First-time buyers
From what you can realistically borrow to what the solicitor will ask for. Gifted deposits and family help included.
What a first-time buyer needs
Mortgages
The rate is only part of what a mortgage costs.
Buying, moving, remortgaging or letting — we compare what is available to you, explain the choice in plain terms, and put the reasoning in writing before anything is submitted.
No client fee · No obligation
What we arrange
Six case typesRemortgage
Reviewed six months before your deal ends, so you are never moved onto a lender’s standard variable rate by default.
Remortgaging explainedMoving home
Porting your existing deal or starting again — we set out both, with the early repayment position made clear.
How a move runs, week by weekBuy to let
Single properties and small portfolios, with rental stress testing explained before you commit to a purchase.
Buy to let explainedLimited company
SPV purchases and transfers, including which lenders accept newly formed companies and personal guarantees.
Why the numbers work differentlyNew build
Offers timed around build completion and exchange deadlines, with extensions handled before they expire.
The paperwork and the deadlines
Lenders
We tell you which lenders we looked at, and why we chose one.
We advise on mortgages from the lenders available to us through our principal firm, Arkke Capital Ltd — high street banks, building societies and specialist lenders who take cases the high street will not.
Where a direct-only deal would suit you better than anything we can arrange, we will say so. That is the whole point of asking an adviser.
How a case runs
From first call to completionThe conversation
Twenty to thirty minutes on your income, your deposit, your credit position and what you are trying to do. Nothing is recommended at this stage, and nothing is charged.
Affordability and documents
We work out a realistic borrowing figure and collect the evidence lenders will ask for — so the figure you plan around is the one an underwriter will accept.
Research and recommendation
Lenders are compared on rate, fees, term, criteria and how they treat your type of income. You receive the recommendation and the reasoning in writing before you agree to anything.
Decision in principle
The lender’s first agreement, which estate agents will ask to see. We explain what it does and does not commit anyone to.
Full application and valuation
We submit, package the documents and deal with underwriter questions directly. You are told what has happened, not left to chase it.
Offer to completion
We stay with the case through the solicitor’s work to completion, and we come back to you before the deal ends so the next decision is made in good time.
You receive the recommendation and the reasoning in writing before you agree to anything.
Questions we are asked every week
Straight answersWhat does your advice cost me?
Nothing. We are paid by the lender or provider when a case completes. You will always be told what we receive before you decide.
How much can I borrow?
Most lenders start from a multiple of your income, then adjust for credit commitments, dependants and the term. The multiple is not the same at every lender, which is why one refusal means very little.
How big a deposit do I need?
Five per cent is enough for many purchases, though rates improve at ten, fifteen and twenty-five per cent. We show you what each step is actually worth in monthly terms.
Will applying damage my credit file?
A decision in principle is usually a soft search that others cannot see. A full application leaves a footprint, which is why we only submit where we have good reason to expect a yes.
When should I start a remortgage?
About six months before your current deal ends. Offers can usually be held that long, and if rates fall in the meantime we will check whether your lender will let us move you.
I have been declined elsewhere. Is that the end?
Rarely. A decline usually means the case went to a lender whose criteria did not fit it. We would want to see the reason before saying anything more.
Tell us where you are up to.
Browsing, offer accepted, or three months from the end of a deal — the first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
More in Mortgages
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