Mortgage Advice in Scunthorpe
So, you’ve saved up for your initial mortgage deposit, whether it be from your own savings or a gifted deposit from your parents. What’s the next step for you to take? It’s time for you to get prepared for your mortgage journey!
Know Where You Stand
First of all, we would recommend that you get in touch with an experienced mortgage broker in Scunthorpe as early on as you can, especially if you are applying for a first time buyer mortgage in Scunthorpe.
This is because you’ll be able to get a general idea of the costs and how much you could borrow. You should also look to get yourself an up to date credit report, to make sure you know you’re in good credit and are able to pass this on to your mortgage advisor in Scunthorpe.
The last thing you want is to have disputed payments holding you back, so it’s always handy to check in the early stages. Taking these steps will set you on a course where you have a good idea of what your budget will be and how likely you are to achieve mortgage success.
Agreement in Principle
Your mortgage broker in Scunthorpe will be able to get you an agreement in principle for you, on your behalf, typically within 24 hours of your initial mortgage appointment.
This helps you out greatly, as you will have this document to hand for making offers on properties. Having your agreement in principle shows the seller of the property and the estate agent that you are ready to go, allowing for a possibly quicker process.
Proof of ID & Address
There’s always lots of paperwork required for a mortgage process, so you’ll need to make sure you have a folder to keep all of these together. Two of these are your proof of ID and proof of address. For proof of ID you’ll need photo ID such as a driving license or passport.
Non-UK Nationals working in the UK will need to provide a Visa as well. For proof of address, you will need to use something like a utility bill or original bank statement that has been dated within the last 3 months.
You can also use your driving license, though it can only be used for one or the other. That means those using it for photo ID cannot use it for proof of address and vice versa.
Last 3 Months’ Bank Statements
The analysis of your spending habits will be one of the most important determining factors in whether you’ll qualify for a mortgage or not. You’ll need to provide the last 3 months bank statements, as that should evidence your income and regular expenditures.
Mortgage lenders will not be happy to see things like gambling transactions on your account, with the same being said if you go over an agreed overdraft limit or if your direct debits bounce regularly.
Proof of Deposit
For the purposes of anti-money laundering, you will also need to be able to prove that you do in fact have the funds in place for the deposit and where that money came from.
Try not to move money around various accounts too much, as it will make evidencing the audit trail more difficult. Mortgage lenders like to see your savings building up so you’ll need to account for any large credits that go into your accounts.
Quite often, the money for your deposit will be gifted by a member of your family. This is common with first time buyers in Scunthorpe. The funds for gifted deposits need to be evidenced, with the donor signing a letter to confirm it’s non-refundable and not a loan, purely serving as a gift.
A List of Your Expected Outgoings
It’s a good idea to do plenty of homework in advance and come up with an estimate of you expected outgoings once you have moved into your new house as a first time buyer in Scunthorpe.
You’ll need to work out things like council tax and what your general utility bills will be, as well as regular spendings such as food and drink, to be able to determine how much disposable income you will actually have available, to use towards your monthly mortgage payments.
As you can see from the above, it’s a real paper trail when you are applying for a mortgage, but if you want your application to run like clockwork you’ll need to put the time aside to get everything together.
Our view is that it’s better to get all this at the outset and collate everything that a mortgage lender could possibly ask for. This saves time and frustration later down the line. Book a free mortgage appointment today and we will help you to prepare as best as we can.
Date Last Edited: January 23, 2024