The Mortgage Process

The home buying process can be fraught with difficulties, but in reality the home buying process comes down to four stages.

The first stage in the home buying process is to approach a mortgage broker or lender who will tell you how much you can borrow based on your income. Years ago this would have been about three times your gross annual earnings but nowadays given the competitive state of the market it differs from lender to lender, so it pays to shop around.

The second stage in the home buying process, once you've received confirmation on how much you can borrow, is to decide what kind of mortgage and repayment method best suit your requirements. Here the advice of an impartial broker should be sought as they will be able to guide you through the thousands of products on offer as well as the best repayment mechanism. Lenders will also help but they can only offer their own products.

The third stage in the home buying process, now that you know what the costs of your mortgage and associated costs will be i.e. the valuation, survey, solicitor fess and stamp duty etc is to start to look for a home to buy. You can now do this online or via the more traditional methods of estate agents and local press.

The final stage of the home buying process is to make a formal offer for the home of your dreams subject always to contract and to a satisfactory survey.

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