• Private login

    Continue in browser

    Log in to get an overview of your purchases, upcoming payments and settle them easily with one click.

  • Business login

    Log in to manage your orders, payout reports, store statistics, and general settings.

Jun 23, 20212 min read

Top mortgage tips from Topsy

Topsy Tiawo

by Topsy Taiwo

Buying a property is most likely the largest financial commitment most people will make in their lifetime, so it’s important that such a decision is approached with due diligence and care. Here are some essential tips for securing your first mortgage. 

1. Check your credit score

When you make an application for any type of credit, the lender will look at your credit score. This is a score that is produced by credit reference agencies. The higher your score, the better a borrower looks to a lender. It’s therefore crucial to look at this score before applying for a mortgage so you can understand where you stand from a lender’s point of view. 

2. Financial responsibility

In order to maintain a strong and healthy credit score, it’s crucial that you’re aware of how a lack of financial responsibility can damage it. Here are some things you should do to ensure you keep a healthy credit score: 

  • Electoral Roll: Lenders check this to ensure you live where you say you do, so make sure you are on it
  • Credit Utilisation: Your credit utilisation is how much of your credit limit you use – try and keep this below 25%
  • Bills: Simply put, pay your bills on time – lenders place high value on this
  • Credit Score Boost: Some credit referencing agencies give you the chance to boost your score by linking your bank account to their platforms

3. Affordability assessment

Understanding how much you can borrow is essential before you start looking for a property. Lenders will typically give you a loan of 4.5 times your income. For example, you’d need to be earning at least £45k to get a £200,000 loan

Lenders will also assess bills, loans, credit card payments & other expenses when calculating your mortgage. 

You can get a surface level understanding of your affordability by obtaining what is called an agreement in principle from a bank or building society. These can be produced in a matter of minutes upon application (an agreement in principle in almost all cases is a soft check on your credit file – meaning no impact on your credit score) 

4. Assess all options available to you

Once you have obtained a good understanding of your affordability, you want to ensure you have explored all options available to you in order to buy a property. Government schemes such as help to buy, shared ownership & right to buy are all designed to help you get on to the property ladder.

Make sure you explore and understand how these schemes work before making a decision to buy a place through your own means. 

Copyright © 2005-2023 Klarna Bank AB (publ). Klarna Bank AB (publ) is authorised and regulated by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. Deemed authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Details of the Temporary Permissions Regime, which allows EEA-based firms to operate in the UK for a limited period while seeking full authorisation, are available on the Financial Conduct Authority’s website. Klarna Bank AB offers both regulated and unregulated products. Klarna’s Pay in 3 instalments and Pay in 30 days agreements are not regulated by the FCA. Klarna Bank AB (publ) registered and head office: Sveavägen 46, 111 34 Stockholm, Sweden. A Swedish public limited company (publikt bankaktiebolag) registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office with organisation number: 556737-0431.