FAQs
Have questions? Browse my FAQs for answers to common questions about mortgages, insurance, and my services. Any other questions, i’d love to hear from you, get in touch.
First Time Buyer Questions Answered
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Typically, first time buyers require at least a 5% deposit. There are some lenders offering options with £5,000 deposit or even zero deposit options. When buying a new build, there may be help from the builder towards your deposit. Its commonly accepted by lenders for family to support with a gift to help support the deposit. Larger deposits may mean better interest rates and choice of lenders. Get in touch and I’ll guide you through what is available.
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Separate to your deposit you will need some funds for the fees involved in buying a home. These include solicitor fees, Stamp Duty or Land and Building Transaction Tax in Scotland, movers fees and of course it’s sensible to budget for furniture. If you are buying in Scotland, you may need funds for offering over home report. I’ll talk you through this in more detail when we meet.
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Often, yes — it depends on your individual circumstances. Some lenders are more flexible than others, even if you’ve had missed payments or a limited credit history. The first step is understanding your credit file. I’ll help you do this and then guide you through your options.
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Yes, for self-employed, lenders generally require you to have two consecutive years of self-assessments. How your income is assessed will depend on if you are a sole trader, limited company or partnership. There are lenders that will consider 1 years’ self-assessment, typically this is only available through a mortgage broker. Lenders have a broad spectrum of criteria for how they assess contractors. It will depend on your occupation type, your rate of pay, your length of time on a contract as well as the remaining time on your contract. It’s all about knowing which lender will be best for you. I’ll find you the most cost-effective lender who is offering the most suitable deal for you.
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Yes, is my honest opinion. The decision in principle is your first big step to mortgage approval. It will confirm how much you can borrow and if the lender is satisfied with your credit score, in principle. Knowing how much you can borrow will help you to view properties you can actually afford. We will also complete a budget planner, so you will know how much your mortgage and insurance will cost monthly and insure you comfortably afford and enjoy your new home. In a fast-paced market, most estate agents will ask you to confirm that you have a decision in principle when you arrange a viewing.
Home Movers Questions Answered
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es, depending on the deal you have you will have 1 of 2 options. If you are in the middle of a deal with an attractive interest rate or an early repayment charge to exit the mortgage, I would explore the option of porting the mortgage. Porting your mortgage means staying with your existing lender and keeping this deal for your new home. If you need to borrow more, you will need to borrow more with the same lender. The alternative to this would be to move way from your current mortgage lender and secure complete new borrowing with a new lender. It may be that your current lenders criteria doesn’t suit your next move or it makes financial sense to change lender. I will always weigh up both options and advise you which is the most cost effective and suitable for your situation.
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The initial cost will generally be to market your home. This includes estate agency fees, home reports or surveys and photographs. You will also have solicitor fees for the conveyancing work involved for selling and purchasing your new home. Depending on the value of your new property you may incur Land & Building Transaction Tax in Scotland or Stamp Duty in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There may be fees for exiting an existing mortgage and arrangement fees for your new mortgage deal. It’s always sensible to budget for the practical cost of moving home too. Will you need movers or can you manage yourself? I’ll help you understand all the costs relevant to you.
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The best advice I can give would be to have your home “market ready” when you are looking for a new home. In an ideal scenario, you will be mortgage ready with a decision in principle, you will find a new home, have an offer accepted and then list your home. It’s usually expected that you list your home within a week of having an offer accepted. This usually helps you to manage the chain well and simultaneously move out of one home and into another, thus avoiding having to rent. In some circumstances you may want to sell your home first, for example if you have concerns about how long it will take you to sell. I’ll help you manage either scenario.
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The lenders will assess your income and outgoings like that did when you bought your first home. Getting advice will confirm how much you can borrow. I will also work out how much you’ll have as your deposit for your new home after we have budgeted for the costs involved in moving home. Importantly, I will help you understand how much your new mortgage will be monthly and budget for the overall costs of running a new home.
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Yes, I would recommend getting a decision in principle before you start looking for a new home. The mortgage process for moving house is much the same as it was when you purchased your house, albeit there are a few more moving parts. I’ll help coordinate all of this.
