What to Expect in our Initial Call

Picking up the phone to speak to a Mortgage Adviser for the first time can be a bit daunting. We thought it would be a good idea to explain how the first conversation will go. Not only to elevate some of the nerves but to help you prepare so you can get the most out of it.

The idea of the first conversation is for you to get to know us and for us to get to know you. Of course, we’ll need to ask a number of questions to get the specifics of your situation in order to offer tailored advice but the conversation doesn’t need to be an integration. It’s just as important that you ask me the questions that are important to you as it is that I ask the questions I need to advise.

What information will I need to provide during a Mortgage Consultation?

To help you prepare, I’ve listed the main questions I’ll ask below.

  1. INCOME. The amount you can borrow for a mortgage depends on a lot of things but income is the main driver. We will need to know.
    • Name of Employer
    • Job Title
    • How long you’ve worked there
    • Your basic Salary
    • Do you receive any additional income (Overtime, commission, bonus, etc).

If you are self-employed the questions are a little different.

  • Are you a sole-trader/LLP/Ltd company director, etc.
  • When was the business established.
  • If a sole trader, your latest 2 years Net profit.
  • If a ltd company director, your latest 2 years Salary and dividends

Mortgages for the self-employed are a little more tricky so there may be some other questions specific to you, but the above will help you prepare a little.

  1. COMMITMENTS. As well as knowing your income, we need to know your committed expenditure. Not necessarily your general household bills, food, etc. More so your debts. For any commitments you have we’d need to know.
    • Type of debt (Credit Card/Personal Loan/Student Loan/Hire Purchase, etc)
    • Name of Provider
    • Outstanding balance
    • Monthly payment
  1. DEPENDENTS. Do you have any dependent children or dependent adults. If so, we’ll ask the following for each dependent person.
    • Full name
    • Date of Birth
    • Relation to you
    • Are commitment costs for them (child care, school fees, etc)
  1. CREDIT ISSUES. It is always a great idea to download a copy of your full credit report prior to the appointment and even email it over to us if you can. The report provides exact information on your current commitments and also shows us if you have any historic or current issues that may impact your mortgage (missed payments, defaults, etc).

Mortgage Lenders deal with a variety of different credit agencies so we recommend downloading a report by CLICKING HERE. This report will show us the information sorted with 3 different agencies, giving us the most accurate information for all lenders.

Remember, we need a copy of your full report, not just the score. With CheckmyFile the easiest way to do this is:

  • Click the Credit Report tab at the top
  • Scroll to the very bottom
  • Download full report
  • Save as a PDF
  • Email that PDF to us

You’ll be amazed that amount of times people think their credit is perfect only to find out that there is a tiny balance outstanding on a utility bill registered to a previous property and it’s been going down as a missed payment, or worse, without your knowledge.

  1. DEPOSIT. We’ll need to know how much you have in total and where it’s coming from (savings, gift, previous sale, etc). We’ll then be able to give a rough idea of the costs for purchasing/remortgaging and therefore help you work out how much you’d have left for the deposit on the property. This will help us work out the interest rates you may be eligible for and how much you might pay per month.

There will be a lot of other things we’ll discuss of course but none that would likely need much preparation. More general information on your plans and goals.

We’ll then talk you through how we work, how we’re regulated, the costs for our services and the mortgage process. We’ll follow the call up with an email to give you an idea of figures and the next steps.

Hopefully, this helps you prepare. Looking forward to speaking with you and helping you moving forward.