For most buyers the mortgage is the least predictable part of the process. In fact the steps are standard, and preparing in advance noticeably shortens your approval time.
1. Preparation: your credit score
Banks look first at your credit score. Check it before applying. Practices that improve it:
- Paying card and loan instalments without delay
- Keeping card utilisation low (ideally under 30%)
- Not making many applications in a short period
- Clearing settled debts that still show on your record
2. Loan amount and deposit
Banks finance a proportion of the valuation figure, not the whole of it. The rest is your deposit. The critical point: the loan limit is calculated on the valuation, not the sale price. If the valuation comes in lower than expected, your deposit requirement rises.
3. Documents required
- Identity document
- Proof of income (payslip, social security record, or tax certificate plus income statement)
- Proof of address
- Copy of the title deed
- Self-employed applicants also need a trade registration certificate and recent tax returns
4. Valuation
The bank instructs a licensed valuation firm to inspect the property. The report assesses location, area, age, floor, build quality and comparable sales. The main things that hurt a valuation:
- No occupancy permit
- Work deviating from the approved project
- Liens, charges or restrictive annotations on the deed
- The building being registered as structurally at risk
5. Approval and registering the charge
If the report is positive, the loan is approved. On the day of transfer a bank representative attends: as the sale is executed, the charge is registered in the bank's favour and the loan is transferred to the seller's account simultaneously. That simultaneity protects both parties.
6. Cost items
- Valuation fee
- Charge registration fee
- DASK (compulsory)
- Home insurance, and at some banks life cover
- Arrangement fee (capped by regulation)
When comparing offers
Don't look at the interest rate alone. The annual cost rate includes insurance and arrangement fees and shows the true cost. Two banks can quote the same interest rate with very different total costs.
A longer term lowers the monthly instalment but markedly increases total interest. If your budget allows, consider a shorter term — most banks also permit early repayment.
You can estimate your monthly instalment with the mortgage calculator on our property detail pages. Rates vary between banks and over time.
