PREPARING FOR A MORTGAGE APPLICATION

John Craig helps you to get ready with some practical advice and tips that will hopefully speed the process up for you.

Something that we are asked about on almost a daily basis by clients is to help them to provide the variety of information that mortgage providers are now asking for. It does seem however that different providers are asking applicants for different information and in different formats too.

With this in mind we thought it would be useful to provide you with a checklist of what you are likely to be asked for, whether you are self-employed or employed. By preparing for your mortgage application in advance, this should save you time and hassle when you do come to make your application.

Before applying for a mortgage however, it is a really good idea to contact the main credit reference agencies and order your credit reports. This will enable you to make sure that there is no incorrect information about you, you can do this online and it’s often free of charge for up to 30 days.

You can then start collecting all of the documents you will need for the mortgage application.

This includes:

•    Your last three months’ payslips
•    Your P60 form from your employer
•    Bank statements of your current account for the last three to six months
•    Statements from your savings accounts
•    Proof of any benefits received
•    Statement of two to three years’ accounts from your accountant if you are self-employed
•    Tax return form SA302 if you have earnings from more than one source or are self-employed
•    Self-employed people should also provide information alongside their tax return, which supports what the SA302 says about their income such as bank statements
•    Utility bills
•    Passport or driving licence to prove your identity

Making your application
When you do make your application, you must ensure that it is accurate and that the information on the application form completely matches the documents that you supply. For example, don’t round up your salary, make sure that the figure you supply matches your payslip. You will also have to provide details of the address of the property, the estate agent and your solicitor.

Please note, printouts of online statements of your current account and utility bills may not be acceptable to the lender. You will either need hard copies or have copies which are certified by your solicitor, bank or utility provider as appropriate.

Summary
These are just the basics and certain lenders may indeed ask you for more information and documentation, as well as this they may have different criteria around both your income and outgoings. Do ask your lender or mortgage adviser what else you might need and let us know if there are specific tax calculations, tax overviews and indeed accountant’s certificates that you might need from us. By preparing as much of this in advance as possible, should save you a considerable amount of time and hassle when you are in the throes of buying a new house, as you know this can be stressful enough!