Why it's vital to get mortgage approval in principle before you start house hunting

You'll get a rough indication of what you can borrow on most property and mortgage websites.

But because there are lots of different things the lenders take into account that can drastically effect what you can borrow, such as your age, your loan commitments, credit history, type of job, savings patterns and even how many kids you have, getting an accurate figure from any website is next to impossible.

Add to that the wide range of lenders out there and the different criteria they use, and you'll soon see that there's only one way to know for sure what you can borrow - and that's to get mortage 'approval in principle'.

Getting Approval in Principle simply means getting mortgage approval in place prior to finding the specific property which you're going to buy.

5 Reasons to Get Approval in Principle

• It removes the guess work and doubts about what you can and can't afford.
• You can easily identify homes within your price range.
• You won't find the 'perfect home' and then discover you can't get finance for it.
  
• You'll be able to move fast when the right property comes up.
  
• Pre Approval effectively makes you a 'cash buyer'. When you place an offer on a property the seller doesn't have to worry about whether you'll get mortgage approval, as you'll already have it in place.
  

How you can arrange approval in principle right now:

• Spend a couple of minutes filling in a few details on our Online Mortgage Application page.
• A mortgage consultant will contact you within 24 hours with an accurate mortgage approval figure.
  
• You can then get formal approval in 'black and white' by providing a few documents such as payslips and a P60.
• Finally, when you successfully bid on a property, the consultant will arrange a standard mortgage valuation of the property and your 'letter of offer' with the property details etc is issued.
  

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• Buying a Home - Step by Step
  
• Mortgage Application Process
  
• Rates & Costs
• Do I Need a deposit?
  
• Which type of mortgage is best for me?
• How Much Can I Borrow?
• Would I Be Approved?
• Approval in Principle - Why it's so Important
• Online Mortgage Application

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