Remortgaging Questions Answered
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It may still be possible depending on your circumstances. There are specialist lenders who consider a wider range of credit profiles, and I can help you understand your credit file and explore your options.
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Yes, you may be able to release equity through a remortgage. This is often used for home improvements, debt consolidation, or other larger expenses, depending on affordability and lender criteria.
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Yes, it’s becoming increasingly important to make sure your property is running as well as possible. There is an array of financial products specially designed to help you borrow more to improve the energy efficiency of your home. Get it touch and I will help you navigate this.
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A remortgage usually takes around 4–8 weeks, although this can vary depending on the lender and your circumstances. I’ll coordinate everything from start to finish.
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Most lenders require a valuation, although this is often carried out electronically or automatically. In some cases, a physical valuation may be needed. In many cases the new lender will cover this cost.
BUY TO LET Questions Answered
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Most Buy-to-Let lenders require a deposit of at least 20% to 25% of the property's value, although some lenders may require more depending on your circumstances and the type of property. A larger deposit can often help you access more competitive Buy-to-Let mortgage rates.
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Yes, some lenders offer Buy-to-Let mortgages to first-time buyers, although the criteria are usually stricter. You may need a larger deposit, a higher income, and evidence that you understand the responsibilities of being a landlord. Get in touch and I can tell you more.
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The amount you can borrow is primarily based on the property's expected rental income. Most lenders require the rental income to exceed the mortgage payment by a certain percentage, often between 125% and 145%. Your personal income, credit history, and existing financial commitments may also be considered.
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Eligibility requirements vary between lenders but typically include:
Being at least 18 years old. Although some lenders require you to be 25.
Meeting minimum income requirements, usually £25,000 or above although this can vary.
Having a satisfactory credit history.
Providing an acceptable deposit, most lenders require 25%.
Demonstrating that the property's rental income meets the lender's affordability criteria.
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Yes, you can remortgage a Buy-to-Let property to secure a new interest rate, release equity for further property investments, or switch lenders when your current deal ends. Many landlords review their Buy-to-Let mortgage regularly to ensure they remain on a competitive rate. I can compare the latest remortgage deals and help you find a suitable option based on your property's value, rental income, and financial circumstances.
INSURANCE & PROTECTION Questions Answered
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A mortgage is usually the biggest financial commitment we ever take on. It all hinges on your ability to earn an income. If you lose your income through illness or injury, you could be at risk of losing your home. Having policies in place to safeguard against this is sensible. Policies like income protection, which is a monthly replacement of your income, or critical illness which pays out a lump sum on diagnosis of specific critical illnesses, can help you have the financial resilience to keep paying your mortgage and bills. Life insurance will pay out a lump sum if you die. The amount of life insurance recommended is usually enough to at least pay off your mortgage and leave your property debt free to your loved ones. It’s also sensible to think about the loss of your income on the household needs over and above the mortgage. Could your family still maintain their lifestyle if you were no longer here. Buildings insurance is the only insurance that is mandatory when you take out a mortgage, but I would argue that paying your mortgage and bills is mandatory too. I can provide advice on all these types of cover.
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Often yes, I will understand your health history and be able to advise which insurers may offer the most favourable approach to this. When we apply for insurance, we will complete a health history questionnaire. This allows the insurer to understand about your lifestyle and health history. They will often need to write to your GP to understand more about you have declared. They will always cover the cost of any GP reports. When the insurer has completed their underwriting, they will provide one of the following decisions. 1. Standard terms, what we applied for is what we have been offered, no change to policy, no exclusions and no change to price. 2. Rated – an increase in monthly cost as they feel you are more likely to need to use the policy in the future. 3. Exclusions – they may exclude a condition that you already have an experience of this means you couldn’t make a claim for this condition, but you could for all other conditions covered under the policy. 4. Decline cover, depending on your individual health history it may not be possible to get cover at this time. I can help review this in the future if appropriate.
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I will always look to understand your employee benefits as a starting point to understand how long you may be paid for if you are unwell and not able to work. I will then show you how much income you would need monthly to meet your mortgage payment, pay your essential bills, do the food shop and have some left over for actual life. You may have savings that would support your income for a month or so, but this will be depleted much faster than it took you to save. What would you do then? Having a policy such as income protection can replace your income when you are unwell and not able to work, meaning you don’t have to deplete your savings and most importantly you can keep your home. If you change employer or your income changes significantly, I will be there to review your policy and ensure it still meets your needs.
