Finding the right mortgage is easier than you might think...

As many of you already know i have now moved into my second home and i now have my second mortgage. I got my first mortgage three years ago when i was twenty-three, so now that i have been through the process twice i now feel that i am in a good place to educate others on the process.

When i first went into the process i had too many misconceptions and quickly wised up, dispelling the myths i guess many of you have heard around the kitchen table and social media.

If you plan on moving on from rented accommodations and into owning your first house then the most important place to start is your financial situation. You will need to know how much you have coming in and out every month, how much disposable income you have leftover after the bills have been paid. The banks now need to know this as they won't give a mortgages to those who would struggle to pay their bills and mortgage; you need to have a good chunk of income leftover at the end of each month.

To workout how much money you can borrow from the bank you first need to understand what type of home you would like to buy. The houses you like will more than likely reflect the price range you operate within. Once you have a price in mind you can jump online and check out a variety of Mortgage calculators and tools, i would personally recommend using Santander's Budget Planner, Borrowing Calculator and their Mortgage Checker.

These tools will help you workout how much you can borrow, how much deposit you would need to put down and if you can't yet afford a despot on a house, an idea of how much you would need to save and for how long. Having or planning n having children can affect your application so you need to be honest as circumstances can change, impacting on your disposable income.

Banks and Building Societies now work hard to ensure you get the mortgage that is right for you. They will not give you a mortgage if they see you can't either afford it or commit to paying money back on a monthly basis. From my experience they go above and beyond to help you make the most out of what you have and your situation.

My biggest tip to anyone looking to buy a house for the first time is to go into your local building society or bank and speak to an advisor for free! 

Negotiating rates is one of the most important things when it comes to landing a mortgage. The lower the rates the less you have to pay back. Do your research on rates before you sign on the dotted line! The more money you put down the lower your rates; you also need to decide on whether you would like a fixed or a variable rate mortgage.

Variable Rate Mortgage' A type of home loan in which the interest rate is not fixed. The two most common types of mortgages in the United States are fixed rate and variable rate (also called
adjustable rate). With a fixed rate mortgage, the interest rate does not change for the entire loan term. 

A fixed rate mortgage is simply a means of guaranteeing your mortgage payment over a set period. Fixed rates are for an initial period, typically anything from a year to 10 years.

Whilst buying a house you might not be aware of a couple of extra costs that will crop up through the process. Even those these won't affect your mortgage directly they can eat away at your savings so its vital that you cost them into your purchasing figures; Solicitors Fees; (Stamp Duty) and Buyers Home Survey; any home improvements that the house might need once the report has been carried out this might highlight some expensive modifications.

Throughout the process you should never be afraid to say you don't understand something. Ask around it is often those closest that can offer the best of advise!