Help, first timer Mortgages!

[RedXan]

This is for a friend (and for my future reference ) as neither of us know the first thing about what getting a mortgage involves or the 'hidden' costs.

Friend earns only about 17k per year, is single and lives with parents. No debts, but no credit cards either. Pay as you Go phone, small overdraft of £200 (rarely dipped into), no savings over £200.

Her mum has said she will gift her 4k for a deposit, we're NW so houses are fairly cheap and several decent 2/3 bed houses in our area are 69-80k.

What are her chances of getting a mortgage? What can she do to improve her chances? How do you even go about getting one in the first place? Solicitors needed? Any other costs?

Thanks!

I would tell your friend to make an appointment to see a Mortgage Broker. They can go through everything with her and give her an idea of how much she would be able to borrow. She wont need a solicitor until she has found a house to buy and had an offer accepted on it.