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Usually, you can borrow so many times your annual income and that of anyone else you are buying the property with - for example, three times your income plus one times your partner's income or two-and-a-half times your joint incomes.

Some lenders will advance the full value of the property - and might even pay your survey and legal expenses too. But there may be extra charges if you borrow more than a certain proportion of the property's value - say, 90%. With many lenders, you will need to put down a deposit of say 10% of the property's value.

Remember! Work out how much you can realistically afford to pay taking into account your other commitments such as personal loans, hire purchase, council tax, utilities etc. Make an allowance in case the cost of your mortgage goes up if interest rates rise or should you or your partner become ill and you have to pay your mortgage on a reduced income.  

Traditionally, most people choose a 25-year mortgage, this is called the 'mortgage term'. But you can always choose a shorter term than this and your lender might agree to a longer term.

If you want to pay less for your mortgage overall, then opt for a shorter term. However, if you have a repayment mortgage, your monthly payments will be higher.

On the other hand if you are like many first-time buyers who are finding it difficult to afford homes in some parts of the country, a longer term may be the solution. The obvious benefit of a long term mortgage of say 40 years is that it reduces your monthly payments, but this option increases considerably the amount you'll pay in total. If you are considering taking out a longer term mortgage be wary of a term that extends beyond your retirement age - would you be able to afford the payments once your earnings stopped?

Whatever term you choose at the outset, you can pay off your mortgage early - but check whether there will be extra charges if you do this.  

Variable rate - the interest rate on your loan may be varied (up or down) by the lender usually, but not always, as the Bank of England base rate varies.

Base rate tracker - the interest rate varies (up or down) in line with the Bank of England base rate.

Fixed rate - the interest is guaranteed to stay at a set level for a set period.

Capped rate - the interest varies but doesn't go any higher than a set level even if the base rate does go higher.

Discounted rate - the interest can be fixed or variable, but for a set period you pay at lower-than-usual rate of interest; for example, a discount of 1% lower than the lender's variable rate for a period of say two years.

Deferred - the interest can be variable or fixed, but for a set period you pay at a lower-than-usual rate. BUT what you save is added to the amount of your loan, so you pay extra in the long run. 

There are many types of insurance you might need to buy when you take out your mortgage.

Visit our Insurance Site for more details about the range of insurances you will need to consider.

Contact your lender as soon as you know you have a problem. This may be helpful in variety of ways - for example, reducing or suspending payments for a short period or extending the mortgage term.

If you have an endowment mortgage, this will automatically include life cover to pay off your mortgage if you die before the end of the mortgage term.

With a repayment, ISA or pension mortgage, there is no automatic life cover, so if you died, the house would have to be sold if there was no other money to pay off the mortgage. To protect yourself against this, you will need to take out life insurance to cover the mortgage.

Will it be difficult to get a mortgage if I've been in debt in the past?

It may be. If your debt has now been repaid, was a one-off problem and is unlikely to happen again, you may still be able to get a mortgage fairly easily from the main lenders.

If your debt problems were more persistent, the high street lenders will probably reject you, but there are some smaller, specialist companies who will be are more helpful.

Advice from a financial adviser would be worthwhile in this situation so that you can obtain the right mortgage for your circumstances.