What question am I asked the most?

In my role as a mortgage advisor, quite understandably I guess, I am asked lots of questions by lots of people.

There is one which comes up again and again – What do I need to do to get a home loan or increase my current borrowing?

Or put it another way – Is there anything I can do to prepare if I want to borrow some (more) money from the bank.

There is a simple answer – YES and here are my go-to 5 things you can do now in advance of going to the bank:

1. Look at your bank statements and check that what you are actually spending. The banks don’t care if you order Uber Eats or buy a daily coffee. They care that there is enough left at the end of the month to pay the loan, and discretionary spending can impact this. There are apps that can help, but equally just monitoring your accounts can highlight where you are spending most of your money.
2. Demonstrate that you can save (your mortgage will almost definitely be higher than your current rent if you are a first-time buyer). Set up a separate savings account and start making regular payments. And yes, this is a great habit to get into anyway.
3. Try not to borrow with short term debt (car loans, credit cards, or the latest trend of buy now pay later facilities). Stuff happens, and sometimes we need these things, but not as a habit.
4. Keep all your bank and loan accounts ‘clean’. The banks will check your account conduct and they will have concerns if you can’t keen your normal bank statement out of an unarranged overdraft (after all, what are the chances of you repaying your loan if you can’t do that).
5. Seek advice and have a great team around you. Have a great lawyer, accountant (if you need one), mortgage broker and any other professional you need on your side. Have people you can turn too if needed and are always available to answer your questions.

There is no secret solution to getting a home loan, and now more than ever preparation is key. Having a team on your side will definitely help, so if you want to chat about your situation, please let me know and we can catch up.