The Process

1. Arrange a Call

The first step of the process is to speak with one of our expert Second Charge Mortgage Advisor Team. You can either fill in the form on our contact page to arrange a call-back from an Advisor, else simply call our Advice Line directly at any time on 0333 015 3003.

It would help before speaking with an Advisor to check your latest credit score and report. You are able to download this is quickly and easily with a 30 day Free Trial with Check My File which can be cancelled at anytime.

2. Client Discovery Call

One of our experienced Second Charge Mortgage Advisor’s will call you to go through what we call the “Client Discovery Process” where we cover a number of questions to get all of the required information to enable us to find out details of your specific circumstances and the most suitable financial product for you. The types of information we gather includes income and employment details, your property and existing mortgage details, plus any other debts and outgoings.

3. Identify suitable products

We then use all the information that you provide to us and immediately get to work on finding the best option from the entire market of second charge mortgages. Using our expertise and understanding of the different lenders, we are then able to select the most suitable lender to fit your requirements.

4. Produce the Key Facts Illustration

Once we have collated all of your information and found a deal that we recommend based on your personal circumstances, we produce what is called a Key Facts Illustration. This gives you a detailed breakdown of the second charge mortgage deal and the costs that are involved.

5. Submit application to lender

If you are happy with the details provided in the Key Facts Illustration then we submit the application to the selected lender, who will do a soft search on your file. This basically means that they get a high-level check of your credit file but it does not affect your credit record in any way. This provides the lender with the information that they require to determine whether they are going to provide the loan to you. We provide all of the research work up to this stage without any charge, the fee is only applied once you wish to proceed to obtain a Decision in Principle.

6. Receive a decision

The selected lender will then assess the information provided and make a decision. If they are happy to lend to you, they will provide you with a Mortgage in Principle / Decision in Principle (MIP / DIP). This is confirmation that they will provide the loan to you, subject to a credit check, property valuation and receipt of all the required documentation such as payslips to evidence the information you provided.

7. Process the application

When you receive your Mortgage in Principle and you are happy with it, we can then go ahead with processing the application. The length this takes will depend on how quickly you can get all of the necessary documents together. We will inform you prior to this stage which documents you are likely to be required to provide, so that you can have these prepared, which will speed the process up.

The documents required usually include:

• Bank statements from the last three months
• Payslips from the last three months (or your accounts if self-employed)
• Employer’s details
• Proof of identity (passport or driving license)

The lender may also request additional information from credit reference agencies if necessary.

8. Property valuation

Because you are securing the loan against your property, a property valuation will usually be conducted. The cost for this may be required up front, or it may be included in the lender’s costs, depending on which lender it is.

9. Finalisation of the offer and money transfer

If all of the required information is provided and the lender is happy with the property valuation, they will send you a formal offer for your second charge mortgage. The final step is to transfer the agreed amount into your bank account.