No. At Mortgage Synergy, we receive commission from the lender. This is the same as every other broker—it’s common in our industry. We don’t charge additional fees on top of the commission like some mortgage brokers do.
A common misconception is that applicants must have been in employment for three months, minimum. However, you can apply for a mortgage in as little as one week of a job. Some lenders may even accept an employment contract if your job starts in the next three months.
If you’re ready to buy (e.g. have a deposit, Mortgage in Principle, or a pending sale if you’re moving house), you can then place an offer.
All you need to do is call the estate agents and put your offer forward—easy.
No. This is known as conditional selling. Estate agents are free to offer you their services in terms of a mortgage broker or solicitor, but you are not obliged to use them to place an offer on a property. Conditional selling is illegal in the UK under the Estate Agents Act of 1979.
You will need a Mortgage in Principle—then a mortgage offer. You’ll also need a solicitor to assist with the legalities of the purchase and a deposit. If you haven’t got a Mortgage in Principle yet, here’s a list of documents you’ll need.
A mortgage in principle (also known as a decision in principle) normally lasts three months. If it runs out, let us know and we can easily get a new one once we’ve updated your financial information.
No. Most lenders are soft search, so it doesn’t affect your credit score.
Most lenders request a 25% deposit for a buy-to-let property. Some lenders may ask for 20%, though. If you are unsure, please get in touch.
How much you can borrow on a buy-to-let property depends on the rent the property will obtain.
Some lenders have no minimum income requirement for applicants, while others may have a £25,000 minimum annual salary. The lenders without income requirements will want to see proof of income, but your borrowing eligibility isn’t based on this.
No, self-employment doesn’t make it harder to get a mortgage. It means your income is assessed differently than a traditionally employed applicant.
Whether you’re self-employed or employed, banks tend to lend 4.5 times your annual income. Some lenders offer more, however, so speak to us to find the right lender for your needs.
If you have an accountant, we can request this information for you. Otherwise you can find this on your HMRC online account if you have access.
Getting tax calculations
- Log into your HMRC online account
- Select ‘Self Assessment’
- Follow the link ‘Get SA302 Tax Calculation for tax year 20xx to 20xx’
- Click ‘View your Calculation’
- Then save as PDF.
Tax year overview
- Log into your HMRC online account
- Select ‘Self Assessment’
- Follow the link ‘View Self Assessment return for tax year 20xx to 20xx’
- Then select the appropriate tax year from the drop-down box
- Click ‘Go’
- Scroll down and select ‘Print your tax year overview’
- Then save as PDF.
If you have more than a 25% share of a limited company, lenders will class you as self employed. They will use your salary and dividends for the last two years or use your share of net profits plus salary as income.
If you have less than 25% share, lenders can class you as employed and use salary only.
Yes. Many lenders offer 5% mortgages without the use of a government guarantee scheme.
If it’s your own savings, you must have proof for the estate agents, us (your mortgage brokers) and your solicitor.
If it’s gifted money you’re using for the deposit, it can stay in the account of the person gifting the sum. Again, your estate agent, mortgage broker, and solicitor will need proof of this—normally the ID and full address of the individual.
Your bank provider may verify your income automatically, but aside from that, you will still need to pass their credit score checks, affordability assessment, and underwriting processes. It doesn’t matter if you bank with them or not.
As long as you are up-to-date with repayments and haven’t missed any, your mortgage application will not be affected.
However, it does depend on the amount you repay monthly for car finance or a loan, or the balance on your credit card. This can reduce the amount lenders allow you to borrow, as your financial history plays a part in affordability.
No. Some lenders view Universal Credit (UC) as income, minus any housing element you receive. For example, if your UC entitlement has Child Tax Credit or other tax credits, lenders may use this to assess your income and boost borrowing sums.
No. You can only borrow up to 95% of the value of the property. Funds for renovating will come from your own pocket.
Lenders will always conduct a survey on a property. That said, there is no legal requirement for you to have a survey.
We tend to find our clients carry out a survey to identify any existing property issues. This is commonly a Level 2 Survey—otherwise known as a homebuyer’s report.
We typically go for the basic survey the lender provides. They don’t issue reports, though. The lender conducts the survey for its own lending purposes.
That said, if they do find significant issues, such as evidence of subsidence or damp for example, the lender will notify us to pass the information onto you.
Stamp duty typically comes out of your deposit. However, this means your available mortgage deposit is less.
This is a fee charged by a lender when setting up a loan for an applicant. It’s essentially an admin and/or processing charge.
Banks typically offer two rates:
- A lower rate with a fee between £999-£1,499, which can be added to the loan
- A higher rate with no fee.
The size of your loan depends on whether we’ll recommend a product with an arrangement fee or without. We will always calculate accordingly and recommend the most affordable option.
We normally advise against this, as the bank will run a hard credit search, which affects your credit score. Sometimes opening a new bank account is ok as long as you don’t apply for an overdraft on the new account. This may be viewed as a potential borrowing facility by some lenders.
We strongly advise against this, as extra borrowing on unsecured loans, credit cards, or car finance will affect the sum you can borrow.
Your first payment is always more because a majority of lenders do not take payment straight away. They often take it the following month.
When you complete your purchase and get your keys, your new lender will write to you within 7 working days to advise how much this first payment is and when it will come out.
For example, if you get your keys on the 5th of May, they will often take the first payment on the 1st of June – assuming you chose to pay on the 1st of each month. You will also have interest for 26 days added onto this first payment.
Yes. Mortgage Synergy is whole-of-market for Life Insurance and Critical Illness Cover. We can offer you these products as part of our service and provide advice on them. We also offer Income Protection.