Looking for a mortgage?

Here's our advice on how to secure a mortgage for your new home

- Get some advice!  Speak to a mortgage adviser.  With the record low rates currently available, they will know how to get the best deals and show you how much you will be paying each month.

- Research the deals.  There are an awful lot of good deals around at the moment, so it does make sense to research them and find the best for you.  You may want to look at both fixed rate and variable rate deals, length of the deal and deposit needed.  There are also a lot of new lenders around.  These include banks new to the mortgage market and also specialist lenders, so they are worth exploring along with the traditional lenders, like the high street banks.

- Whether you are a first time buyer or an existing home owner, you can take advantage of the government's Help to Buy scheme.  To read more about this, take a look at our website or give one of our sales team a call and they will explain the scheme to you.

- Know your score.  Make sure you check out your credit score before you start applying.  You may have a poor credit history but that does not mean you will not get a mortgage.  There are a number of websites you can use, some free and some paid for, so it is worth investigating what they offer.

- Self employed?  It used to be pretty tricky to get a mortgage if you were self employed.  This is no longer the case but you will need your accounts up-to-date and available.  It will help you to have a good credit history though - things such as paying off your credit card in full each month or not getting too close to your credit limit or using your overdrafts excessively.

- Keep at it.  There are so many ways of gaining your mortgage that sometimes it can be rather daunting and disheartening, but keep at it and you are likely to be rewarded.

- Keep saving.  If you are regularly saving, lenders will notice.  Although it can be tough to save today, it does quickly become a habit and you could look at the Help to Buy ISA which could boost your savings by up to £3,000. The Moneysavingexpert.com explains the scheme in more detail.

-  If you already own a home, look at different ways of selling it to help you get your dream new homes.  Larkfleet Homes has a number of schemes, including assisted sale, part exchange and secure home purchase which might fit your needs.

Talk to one of our sales staff on 0845 450 7872 to find out how we can help you move to your dream new home.