Buying a home

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Preparing to buy

When you decide you want to buy a home, you may need to get a mortgage to buy it. If so, you need to work out how much you can afford to borrow.聽

When deciding how much to lend you, a mortgage lender will consider:

  • the total amount you can borrow
  • whether a deposit is needed
  • how affordable your monthly mortgage payments will be

How your mortgage affordability will be worked out

The mortgage affordability assessment will take into account:

  • your income
  • your current outgoings, for example, utility bills, insurance and Council Tax

It will also consider any changes that might affect whether you would be able to afford repayments (for example if interest rates change, or if you were made redundant).

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Additional costs

Other costs you may need to consider when buying a home include:

Property running costs

There will be extra costs to run your home when you buy it. For example:

  • Council Tax
  • cost of heating the property
  • other bills such as water and broadband

If you鈥檙e buying a leasehold property

You may also have to pay:

  • services charges (this usually covers building insurance)聽
  • ground rent聽

Find out leasehold service charges and expenses.

Credit score

Your credit score can affect whether you can get a mortgage and the kinds of deals you鈥檒l be offered. The higher the number in your score, the more likely you are to be offered a mortgage.

Find more information about .

Identity checks

You鈥檒l need to prove your identity to your:

  • estate agent
  • solicitor
  • mortgage lender

Find more information about .

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