The Online Mortgage Application Process

The process itself is relatively straightforward.

• First, we work to assess your circumstances and determine which lender can best meet your borrowing requirements.
• Next, we secure an agreement in principle without any hard credit checks. You can take this away and look at the costs, fees and monthly repayments to decide if it feels like a great deal.
• When you’re happy, you can go ahead with making an offer and appointing a solicitor.
• Next, you'll need the property to be valued - the lender usually carries this out. When they have a full valuation report, they will be able to make a formal offer to lend and collate the rest of your paperwork.
• The following step is to instruct your solicitor and pay their fees. Your legal representative runs searches on the property and draws up the contracts.
• Exchanging contracts means that both parties sign and file their contracts, and then you can move forward to completion and pick up your keys!

The actual documents you need might vary between lenders, but usually include:

• Proof of ID and address - e.g. passport, utility bills and bank statements.
• Evidence of your income - often with three months of payslips and a P60.
• Bank statements for the last three months for all active accounts.
• Proof that you have the deposit ready to pay.
• Credit reports.
• Property details.
• Contact information for your estate agent and solicitor.

Your application is assessed in a few different ways.

• Income assessments look at what you earn, what you spend, and how comfortably you can keep up with the repayments. Lenders all have different policies, so if you're self-employed, one might require evidence of three years of trading, whereas another might be happy with a year.
• Eligibility criteria will consider the type of employment you are in, how stable that role is, and the risk factor if you are on a fixed-term contract.
• Lenders also need to analyse your other debts and outgoings. Usually, the regular payment value is deducted from your earnings to arrive at a net expendable income for the affordability assessment.
• Your age is another factor, which makes no difference to some lenders, and is a critical criterion for others. Some lenders have age caps relating to the maximum age applicant they will accept at the application date or the end of the term.
• The property you wish to buy is also assessed and must be valued to provide suitable security for the lender's funds. Non-standard properties such as thatched cottages or concrete houses are also less easy to mortgage and often require a specialist lender.
• Loan to Value means how much you want to borrow against the value of the property. If you need a £100,000 mortgage against a property worth £200,000, that equates to a 50% LTV. Each lender has different LTV policies, with some requiring more extensive deposits than others.
• The source of your deposit has to be verified in line with money laundering regulations. Deposits paid through savings or gifts from immediate family members are the most common.
• Credit checks will analyse your credit file and identify whether you have had any serious credit issues in the past. Again, each lender is different. While some may disregard minor matters or even severe problems due to expire from your credit file shortly, others will not lend in any bad credit scenarios.

No, it isn't mandatory. You will need buildings insurance, but other products are optional. They include life cover, income protection insurance and a contents policy.

Very often, lenders will offer insurance at the same time as making a mortgage offer. It's up to you whether to take out the policy, and our team can always advise whether it is a competitive deal or whether you could find a better value policy elsewhere.

Buy to let mortgages for rental properties work a little differently than residential mortgage applications.

Generally, the lender will look at the property's rental potential and how well this covers the mortgage payments rather than at your other income.

Some lenders also have a minimum income threshold, often of £25,000 per annum. You might find that mainstream mortgage providers require a minimum number of years of landlord experience and need at least three years of accounts or tax returns to consider the application.

Revolution Brokers works with a vast network of specialist lenders with much more flexible terms, so there is always a mortgage product out there if these conditions do not apply.

One of the most common reasons for mortgage rejection is bad credit. By working with an experienced broker, you can avoid this happening and find a mortgage even if you have no credit history or serious credit issues such as repossessions.

There are many mortgage products designed for adverse credit applicants and specialist bad credit lenders who can usually help.