A Guide to Getting a Mortgage
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
A Q+A with Rhian Price from Impact Mortgages
Written by Rosie Bramwell, Office Coordinator 24th July 2026
A Guide to Getting a Mortgage
A Q+A with Rhian Price from Impact Mortgages
Which comes first, the deposit or the meeting with a mortgage advisor?
Realistically, it does not matter. Mortgage advisors are the stepping stone between putting your pennies away into the savings pot and applying for a mortgage.
Sitting down with an advisor is an opportunity to not only discuss affordability, but also to gather advice for your future purchase. Regardless of whether you have a deposit or not, it is never too early to look into your options.
What is a mortgage in principle, and how is this different from a decision in principle or an agreement in principle?
You quickly realise when you are purchasing a home that parts of the process and documents are often given multiple names, references and abbreviations! I personally think this attributes to the confusion that surrounds buying a property. Part of our job is often breaking down the terminology involved to make it simple, clear and understandable.
So a Mortgage in Principle (MIP), a Decision in Principle (DIP), an Agreement in Principle (AIP) or a Lending Certificate all actually refer to the same thing – which is an initial confirmation from a lender of how much they may be willing to lend. It is not the same as a full mortgage offer as it is based on relatively limited information surrounding your finances. This stage of the application looks at your income/outgoings and in most cases, completes a “soft” credit check against your credit file history. A “soft” credit check simply means that whilst the lender checks information is being accurately recorded, the check itself is not visible via other lenders. Once completed and accepted, you are given a certificate via the lender which normally has a validity period of up to 90 days.
What is the first thing a buyer should do when they are considering moving or purchasing their first home?
The first thing a buyer should do is speak to someone like myself to establish their financing options – even if they don’t have a deposit. Some people wait until they have saved a 5% or even 10% deposit as they think this is the minimum deposit requirement but in actual fact people are often surprised at the array of products and available options out there for buyers.
We have a £5,000 deposit option (available up to a purchase price of £500,000), we have shared ownership options with some lenders not needing a single penny for a deposit contribution and much more!
I have also worked with clients who haven’t got a deposit and still want to pursue a more traditional home ownership route and we have worked alongside them to go through a budget planner, set up a savings goal each month and then carried out periodic check-ins to see how they are getting on.
The saying goes, “Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail” and that couldn’t be more accurate when it comes to buying a home. Speaking to a qualified broker as early on in the process can really set you up for success in achieving your home buying goal.
What will the lender be looking for from a prospective buyer?
A Lender typically looks for several things from a prospective buyer and ultimately they are judging whether they feel you can reliably repay the loan. Some of the things that they will be considering are;
Income and employment stability
Credit History and how you’ve managed debt in the past
Debt-to-Income Ratio
Whether the borrowing amount is still affordable according to their stress rate testing.
Bank Statements and Spending Habits
The property being purchased
One of the key documents that lenders use are bank statements as this gives a good glimpse into the spending habits of an individual and you can see trends of spending quite easily from reviewing the last 3 months’ worth of statements.
I would say your “red flags” in a lenders eyes on your bank statement would constitute things like; gambling / frequent overdraft use / unexplained transfers / poor money management / irregular savings.
What is a credit score?
A credit score is a number used by credit reference agencies based on your inancial history and public records. A high score would suggest that you are a lower risk when it comes to lending money and vice versa.
However it is worth noting that just because you have a “perfect” credit score does not guarantee that a lender will give you the money. Lenders often use an internal credit scorecard and your credit score makes up just part of this.
We like to see a credit report from a credit reference agency as it gives us an in-sight into your payment history and whether credit commitments have been paid in accordance to your terms. It also shows us how much of your available credit you use and when applications for credit were made.
If you are interested in looking at your credit score, I’ve popped a link to access one below where you are able to sign up to a free 14 day free trial.*
Please be aware that by clicking on the link above you will be leaving this website. Please note that neither Impact Mortgages Ltd nor HL Partnership Limited are responsible for the accuracy of the information contained within the linked site accessible from this page.
*As a referrer, we receive commission from Checkmyfile for any signups.
How long can it take from an offer being accepted on a property, to a mortgage offer being accepted?
On average we would expect the timeframe to be in and around the 2 week mark from the point of a full mortgage application being submitted to having a full mortgage offer. This does vary case by case and due to a number of factors, but we keep you informed every step of the way.
In order to get a full mortgage offer two things need to happen. Firstly, the lender carries out further checks on the applicants themselves. They request documentation (such as bank statements, payslips, tax returns etc) to check that the income and expenditure match what we have declared. The lender also needs to carry out a valuation on the property (sometimes referred to as a Level 1 Survey). This checks that the property is worth what you are paying for it.
It is always worth remembering that the property forms the security asset for the lender. So, essentially what they are checking is whether they feel con ident that they could sell the property for what you have purchased it for in such a scenario that they were needing to carry out a repossession.
What happens if the property is “down-valued”?
