The lender who says yes is rarely the one you walked into.

Our fee is set out on this page and does not change based on which lender you choose. Broker-only products often price below the equivalent branch product, which is frequently where the fee is recovered. We show you the direct comparison in writing so you can judge it yourself.

No. The initial review uses a soft search that only you can see. A hard search happens once, at the point you have agreed which lender to apply to. We never shotgun applications across several lenders to see which one sticks.

Some programs open at three per cent, and there are assistance schemes that reduce it further for eligible buyers. Below twenty per cent you should expect mortgage insurance to be added to the monthly payment, so the useful question is what monthly figure works, not what deposit is technically permitted.

It is a documentation exercise rather than an obstacle. Lenders vary widely in how they treat retained profit, add-backs and short trading histories, and the difference between the most and least generous lender on the same accounts can be substantial. That variance is precisely what a panel is for.

From a complete document pack to a formal offer, most straightforward purchases run three to five weeks. Complex income, unusual construction or a slow valuation can extend that. We give you a date range at stage three and tell you promptly if it moves.

We diarise it and contact you roughly six months ahead, while there is still time to move without paying an early repayment charge. Reverting quietly to a lender’s standard variable rate is the single most expensive thing most borrowers do, and it is entirely avoidable.