The process of buying a property doesn’t start with selecting a home within your budget.

Often, it’s worth preparing months in advance if you need to apply for a mortgage. You’ll need to get your borrowing history in shape, for starters, so that mortgage lenders may view your ability to repay loans in a favourable light. Having a good credit score is crucial to getting a mortgage at a good rate. You may still be able to get a mortgage without good credit, but the structures and rates available to you might leave you paying more than you should. 

Because of how closely it will be scrutinized, you should definitely look at your credit score and report before a lender does. An FTC study in 2013 showed that as many as 25 percent of consumers have an error on their credit report that could affect their score. Your credit report will help you identify areas of improvement. For instance, credit card utilisation rate the ratio of your credit card debt to available credit, this can be a major impact on your score. Something as simple as increasing your credit limit could improve your score before you apply for a mortgage.

Here are some of the things that you can do to get credit-ready before applying for a mortgage: 

• Register to vote
  You need to be registered on the electoral role so lenders can confirm your address. Doing this can also help the lender to trace your credit history. If you’re not registered, it will be difficult – and possibly unlikely – that the lender will have enough information to progress your application.
• Be selective about your credit applications
  Too many rejected applications for credit can reflect badly on your mortgage application. This could suggest to the lender that you’re not creditworthy, or that you’re desperate – which could raise questions about your ability to make your mortgage repayments.
• Review your credit history and score
  Check your borrowing history in advance. This allows you to dispute any inaccuracies so that lenders will receive correct information on your ability to repay debts. Your credit score, on the other hand, will give an indication of how creditworthy lenders may find you. If your score is low, you will want to see if there are any credit habits that you need to improve on before making the mortgage application. 
• Reduce your debt-to-income ratio
  This is the proportion of debt that you have in relation to the money that you make. The higher this number is, the more debt you have. Lenders typically prefer applicants with a lower ratio, as this means that you’re likely to have the funds to make your monthly mortgage repayments.
• Cut out any unnecessary borrowing
  Try not to open new credit lines in the six months before applying for a mortgage. This could increase your debt-to-income ratio, which may reflect badly on your ability to repay any mortgage loans.
• Keep older credit accounts open
  These can demonstrate to lenders that you’ve been able to make repayments over a sustained period of time. You may want to close inactive accounts, though, as they would show lenders that you have too much access to credit that you don’t need.
• Make sure to pay bills on time
  Even if your credit history seems in order, don’t drop the ball and forget or ignore bills in the run-up to your application. Your borrowing records are ongoing, so any slip-ups before you apply for a mortgage would show the lender that you may not be able to meet your mortgage repayments.
• Remove out-of-date financial associations
  Your financial associations could affect your ability to obtain credit. For example, you may have had a joint account with former housemates for paying bills, or you might have separated from a spouse. Their current and future borrowing habits could affect your credit applications, so ensure that you’ve removed these links from your record.
• Check on joint applicants
  If you’re making a joint application for a mortgage, you should know that lenders will assess the creditworthiness of all of the people applying. It’s important check with the other person or people whom you are applying with to make sure that they also have their credit history in order.
  

Lenders use a range of factors to determine whether or not to give you a mortgage loan. There is no one simple solution for a successful application. However, the steps above could help boost your chances of obtaining a loan for purchasing property. If you want to know more about any of the information above please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0800 8620 840 or visit our website www.ptmortgagesltd.co.uk and fill out a contact form for a call back.

​Applying for a mortgage successfully is not luck. There are two major factors you need to be in control of, Budgeting and unsecured debt. Taking control of these areas will help you in your mortgage application as well as in your day to day financial life. 

First off and arguably most important is budgeting. The simple act of making and sticking to a monthly budget is the most effective way of taking control of your finances and preparing you for a mortgage. It will help your piece of mind and highlight any areas you may need to review or cut out completely. You should aim to keep your spending within the money you have and the limits you set yourself. Every pound you earn needs to be allocated to an expenses category (including savings), check how you are getting on mid-way through the month, this will help to keep you on track. It seems simple, but it is incredibly effective!