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Life insurance pays out when you die. Statistically the chances of dying within your mortgage term are low for most people. This is why life insurance is relatively cheap. Critical illness pays out on diagnosis of a pre-defined critical illness. The most common claims in the UK are cancer, stroke and heart attack. Cancer research UK predicts that 1 in 2 of us will get cancer in our lifetime. If I gave you a 1 in 2 chance of winning the lotto, you would buy a ticket. Taking out insurance long before you think you will need is the right time to take out cover. The younger you are at the point of application, the cheaper it will be. I only work with 5-star Defaqto rated insurers who offer the broadest and most comprehensive definitions of critical illnesses.
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I work with L&G, LV, Royal London, Guardian, Aviva & Vitality. The reason I chose to work with these providers is based on their pay out rates and service, as well as the quality cover they offer. One of the benefits of my advice is that I will always help you understand the importance of putting your policy in trust and assist you in completing the paperwork. Putting a policy in trust means it is paid out timely and to the right person. Life insurance can be paid out in a matter of days. Some policies will even pay out before a death if the policy includes terminal illness cover. This can give clients peace of mind that their family are financial okay before the final goodbyes. Critical illness claims require evidence of your diagnosis. You will usually have a letter from your doctor already. The timescale for pay-out is usually a few weeks to a couple of months, once a valid claim has been accepted. The exact timescale depends on the insurer, the condition, and how quickly all medical evidence and paperwork can be provided. I’ll be on hand to assist with the claim process.
Know Your Rights
Our number one priority is to provide customers with the highest level of service. However, we know that sometimes things can go wrong. Customer feedback helps us understand where things have gone wrong and gives us the opportunity to put them right. It also helps us understand where we need to improve our products and services.
If you have a complaint about your Adviser or the service you received please contact us.
Post: Complaints Department, Mortgage Advice Bureau Limited, Capital House, Pride Place, Derby, DE24 8QR.
Email: complaints@mab.org.uk
Phone: 01332 200020 We may record and monitor calls.
If your complaint cannot be resolved straightaway we will:
Acknowledge receipt in writing, confirming our understanding of your complaint, who will be handling it and giving you the opportunity to provide any further information or documents.
The Financial Ombudsman Service
If you’re dissatisfied with our response, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service for an independent review free of charge, but you must do so within six months of the date of MAB’s final response letter.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will only consider your complaint once you’ve tried to resolve it with us, so please take up your concerns with us first and we’ll do all we can to help.
The FOS is also only able to consider certain categories of complaint, for example complaints about Buy to Let mortgages, which are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority will normally be outside the jurisdiction of the FOS.
In addition, the FOS might not be able to consider your complaint if:
What you’re complaining about happened more than six years ago, and
You’re complaining more than three years after you realised (or should have realised) that there was a problem.
If your complaint was made outside of these time limits, which is a matter for The Ombudsman to decide, The Ombudsman will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances. For example, if it believes that the delay was as a result of exceptional circumstances.
Further information on the services provided by the Financial Ombudsman Service can be found on their website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk or alternatively,
Post: The Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London. E14 9S
Phone: 0800 023 4567 or 0300 123 9123
Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Directive
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Directive. The ADR directive is European law, which means alternative ways of resolving contractual disputes between consumers and businesses are available. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is the ADR provider for Financial Services in the UK and will provide a complaint handling service under the ADR Directive in addition to its role as an Ombudsman Service.
Mortgage Advice Bureau has decided to continue dealing with customer’s complaints when they are received rather than pass responsibility to the FOS under the ADR Directive. This does not affect customers’ statutory rights of referral to the FOS as outlined above.
Online Dispute Resolution Platform (ODR). Complaints about Financial Services firms may also be sent to the Online Dispute Resolution website; ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.
Any complaints received via the ODR, will be forwarded to the FOS and then to MAB. Complaints received by this method will be treated in the same way as those received through existing means.