Buying a home is a major financial commitment. That’s something UK lenders agree on too, which is why the mortgage lending rules of today are much stricter than they were ten, or even five years ago. That means before you start house hunting, it is important that your finances are in order. The best way to do this is to speak with a professional, who can help you understand your budget and potentially give you tips that will improve your chances of securing the best mortgage available for you when the time comes.

To help ensure your mortgage application runs smoothly and that you can secure the maximum amount that you can borrow, there are a few things you can do.

Here are some steps you can take to help secure the mortgage you need, to buy the home you want.

1. Review your existing finance arrangements

Mortgage lenders analyse all your spending commitments, so take a look at your own finances beforehand and pin down all your necessary outgoings. If you have existing loans, work out if there’s any way you can condense them, or even eliminate some.

If you have major existing financial loan commitments, it will reduce the amount the lender considers you can comfortably afford to repay on your mortgage each month.

2. Never miss credit repayments

Keeping on top of your finances and always making any credit repayments on time is essential if you want a mortgage. Where you do have a loan, credit card or credit agreement in place, you need to ensure that you always make your repayment date and amount. If you are a regular and reliable repayor of credit, then that will demonstrate to a lender that they can rely on you to make your regular monthly mortgage payments, too.

It will help improve your credit score and show that you are a responsible borrower.

3. Save as big a deposit as possible

The bigger the deposit, the better interest rate you will get on your mortgage. If you can secure a lower mortgage interest rate, this means you will be paying less interest on the mortgage that you are borrowing.

4. A steady employment history

Moving jobs can be excellent for your career and also your earnings. However, too much chopping and changing isn’t always viewed positively by your potential mortgage lender. So, if you can show a steady employment history, that helps to highlight you as a responsible and reliable applicant.

5. Get a copy of your credit score

You should be able to do this through a number of credit scoring companies, and for free. By finding out what your credit score is you’ll know if your mortgage application is likely to be successful at the level you’re anticipating.

If your credit score is not as good as you thought, then you can take steps to improve it – most of which we have already detailed above. After some months of improving your finances and credit scoring, you are likely to be in a better position to apply for a mortgage with the hopes of achieving the maximum amount that your income dictates.

The journey of buying a home and applying for a mortgage is not always smooth sailing as one would hope! However, if you can get your finances in order ahead of your mortgage application, the whole process should be just that bit less stressful and result in you being able to purchase the home you really want. Get in touch with our very own in-house mortgage advisor today.