First Time Buyer
Buying your first home is one of the most exciting times in your life. At West End Mortgages, we strive to make the process as stress free as possible.
From the first meeting, we will walk you through the whole process from start to finish meaning that you will leave feeling well informed and hopefully much more relaxed knowing that you are in safe hands
You can search the internet and the high street to try and find what you may think is the best mortgage for you, potentially without realising that there could be a better and more suitable option available to you elsewhere. When speaking to a bank they are only able to talk to you about the mortgage products that they can offer you.
At West End Mortgages it is our job and our responsibility to find you the best mortgage for you, offering completely impartial and independent advice. Recommendations are made based on products from the whole of the mortgage market and tailored exactly to your requirements.
This way you can rest assured that you will have the best mortgage option available to you.
At West End Mortgages we appreciate that you may have lots of questions and we will take the time to make sure that you have a full understanding of the whole process as well as ensuring that you understand all of the different options available to you.
Before you start the search for your dream home, you will likely want to know:
How much can I borrow?
What are my monthly payments likely to be?
What type of mortgage is the most suitable to me?
How long does the whole process take?
What size of deposit will I need?
What other parties are involved in the buying process?
What costs am I likely to face in buying a home aside from the deposit?
What is a home report?
Am I likely to get a mortgage?
What happens when the new mortgage deal ends in the future?
First Meeting
Before we are able to recommend the best mortgage to suit your needs, we need to gather some essential information on your income (from all sources), expenditure, details of any credit commitments such as car finance, loans, credit cards with balances and any other finance agreements. Regular outgoings such as pension payments, student loan repayments and transport costs such as rail passes will also be recorded.
This information is extremely important as it allow us to make suitable recommendations and is required to progress any potential mortgage application.
We will explain all of your options clearly so that you have a full understanding of what’s available to you as well as the various features available for each mortgage. This means that when you are ready to move forward, you will have a clear picture of how everything will work. This will also help to put you in a stronger position when you are viewing properties and dealing with estate agents.
At West End Mortgages you can rest assured that you are in the best hands. Our professional team are some of the most experienced and well qualified in the mortgage industry.
Applying for your mortgage
Once we have completed all of the above, we will make our recommendation to you for the best mortgage to suit your needs. This is done after all of the required checks with the lender have been carried out to ensure that you fit with their lending criteria and that you pass all of their affordability checks.
The first stage in the mortgage application process is the Decision in Principle. This is where we apply to the bank for pre-approval for a mortgage. The bank will then offer you a maximum amount based on your individual circumstances. It is at this stage that they carry out initial credit checks and affordability checks. If all goes smoothly, this decision can be valid for up to 90 days.
You will require the services of a solicitor to submit offers on your behalf, carry out any negotiations and complete the necessary legal work. West End Mortgages are happy to refer you to a local solicitor that we work closely with, should you not already have one. Having a solicitor in place means that when viewing properties you are as prepared as you can be, and when you find the right property for you, you are able to submit an offer without delay.
Once you have your offer accepted, we will deal with the whole mortgage application process from start to finish while keeping you and your solicitor fully informed of the progress.
We appreciate that everyone has a busy life. At no point will you have to speak to the lender, send on documentation or visit any of their branches to provide information. We deal with everything on your behalf to ensure that the process is as smooth and stress free as possible.
Mortgage Protection
Protecting your income and your mortgage is extremely important as we never know what the future holds with regards to our health.
For most of us, a mortgage will be the biggest debt we will ever take on. It’s important that this is protected to ensure that you or your loved ones have the ability to pay the mortgage should something unforeseen happen to you.
We want to make sure that you have the right cover in the right areas. We will analyse any cover that you may receive through your employer such as sick pay and death in service, and any existing policies that you may have. We make recommendations after searching the whole of the market before recommending the best and most appropriate policies to suit your needs.
We will also ensure that any policies are set up correctly to ensure that any payout in the event of a claim is not delayed.
Further information on the various types of cover is available under the Insurance section of our website.