If a lender down-values a property, this simply means that they do not have the confidence that the property is worth what you are paying for it.
You do, however, still have options should this occur!
Your first option is to go back and re-negotiate on the purchase price to get it down to the level in which the lender believes the property to be worth. You could also try and submit another mortgage application with a different lender to see if their view on the value is different or you could bridge the gap between the two values with your own funds.
Why should someone consider using a mortgage broker?
Having a qualified and experienced mortgage broker guiding you through the process often improves your chances of getting the correct mortgage in the first instance whilst saving you a significant amount of time.
A mortgage broker often has access to more lenders at the tip of their fingers and can even have exclusive products and rates which you would not be able to secure otherwise.
An experienced broker will understand what lenders like and don’t like and how you will it into this – every lender has different lending criteria which constantly changes and adapts. Lenders also have different stress testing measures which mean that some lenders will lend considerably more than others.
What are the different mortgage types?
The first thing to establish when taking out a mortgage is via what means you intend to clear the loan. It will either be on an interest-only or repayment basis. You can also do a combination of both, where part of the loan is done on a capital repayment basis and the other part is on interest only.
With an interest-only mortgage, you only pay the interest each month, meaning you have to pay off the entire loan at the end of the mortgage term. With a repayment mortgage, which is by far the more common type of deal, the monthly payment consists of both interest and you will chip away at the capital loan owing too. This means that providing you maintain all monthly payments, the whole mortgage would be repaid upon completion of the mortgage term.
Once you have decided if you are on a capital-repayment or interest only, you then need to choose a product. Mortgage products generally fall into two categories: fixed-rate deals (which guarantee your rate for a set number of years), and variable rate deals (where your rate can go up or down depending on economic conditions).
Fixed-rate mortgages
Fixed-rate mortgages are the most common type of loan taken out – with this type of mortgage, you’ll pay a set interest rate for a set number of years meaning that your monthly repayments will remain consistent for the initial period. Borrowers most commonly take out two-year or five-year fixed-rate mortgages, but you can have three and ten year products too! At the end of your fixed period, you'll need to remortgage to avoid going onto a standard variable rate.
Tracker mortgages
Tracker mortgages are variable rate deals that 'track' the Bank of England base rate plus a set percentage. For example, the base rate is currently 3.75%. So if your tracker is 'base rate plus 1%', you'll pay a rate of 4.75%. If the base rate goes up, so too will your monthly repayments. If it goes down, you should pay less each month (unless the product comes with a “collar” which means the rate can only fall to a set level).
What are the costs involved in buying or moving that people often miss?
Your cost of moving always includes more than the deposit itself and so you always need to consider the overall cost of the move to ensure you have sufficient monies aside. I have broken the additional fees below to consider;
Mortgage Related Fees;
Broker Fees
Lender Arrangement Fee
Valuation Fees / Upgraded survey fees
CHAPS Fees / Electronic Transfer Fees
Solicitor Related Fees;
Search Fees
Anti-Money Laundering Checks
Land Registry Fees
Conveyancing Fees
Estate Agency Fees;
A % fee + VAT for selling a property
Stamp Duty Costs;
A variable fee based on your purchase price and buying status. You should seek tax advice to ensure you are aware of your stamp duty implications.
Other Costs and Considerations
Removal Fees
Decorative Fees
Cleaning Fees
Are all properties mortgageable?
In short, no, some properties will have to be “cash only” to be proceedable.
This could be down to the current condition of the property (if there are structural problems / if the property is of non-standard construction / if there is unsafe or defective cladding issues / if it is “unhabitable” with no kitchen or bathroom).
Whilst the property condition itself could look ok, it may not be mortgageable due to lease issues. For example, if the property is a leasehold with a very short lease left on it or the terms of the lease and how the ground rent/service charge are reviewed could result in the property being unacceptable to a lender. Similarly, legal issues around the title could be a reason why a lender may not accept the property.
In fact, even the location of the property can have a bearing on its ability to be financed against with many lenders not accepting properties which are close to take-aways and pubs for example.
There is, however, a whole host of more “specialist lending” out there – such as commercial mortgages, bridging finance, 2nd charge loans, just to name a few. These on occasions can facilitate where a standard mortgage provider does not have the risk appetite to consider the property.
From your experience, what are your best tips for making sure a buyer is purchase-ready?
My first tip is speak to a mortgage advisor early on, establish what budget you have available and understand the next steps. Don’t be afraid to ask questions – no question is a silly one!
My second tip would be to have a good understanding of your income and expenditure and start thinking about what would be feasible to spend on a mortgage each month. For example, if you live at home, how much are you comfortably saving each month or if you rent, how much is your rent each month? If you understand how you budget your money and what you currently spend your money on, you may notice where you are able to pull back and save more!
For further support when applying or approaching your first property purchase, reach out to Rhian via rhian@impactmortgages.org or the website https://www.impactmortgages.org/
If you would like a free market appraisal on your property, get in touch with Andrew Morris Estate Agents today.
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