Agreement in Principle Mortgage Advice in Birmingham
A mortgage agreement in principle is basically an obtainable document or certificate of confirmation that proves to the estate agent or seller of the property that ‘in principle’, the bank is willing to lend you a certain amount for a mortgage. You may also see this called a decision in principle.
This is something that we will always look to obtain for of our customers if they don’t have one already, and something we can usually get within 24 hours of your initial appointment.
In order to obtain an agreement in principle, you will have to pass the lenders credit score. This works out well because in almost all cases, this is a very good sign to the lender that you are creditworthy and could be trusted with a mortgage.
If you are in the market for buying a new home as a first time buyer in Birmingham, then an estate agent will often want to check again and again in order to make 100% sure that you are ‘mortgage ready’ when it comes to making any offers on a property.
In having this certificate on hand, you will prove to the seller that you are able to obtain a mortgage for the amount you will need to purchase the property and are ready to proceed with the sale.
A mortgage agreement in principle will not be a definitive guarantee of being able to obtain a mortgage, as the rest of your full application will require further background checks (such as evidencing your income) and having a property valuation undertaken on the property you’re looking to buy.
As an experienced mortgage broker in Birmingham, we highly suggest that all customers try to obtain an agreement in principle at the earliest opportunity. This is because of the following reasons:
1. Negotiating Power.
2. Avoid Disappointment.
3. Knowing Your Limits.
Negotiating Power
Once you reach the point of being able to make an offer on a new home, the majority of estate agents will undertake the necessary steps to ensure that you can go forward with a mortgage on the property.
Generally speaking, they will require you to provide them with evidence that you are able to afford the purchase of the property, prior to listing the property as sold and taking it off the market.
If you have already managed to have a mortgage agreed prior to making an offer on the property, you’ll come off as more appealing to the seller.
This will also prove to the seller that you’ve put a lot of careful thought about your mortgage journey and not just decided to purchase out of the blue, with no preparation.
This might persuade a seller to accept any offers that you make that are lower than the initial asking price. Make sure not to make offers too low though, as you don’t want to insult the seller.
Avoid Disappointment
When it comes to making a purchase on a property, we often find that customers can go full steam into the process, making an offer on a property without making sure that they can afford to actually buy the property in the first place.
This could lead to customers facing potential disappointment if the mortgage application happens to fail, as by that point they may have already had their heart set on that property.
By getting in touch with a mortgage advisor in Birmingham early on, the potential disappointment that you otherwise would’ve faced could potentially be avoided.
Often, there are various factors that are causing a mortgage to decline that can be overcome with a little time and the guidance of a trusted mortgage broker.
Knowing Your Llimits
If you are a First Time Buyer in Birmingham and know you have a good credit score because you’ve never been turned down for credit, have paid everything on time and are registered on the voters roll etc, it is still worth getting in touch with us for mortgage advice in Birmingham.
You might find that you could approach various different lenders and each time get a different max mortgage amount back from them. These lenders all calculate affordability in their own unique way, with their own individual criteria.
If you are self employed in Birmingham, though the mortgage process is not completely impossible to navigate, it can be very complex for self employed applicants, without the assistance of a mortgage broker in Birmingham by your side.
Some lenders will take your net profit, others are known to use your salary and dividends. Some use your latest year, whereas some others will use an average over three years.
Think it’s simple?
Being aware of your borrowing limits is very important when it comes to applying for a mortgage, as then you have a realistic idea of what your price range on a property is going to be.
Our team of mortgage advisors in Birmingham will be able to give you a guide of the potential maximum mortgage available to you and help you to work out an estimate of the amount you’ll possibly be paying back per month for your mortgage.
Date Last Edited: September 2, 2024
