Common mortgage questions, answered directly.

Most lenders cap mortgage borrowing at 4.5 times your annual income. Some specialist lenders will consider up to 5.5 times income for applicants with strong credit profiles and higher earnings. Your actual borrowing limit also depends on your committed expenditure, existing debt and the lender's individual affordability assessment — which is why two applicants with the same salary can receive different maximum loan amounts from the same lender.

Most residential mortgages require a minimum 5–10% deposit. A 10% deposit (90% LTV) gives access to a wider range of lenders and better rates. A 15–25% deposit opens up the most competitive products. Buy-to-let mortgages typically require 25% as a minimum. A larger deposit generally means lower rates because lenders assess lower Loan-to-Value as reduced risk.

An Agreement in Principle — also called a Decision in Principle (DIP) or Mortgage in Principle — is a conditional indication from a lender that they would lend you a specific amount, based on a basic affordability check and a credit search. It is not a formal mortgage offer and does not guarantee lending, but it is often requested by estate agents as evidence of borrowing capacity before accepting an offer. We can arrange an AIP before you find a property.

In many cases, yes. Specialist lenders assess adverse credit applications differently to high-street banks. CCJs, defaults, missed payments, IVAs and discharged bankruptcies can all be considered, depending on the age of the issue, the amount involved and your current credit behaviour. The larger your deposit, the more lender options become available. We assess your full credit profile before recommending the right lender and approach.

From application to formal mortgage offer typically takes 2–6 weeks, depending on the lender and complexity of your case. Simple employed applications with clean credit tend to be faster. Self-employed, adverse credit or complex income cases can take longer due to additional underwriting requirements. We manage the process throughout, chasing the lender and responding to underwriter queries to minimise delays.

Yes. We are a whole-of-market broker, which means we can research and recommend mortgage products from the full range of available lenders — not a restricted panel. This includes high-street lenders, building societies, specialist lenders and private banks. Our recommendation is based solely on which product best suits your individual circumstances.

Yes. Most lenders require two years of accounts or SA302 tax calculations for self-employed applicants. However, some lenders will consider one year's trading history, and others will use day-rate contractor income or retained profits within a limited company. We identify the lenders whose criteria best match your income structure before submitting your application.

A buy-to-let mortgage is specifically for properties you intend to let out rather than live in. Lenders assess affordability differently — primarily using the expected rental income rather than your personal income, and typically requiring the rent to cover 125–145% of monthly mortgage payments (rental stress testing). Minimum deposits are usually 25%. Limited company buy-to-let is a separate product with different lender criteria.

Bridging finance is short-term secured lending — typically 3 to 18 months — used when a conventional mortgage is too slow or unavailable. Common situations include auction purchases requiring 28-day completion, breaking a property chain, and refurbishment projects where the property isn't in a mortgageable condition. A clear exit strategy (sale or remortgage onto a term mortgage) is always required.

After you submit an enquiry, we review your details and contact you — usually within one business day — to discuss your circumstances. We'll ask about your income, deposit, credit history and property. From there, we identify the most suitable lenders and products, explain your options clearly and confirm next steps. There is no commitment at the enquiry stage.