not just the score. Check for any mistakes, accounts you thought were closed but are still showing as open, or missed payments you had forgotten about. All of that stuff matters.

Work out what you can realistically afford

Most UK lenders will offer you somewhere around four to four and a half times your annual salary. So if you earn thirty thousand pounds a year, you are probably looking at borrowing somewhere in the region of a hundred and twenty to a hundred and thirty five thousand. That is a rough guide rather than a guarantee, mind you, because lenders will also go through your outgoings with a fine tooth comb. Subscriptions, car finance, credit card balances, the lot.

Your deposit matters enormously too. The minimum is usually five per cent of the property price, but if you can get to ten or fifteen per cent you will get access to much better rates. Have a play around with a mortgage calculator online to get a rough sense of what monthly repayments might look like before you go any further. It can be a bit of a reality check but it is better to know early.

Get your paperwork together

This is the bit that nobody warns you about. Mortgage applications require quite a lot of documents and it pays to have them ready before you start, rather than scrambling around trying to find a payslip from three months ago at the last minute.

Generally speaking you will need your last three months of payslips (or two to three years of accounts if you are self-employed), three months of bank statements, proof of your deposit, a valid passport or driving licence, and something that shows your current address like a utility bill or council tax statement. If you get all of that in a folder somewhere, paper or digital, you will thank yourself later.

Actually go and meet a mortgage broker

Honestly, this changed everything for me. You can spend hours reading articles online (I obviously say that as a person who writes articles online) but there really is no substitute for sitting down with someone who does this every day and just talking it through properly. A good mortgage broker will look at your whole picture, the income, the debts, the deposit, everything, and tell you exactly what your options look like. They also have access to deals that you simply cannot get if you go directly to a lender yourself, which is genuinely useful.

If you are based in or around Burnley or East Lancashire, I would point you towards Kudos in Burnley. I think a lot of people underestimate how much easier the whole process becomes when you have someone knowledgeable in your corner from the start.

Get a mortgage in principle

Once you and your broker have figured out which mortgage makes sense for your situation, the next step is to get what is called a mortgage in principle, or sometimes an agreement in principle. It is basically a letter from a lender saying they would be willing to lend you up to a certain amount, subject to everything checking out properly. Estate agents take you a lot more seriously when you have one of these. It is not a firm guarantee of a mortgage but it is a strong signal that you are a credible buyer, which matters when you are putting in offers on properties.

Then it is just a case of finding your place and applying

Once you have had an offer accepted on a property you like, you submit the full mortgage application. The lender arranges a valuation of the property, does a thorough review of your finances, and if all goes well, issues you with a formal mortgage offer. It can take a few weeks or sometimes longer depending on the lender and how straightforward your situation is. Keep in touch with your broker during this bit because they can usually chase things up and keep the whole thing moving.

One last thing

It genuinely is not as scary as it looks from the outside. It is just a lot of steps in a row, and as long as you take them one at a time and get the right help early on, it is completely manageable. The main thing is not to put it off because you are worried about understanding it. Get your credit score checked today, have a think about what you can afford, and then go and speak to a broker. Everything else follows from those three things.

As always, drop a comment below if you have any questions.