Mortgage & Home Buying Guides

Free, in-depth guides covering every stage of the UK home buying journey — from checking your credit file today to collecting the keys.

New: Lender Questions Hub

Which UK lenders will actually lend to me?

23 plain-English questions — probation, CCJs, visa, cladding, foreign-currency income and more — each with a live list of the UK lenders that accept your specific situation.

Jump to a section

The Buying Journey
Affordability Explained
Buyer Situations
Sellers & Movers
Buy-to-Let & Landlords
Home Buying Essentials
After Completion
Calculators & Tools

The Buying Journey

An 11-stage walkthrough of buying a home in the UK, plus deep dives on each stage.

Complete UK Buying Journey

Pillar guide — 11 stages, typical timelines, and what to do at each.

Getting Mortgage Ready

Credit file, deposit, clearing debt — 1, 3 and 6-month readiness plans.

Decision in Principle (DIP)

What a DIP is, soft vs hard searches, how long it lasts.

Property Search

Viewing checklist, how to read listings, chains explained, red flags.

Making an Offer

How low to offer, negotiation tactics, gazumping and gazundering.

The Mortgage Application

Documents, underwriting, valuation, timelines.

Conveyancing Explained

What your solicitor does, week-by-week, typical fees, red flags.

Exchange & Completion

Exchange vs completion, completion statement, completion day.

Your First Weeks in a New Home

Council tax, utilities, insurance, remortgaging.

Buying a New Build

Reservation, incentives, mortgage offer expiry, completion deadlines.

New Build Incentives

What to negotiate, when to push, and how LTV is affected.

New Build Snagging

Room-by-room checklist, NHBC claims, how to escalate.

Affordability Explained

How lenders assess what you can borrow and how to maximise your figure.

How Affordability Is Calculated

Income multiples, stress testing, how lenders decide.

Why Lenders Offer Different Amounts

£50k+ gaps between lenders on the same income — explained.

Lender Income Multiples Compared

4.5× vs 5× vs 5.5× vs 6× — which lenders go where.

Maximise Your Borrowing

Term, 5-year fix, clearing debt — the three levers that add the most.

How Deposit Size Affects Borrowing

Thresholds, LTV tiers, and when a bigger deposit unlocks better rates.

Affordability with Debt

Credit cards, loans, car finance — how each affects your maximum.

Mortgage Declined on Affordability?

What to do next — including switching lenders for £50-100k more.

Which Lenders Accept Bonus/Overtime/Commission

Full UK lender table with % accepted by each.

Overtime, Bonus & Commission

How lenders treat variable income and why the choice of lender matters.

DIP Came in Lower Than Expected?

Why generic calculators overshoot, and how to recover — with a £98k gap example.

What Lenders Read in Your Bank Statements

Gambling, overdrafts, payday loans — what actually triggers a decline.

Student Loans & Your Mortgage

Why the balance doesn't matter — only the payslip deduction does.

Childcare Costs & Your Mortgage

How nursery fees change your maximum — and why lenders differ so much.

Pension Contributions & Borrowing

Which lenders deduct contributions and which add them back.

Interest-Only Affordability & Criteria

Income floors, LTV caps, and the repayment vehicles lenders accept.

Buyer Situations

Specialist guides for first-time buyers, joint applicants, SE/directors, and later-life buyers.

First-Time Buyer Affordability

What's different for FTBs, stamp duty relief, income multiples.

First-Time Buyer Schemes

Lifetime ISA, First Homes, Shared Ownership, Right to Buy, Freedom to Buy.

Freedom to Buy: 5% Deposit Mortgages

The permanent 95% mortgage guarantee scheme — who qualifies and how.

Shared Ownership Affordability

Mortgage + rent + service charge — how the two-stage assessment works.

Contractor & Day-Rate Mortgages

Day rate × 5 × 46 weeks — why contractors can borrow far more than they think.

Joint Mortgage Affordability

How two incomes are combined and what that unlocks.

Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP)

Parents on the mortgage, child on the title — no 3% SDLT surcharge.

Gifted Deposits Complete Guide

Who can gift, how much, the letter, and inheritance tax rules.

Self-Employed Mortgage Affordability

Sole trader, director, contractor — how each is assessed.

Mortgages in Later Life

Over-50s, 60s, 70s — standard, RIO, and lifetime mortgages.

UK Mortgages for Foreign Nationals

Visa holders without ILR — Skilled Worker, Spouse, Global Talent.

Which Lenders Accept Benefits?

Universal Credit, DLA, PIP, and other benefit income.

Property Types Accepted by Lenders

Non-standard construction, ex-council, above-commercial and more.

