Simplify your mortgage application: Five simple steps to make it as painless as possible!

With potential pressures from people up and down the chain, many people find that getting their mortgage in line is one of the most troublesome elements to the whole property-purchasing-process.

However, it needn’t be such a bind!

There are a few key issues that arise again and again with mortgage applications, that can make the process longer, and more nail-biting. Save your nerves, and make sure you tick off the following to help make sure your application goes through with minimal hiccups.

Before you start

Get your credit carded: Make the most of credit checking organisations such as Experian or Equifax to get a comprehensive view of your credit history. If there’s anything that you can do to help increase your credit rating, now’s the time to put the wheels into motion!

• One of the most common elements that can impact a credit score is not being registered on the electoral roll. Although you are planning a house move soon, take the time to register to vote at your current address- this will have a positive impact on your credit score.
• Close unused credit accounts. If you have a number of credit cards that you keep ‘for emergencies’, close these off and keep just one open. Use this account for small purchases every so often, and make sure the balance is paid in full at the end of every month – this will help improve your credit rating.
• Make sure your payments are all up to date. Now is definitely not the time to slip up with payments – make sure all your bills are paid on time, and if you can afford to overpay on any of your accounts this will put your account in a very good light.

Gather the correct details: Before you fall completely in love with a property, make sure you check the length of the property’s lease. A short lease is often reflected in the purchased price of a property so you may feel you are bagging a bargain, however extending a lease is a pricy process, and many lenders are not willing to lend on a property with a lease under a certain length of time.

Sat in the lenders office

Try to remember your FULL name: Lots of people forget their middle name, which will lead to you having to have your offer reissued. In a worst case scenario, you may even have to undergo another credit check, which can add a few days (and potential cost!) to your application.

Do you know where you’ve lived?: Make sure you have got the details of previous addresses, as this will be vital to complete forms accurately. It’s not enough to have the address, you also need to know the exact date that you lived at the address (months and years) to hand as this is the data that your lender will be asking for. It might be tempting to extend one address by a couple of months and not mention the few months you moved back home after uni, but however tempting it may be don’t!

Whilst everything is going through…

Try not to jiggle the purchase price: With so many changes going on within the political landscape at the moment, the property market is a little topsy-turvy, and if you’re mid-purchase it is tempting to try and drop your offer to see if you can bag a bargain, or tie in an incentive or cashback scheme to sweeten the deal. However, it’s strongly advised not to do this, as your mortgage must reflect the accurate price for the property and if this deal is discovered your lender will have to reissue the deal.