| Walk into any high street bank or building society and | | | | personal account. |
| mention that you're looking for a mortgage, and | | | | There are a number of websites that produce tables |
| you're likely to be bombarded with leaflets, if not | | | | of comparative mortgage offers - just type |
| hurried into a private office to meet their mortgage | | | | 'mortgage' into your search engine and see the |
| advisor. | | | | amount of results you pull up. 'Which', the magazine |
| Mortgages are big business - and every large financial | | | | of the Consumer's Association, is a reliable source of |
| institution will offer several types of loan for buying | | | | information on the current market. Check their |
| property. It's a good idea to check out as many | | | | website for guides on 'Which mortgage' at |
| different lenders as possible before making a decision | | | | The financial pages in newspapers carry adverts as |
| - experts repeat the phrase 'shop around' like a | | | | well as news on the latest deals - beware though of |
| mantra these days and you could save yourself a lot | | | | being seduced by adverts promising low rates |
| of money by comparing what's on offer. | | | | without giving all the details - there's more to finding |
| Your own bank may be a good place to start - if | | | | the right mortgage than just picking the best rate. |
| you've banked with them for a while and have a | | | | The bank are likely to advertise their lowest rate, |
| good financial record they may be more confident | | | | and you are likely to have to meet certain criteria |
| about loaning you a large amount of money such as | | | | before qualifying for that particular deal. Check for |
| a mortgage. However, with relatively low interest | | | | things like hidden clauses or Higher Lending Charges - |
| rates and a booming market, these days the | | | | these are one-off charges applied to some deals that |
| competition among lenders is fierce and you may find | | | | are supposedly to cover insurance protection for the |
| a better deal elsewhere. Don't feel that you have to | | | | bank when they lend to you. They will not, however, |
| use the same bank for your mortgage as for your | | | | provide the lender with any security! |