When a lender reviews your application, they are checking you can afford the mortgage you have applied for. A major contributor to the affordability calculation is unsecured debt you may have. 
The more money you owe on hire purchase, unsecured bank loans or credit card balances the smaller loan you will be able to obtain from a mortgage lender. We usually take out these debts to buy things we want NOW. Simply put if you can’t afford to buy that watch or sofa you want, you shouldn’t. Save up for it instead through budgeting your income. Pay off credit cards and stop paying unnecessary interest. This will not only show an underwriter you are able to budget and save but also a financial intelligence and maturity. After all, the more committed outgoing you need to pay every month means you have less money for a mortgage payment, and therefore less borrowing ability.
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Spend time on your finances before you approach a mortgage lender to present yourself in the best way possible. After all you are asking for a significant loan, and the lender needs to be sure you can pay it back. 

If you want to discuss budgeting or unsecured debt with one of our advisors don’t hesitate to give us a call 0800 8620 840 or fill out an enquiry form on our website www.ptmortgagesltd.co.uk 

Not all the things on our to do lists fill us with excitement at the thought of crossing them off when completed. Reviewing your mortgage is certainly not the most exciting item for most people.
For many of us, our biggest monthly expense is our mortgage payment. If there’s a chance of saving money at mortgage review time, surely we can find the time?
We all know that when a fixed rate comes to an end the rate moves onto the lenders standard variable rate, and generally speaking it is higher than the one you had before. Thus costing your more money per month in interest payments on top of paying back the loan capital.​

It may not even make a huge difference to the monthly payment amount and therefore fall to the bottom of your ‘to do list’, but all the time you are on a lenders standard variable rate you are at the mercy of any rate change that may occur. This is the main reason why carrying out a mortgage review BEFORE your existing fixed rate period comes to an end. 
It is best to speak to a broker three or four months in advance of the end of your fixed rate period to make sure there is enough time to research and organise the new mortgage deal so when the old one finishes it will simply move over to the new one seamlessly. 
Prospect Tree Mortgages are able to look at the whole of the marketplace in order to source the best mortgage deal available to you and your circumstances. This is the most efficient way of making sure you not only have the best deal for you but also save as much time and effort as possible. In short leave it all to us! The vast majority of remortgage deals come with FREE legal work and a FREE valuation. Great incentives to switch to a better deal.
Reasons to speak to Prospect Tree Mortgages about your mortgage
We will explore options that may have previously not been available to you due to credit issues, lender criteria or timescale. After our review and research process you may find a lender with more favorable interest rates is now available to you.
We will explain everything that is going to happen clearly and concisely. There are no stupid questions and it is important we cover any uncertainties you may have prior to applying for anew mortgage. You really can ask us anything, we want you to understand and be comfortable with your new mortgage.

We will tell you what we need from you to go ahead with your application, after this you can leave it with us. We will complete your mortgage application and liaise with the chosen lender throughout the process to get your mortgage offer. This means you can forget about any lengthy hold music chasing up your offer, leave that to us.
Your broker will support you all the way through the process keeping you updated with the progress from beginning to end. If you have any questions along the way we are only at the other end of a phone to chat.
Don’t let your mortgage fall off your radar and end up on the standard variable rate, you really are just throwing your money away. Get in touch and see what we can do for you.

Also – After your broker has helped you once, you’ll find they even save you the bother of remembering in the future as they’ll contact you in advance every time for your review!

What Documents will I need to provide to get a mortgage?

So, you are applying for a mortgage. How do you prove you can do what you say you can? 

The answer lies in a list of documents requested by your broker and lender, and is for most clients, the part of the application process they dread. Some of the more common questions when documents are requested can be;

Do I really need to send you all these months bank statements?

