What to expect in a mortgage application interview

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Hope this is the right place to post.

I'm hopefully going to be a first time buyer with my partner and I've been reading up on mortgage interviews. I'm a bit nervous about this, I've been spending quite a bit on frivolous things lately and I'm unsure how this would be looked upon by a bank. Can anyone let me know what sort of questions they've been asked and how in depth the interview was. Thanks!

I didn't realise that. I'd still rather pay a fee to a broker for genuine impartial advice than to a broker who is getting kick backs from a lender.

And please don't @ me

Going to a bank isn't that outdated we did 2 years ago for our first mortgage. No selling, basic questions and then queries about regularly payments on the statements and that was it as we both banked with them Could follow and track it all online as it progressed. It was a bit daunting but very simple in the end.
Different banks have slightly differing criteria's friends were much more quizzed about budgets in their HSBC application.
Mortgage brokers are useful for lots of people if that's the way you prefer of course. Money saving experts forums were very useful for me at that time too.

We’re all entitled to our opinion

Apologies if I caused offence, I was just replying to your comment.

Paid-for brokers can also receive commission, it's not only L&C.

@OrchidInTheSun

You simply cannot expect people not to @ you - it's the normal way to refer to specific people's replies further up a thread. It is part of Mumsnet and there are hundreds of thousands of people on here using @ in this perfectly normal way. They aren't all going to keep in mind that OrchidInTheSun wants special different treatment.

You can switch off notifications that someone @ signed you by unticking the "Notify me when others mention me in a thread" box in settings.

Higa - I think you'll find that using the @ function is considered bad manners on MN which you'd probably know if you'd been here as long as I had.

Anyway, let's not have a silly irrelevant argument on the poor OP's thread.

Which bank and how do you know you're getting the best deal suited to your circumstances??

You really should go to a broker.

@OrchidInTheSun it’s not bad manners and it’s a relatively new feature.

@OrchidInTheSun @-ing is not bad manners at all; "I think you'll find" is a rude statement however.

HTH (that's bad manners )

Thanks for all the replies! I think broker is definitely the way to go. I will have a look on MSE and see which ones they recommend. I just want to make sure the process is as easy and stress free as possible really

FWIW, when I remortgaged I sat in my independent broker's office for about 30mins to go over a couple of queries, gave him 3 payslips and that was it. No fee to me.

He found the right deal, applied for it all for me and next thing I got a letter from lender saying "welcome Buzz, here's your new mortgage info"

It did have a very clear line that the broker had been paid a few hundred quid for arranging it, it wasn't secret at all.

I will have a look on MSE and see which ones they recommend

I would look on local FB pages as well - see who people in your area have actually used and personally recommend. I, for example, recommend not only the firm, but a specific person within it.

With big brokers there may be dozens of people and some will naturally be less suitable than others.

I've always looked at best buy tables for mortgages and applied directly for the product that suits my circumstances best. Always worked well for us, but we both work in finance, which I think helps. We've just applied for a new product, and have gone with a High St bank as they were offering the best product for our needs. It required a LONG interview which we weren't expecting, nothing particularly difficult, but quite the inconvenience, and different to previous experiences.

London and country are a very good broker.

Though last time I used them a few months ago I had a telephone interview as part of the thing which I didn't have the previous time. Included lots of questions about outgoings and then very detailed health questions.

When I told them I had a chronic UTI there was lots of teeth sucking and I was told that would make me ineligible for some products. Which was bizarre as we've only needed to borrow 15k. So hardly huge amounts!

We got an mortgage in principle this evening from Habito and have put in an offer on the house we like so fingers crossed! Thanks all

I have a question and it feels right to put it in this thread.

I was dead set on going direct to a bank for our mortgage, but might a broker be able to find a better deal for someone with a low LTV (20%)?

The best buy tables i can see show deals with a minimum of 50% LTV, but I'm wondering if any mortgages exist which lower the interest rate further for those with an even lower LTV than this.

I'm prepared for a more rigorous application going direct, and my decision will come down to cold hard finances, so would be good to know if it's even worth asking a broker in this instance.

Yes. Try a whole of market broker. They can search the marked looking for the best deal to suit your circumstances.

L and C are whole of market give them a ring and see what they can find for you.

dS applied on line with nationwide, never spoke to anyone with regard to his application. He did save the deposit with them though over three years.