Agreement in Principle

[Mimzical]

Hi everyone.

Looking for some advice please. I have come out of a long term relationship and am looking to buy my own little place (by little I mean postage stamp size). I have a deposit ready but ideally would benefit from a further month or two staying with my parents to get a few more pay checks under my belt so I can cover all the fees for a buying a house and furniture etc.

I am a first time buyer so all of this is very new and scary to me, especially doing this on my own. I am wondering when I should think about getting the agreement in principle- I feel motivated to speak to my bank now and start kicking off the process but would this be too soon given I probably want another month or so's pay days under my belt?

I'm sure I will have many questions as I start this journey but would appreciate your wise words! Thank you

In your shoes I would speak with a mortgage broker now.

Ours gathered all necessary documentation and did illustrations well before we were ready to DIP (decision in principle). They'll also be well placed to advise re timings etc. I think we went for DIP just before we put an offer in- very quick because all our financial/ID/etc documents were already scanned and ready to go.

Having gone through the bank in the past I'd never not use a full market broker again. Ours has been worth his weight in gold in terms of handling everything, finding the right deal, and shouldering most of the stress throughout the whole process!

A broker is a good shout for knowledge/handhold through it all. money savings expert guide to mortgages etc is also very useful to read up on, he's got a full document with step by step for first time buyer house purchase info and guidance!

The decision in principle will usually last a few months unless material changes i.e you lost your job etc. but varys by bank I think. Some lenders will do it without marking your credit report,others won't (broker will advise).

An AIP takes about ten minutes to obtain and usually lasts around three months. You will often need one for an offer to be accepted. The full mortgage application is a more involved process.