Belfast Mortgage Broker Explains Mortgage Application Process

Author: Natasha Rodgers

A mortgage is a debt instrument, it is used to acquire real estate and the real estate is used as collateral. The borrower is supposed to pay back with an established set of payments over a period of time. Here is a guide on how to apply for a mortgage :

  • Know Your Credit Status Before you apply for a mortgage, make sure you are well acquainted with your credit report. Call two to three credit reference bureaus and request for your credit reports. Go through the credit reports thoroughly and make sure that there is no incorrect information about you. Any incorrect information will cost you and will deny you a chance to get your mortgage. You can do this online or through a paid subscription service that sends you reports regularly.
  • Gather Necessary Documents After you have known your credit status and you are now ready to apply for a mortgage, then you must start gathering all the documents that you need for your application. Various mortgage providers ask for various documents, others may ask for more documents than others and it all depends on the service provider.

Here is a list of the commonly asked documents by mortgage providers:? Your house utility bills? P60 form from your current employer? Proof of benefits received? Passports, Identification Card or driving licence in order to prove your identity? Bank statements of your current account for the past three to six months? Tax returns form SA 302. This is if you have earnings from various sources of income or if you are self employed? If you are self employed, you should look into providing more information to complement the SA302 form such as bank statements make sure that the information that you provide on the application forms matches the documents you supply. Do not round up any figures and do not alter anything on the forms.

You should also provide details of the property you want to acquire through mortgage, the estate agent and your solicitor

Lenders have different criteria in which they use around the incomes and expenditure. Online printouts of your statements might be denied as they cannot be ascertained. Have real copies or have your solicitor, bank or utility provider to certify your documents.

  • Spending Statements A lender may ask you to provide documents on how you spend your money, including how much you borrow, credit card statements and other loans that you are servicing. You need to include your household bills, these include :? Council tax? Bills? Insurance policies? General living costs.

If you are looking to remortgage or increase the size of the mortgage, you might have to go through the checks above to prove you are worthy again to receive a new mortgage.

Not all lenders can offer interest only mortgages, but those who do require you to show a credible repayment method as well as meeting a good income criteria. Before you apply for a mortgage, it is necessary that you speak to a range of people including mortgage advisors. You can speak to an independent financial advisor or a broker, like Crawford Mulholland Mortgages Belfast.