I haven’t got my last pay slip, does this matter?

Or

Can’t you just apply and see what the lender asks for?

The fact of the matter is that when asking to borrow a large amount of money you will need to provide plenty of evidence to verify certain things, for both the lenders and the brokers benefit. 
These will include;

• Who you are
• You can afford to pay the mortgage
• Your deposit is from a legitimate source 

We as your broker are of course regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It is quite proper for due diligence to be carried out when applying for a mortgage.

There should be no surprises for you as a client when documents are requested, it should be made clear what the expectations are in this department right for the outset. No one will give you a mortgage without evidence you can afford it, your documents fulfil this task.

Luckily these days we are able to accept scanned copies of documents, as well as online bank statements and online pay slips. This means Prospect Tree Mortgages are able to help you wherever you are based.
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Documents required upon application

Employed Applicants
Latest 3 months pay slips (13 if received weekly) If overtime, bonuses or commission is being used additional pay slips evidencing this will be required. Your P60 is a useful document to have handy as well as it shows your total income for the last financial year. Latest 3 months bank statements (for all current accounts) Photo ID, Proof of address, Proof of deposit (if a purchase). There could be more documents requested at any time by your broker or the lender you are applying to.

Self Employed

Latest 2 years full accounts or SA302 year-end tax calculations (along with the corresponding tax year overview) from HMRC. Proof of address, photo ID, latest 3 months bank statements (for all current accounts) There could be more documents requested at any time by your broker or the lender you are applying to.

This gives you an idea of the documents required to complete a mortgage application, but is by no means an exhaustive list. Once we have carried out the initial fact finding process with a client we will always request a specific list of documents based on their individual circumstances and requirements.

Our aim at Prospect Tree Mortgages is to make our clients life as easy as possible, and once we have the documents we need from our clients we get on with the work. Processing the mortgage application, liaising with the chosen lender and making sure a mortgage offer is achieved as quickly as possible with minimal pressures on your time.
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The mortgage valuation is based on the surveyor's knowledge of comparable prices in the locality. It may also give a "minimum reinstatement value", which is the amount of money it would take to rebuild the property from scratch, should it ever be necessary. The mortgage lender will also ask to see evidence that a suitable buildings insurance policy is in place, together with confirmation that you are covered for the minimum reinstatement value.
The mortgage valuation is for the benefit of the mortgage lender, NOT you the buyer! It is designed to give enough information for the lender to decide whether the property is safe to lend on, and up to what amount. Though you may pay for the report, you may not get a copy or even see what the surveyor has written. In some circumstances your mortgage broker may be able to obtain a copy of the report but this is not always possible.
You should NOT solely rely on your mortgage valuation if you are buying a property. In fact, the lenders valuation is exactly that, a valuation, and not a survey at all. The lender is taking the risk when lending, that the security (the property) is of adequate value to cover the loan they provide to the borrower. This safeguards them should the borrower default on the payments and repossession is necessary. This is the only reason the mortgage lender carries out a valuation at all.

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘drive by valuation’, ‘desktop valuation’ or ‘index valuation’? No, well let us explain, all these basically mean is that no one has actually physically been to the property to value it. Shocked? Well this is why it is so important to have your own survey done on a property you want to buy, because if you don’t and there are problems you didn’t know about they are now YOUR problems.
At Prospect Tree Mortgages we encourage buyers to carry out at least a homebuyers report when buying a property. An independent surveyor working for and paid by you ‘the buyer’ has your best interests in mind. You will receive a comprehensive report on the state of the property you are buying, and we can assure you the surveyor will spend at least a few hours inspecting the property and will provide a detailed report. It always surprises us that when making the most expensive purchase in their lives, buyers in the main will not have a survey to check that the property is safe and does not have any hidden issues.

If you are thinking of purchasing a property our expert mortgage brokers would be more than happy to walk your through the process as well as arrange a mortgage agreement in principle for you.