Mortgage on Probation — Lender Pool

Around 30 UK lenders accept probation with a signed permanent contract.

Mortgage on Maternity Leave

Which lenders use your return-to-work salary vs SMP — lender-by-lender.

Mortgage After Separation or Divorce

Buying out an ex, transfer of equity, maintenance as income.

UK Mortgage With Foreign-Currency Income

Which UK lenders accept USD/EUR/CHF income and the 10–30% haircut.

100% LTV & Guarantor Mortgages Compared

Track Record, JBSP, Springboard, Family Assist, Income Booster.

Mortgage After an IVA

Timelines, deposit tiers, and the lenders that consider completed IVAs.

Mortgage After Bankruptcy

How soon after discharge you can borrow — and from whom.

Mortgages With a Debt Management Plan

Active and completed DMPs — acceptance, affordability impact, deposits.

Sellers & Movers

For homeowners selling, moving, chain-managing, or keeping their current home as a rental.

Selling Your Home

Valuations, estate agent fees, chain management, sell first vs buy first.

Property Chain Explained

How chains work, why 25-30% of sales fall through, how to protect yourself.

Porting Your Mortgage

Keep your rate when moving — how it works, top-up rates, ERC refunds.

Let-to-Buy

Keep your current home as a rental while buying a new residence.

Remortgage Affordability

How affordability is assessed on remortgage and rate changes.

Buying a New Build

Reservation, incentives, mortgage offer expiry, completion deadlines.

Moving House Checklist

Week-by-week timeline from mortgage agreement to moving day.

Mortgage Affordability in 2026

Latest base rate, LTI limits, and stress testing changes.

Buy-to-Let & Landlords

Affordability, structures and property types for landlords — new and experienced.

Buy-to-Let Affordability

ICR, stress rates, portfolio landlord rules.

BTL: Limited Company vs Personal Name

Section 24, ICR stress differences, SPV lenders — which structure wins.

First-Time Landlord Mortgages

Criteria, deposits and rental cover when you've never let before.

HMO Mortgages

Licensing, specialist lenders, and how HMOs are valued.

Holiday Let Mortgages

Seasonal income assessment and the end of the FHL tax regime.

Let-to-Buy

Keep your current home as a rental while buying a new residence.

Home Buying Essentials

Critical moments and decisions during the buying process.

Your Credit Report Before a Mortgage

3 UK agencies, what to look for, how to fix errors.

Property Survey Guide (RICS L1/L2/L3)

Which survey level to choose, costs, how to renegotiate.

Down-Valuation Survival Guide

When the lender values below your offer — your 5 options.

Buying at Auction

Traditional vs modern method, bridging finance, 28-day completion.

Why Some Properties Are 'Unmortgageable'

Cladding/EWS1, flats above shops, short lease, flying freehold.

Estate Agent Pushing Their Broker? Your Rights

Estate Agents Act 1979 — conditional selling is illegal. A script that works.

Changing Jobs Mid-Application

When a new job offer helps vs hurts your pending mortgage.

Made Redundant Mid-Purchase

Disclosure duty, legal position, and the options that save the deal.

After Completion

Paying off faster, remortgaging, or planning for the long term.

Paying Off Your Mortgage Early

Overpayments, shorter terms, offset mortgages — what works.

Product Transfer vs Remortgage

Stay with your lender or switch — which saves more and when.

Remortgage Affordability

How remortgaging works and when to do it.

Your First Weeks in a New Home

Council tax, utilities, insurance, and long-term planning.

Calculators & Tools

Interactive tools for every stage of the journey.

How Much Can I Borrow?

Check affordability across 60+ UK lenders

Should I Fix for 2 or 5 Years?

Compare total cost and break-even rate

Completion Cost Calculator

Every cost on top of your deposit

Move Timeline Tool

Predict your completion date

Stamp Duty Calculator

SDLT for FTBs, movers, BTL and second homes

Mortgage Repayment Calculator

Monthly payment by loan, rate, term

Mortgage Overpayment Calculator

Save on interest and finish early

Deposit Savings Calculator

Time to target deposit

Buying Costs Calculator

Total cost of buying

Monthly Budget Calculator

Affordable monthly mortgage payment

Rent vs Buy Calculator

Compare over the long term

Adverse Credit Timeline

When your credit events drop off

Looking for something specific? The full site index lists every page on the site.

Ready to Check Your Affordability?

Check how much 60+ UK lenders would offer you. Free to start, no credit search.

Check Your Affordability

Written & reviewed byPhillip Wakeling-Smith— Mortgage Adviser (CeMAP)

Share:WhatsAppFacebook

We compare affordability across these and 30+ other UK lenders