ARRANGING YOUR MORTGAGE GUIDE

The amount you can borrow will depend on your individual circumstances, monthly income and monthly outgoings.

It will also depend on the value or purchase price of the property you want to mortgage, in relation to the amount you want to borrow. This is called the loan to value (LTV) and is shown as a percentage.

As a responsible lender, we will lend you what you can afford rather than just multiplying your income.

Our quick and easy mortgage calculator will help you work out how much you can borrow. It will also tell you what your monthly repayments would be for each mortgage product you choose.

Principality offer a comprehensive and competitive range of Buy to Let and residential mortgage products.

Before you choose your mortgage product, it’s worth considering how you might want to repay your mortgage loan. Do you want a repayment mortgage or an interest only mortgage?

Once you’ve decided this, you need to decide whether you want a Fixed Rate, Discount or Tracker product.

With the range of options available, there is plenty to consider and our Types of Mortgages Guide can give you more information, to help you decide which might suit you best. It also explains what to look for when comparing interest rates.

Our Fee Saver mortgages have no Product fee, no legal fees if you are remortgaging from another lender (and you use our appointed solicitors) and no valuation fee.

If you don’t want to choose a Fee Saver mortgage, it’s important to budget for the fees you may need to pay when arranging your mortgage:

• Mortgage Commitment Fee

Some popular mortgage products require a Mortgage Commitment Fee, which you pay when you apply for the mortgage and is refunded on completion. This is typically around £99.

• Product Fee

Some mortgages require a Product Fee, typically £499 or £999. This can usually be added to your total loan amount and repaid over the term of your mortgage.

• Valuation fee

The fee you pay will depend on the valuation or survey you choose and the value of your property. Typically, it can vary from £300 to £1,200. See our step later in this guide on choosing a survey, for more help.

• Legal fee

You will need to pay fees to your solicitor or conveyancer, as well as the cost of any Land Registration or search fees (these are included in the disbursements). Typically, you should budget around £700.

With many of our mortgage products, we pay the legal fees for you if you are remortgaging from another lender, and you use our appointed solicitors.

Remember to budget for the Stamp Duty Land Tax you will also have to pay if you are buying a property worth more than £125,000. Visit HM Revenue and Customs to see how much is due on your property purchase.

Your mortgage is secured on your home, so you need to be sure that you’ve got home insurance in case the unexpected happens.

We offer great value products to help meet your protection needs:

• Home Insurance from RSA

Contents insurance covers your possessions and buildings insurance covers the actual “bricks and mortar” of your property. Tailoring your buildings and contents cover to suit your needs gives you greater control in protecting your home and means you could pay less for your home insurance. If you are borrowing from a mortgage lender, you’ll need to take out adequate buildings insurance because lenders want to protect their investment if the property is damaged or destroyed.

• Life Insurance provided by Aviva

None of us know what’s round the corner. Life insurance is very important in protecting your loved ones and covering your mortgage, if the worst should happen.

Mortgage Life Insurance, or Decreasing Term Assurance, is better for a loan or repayment mortgage because the sum insured reduces each year roughly in line with your loan or mortgage balance. You can choose the sum insured and term of your policy to match your mortgage or loan.

Term Assurance can help provide financial protection for your loved ones or covering an interest only mortgage because the sum insured stays the same throughout the policy. Term Assurance can also be used to ‘top-up’ any other life cover you already have. You decide the sum insured and the term of the policy.

• Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI) from RSA

MPPI can help pay your mortgage instalments if you are made involuntarily redundant, or if you can’t work because of accident or sickness.
        
Find out more online, read our insurance guide for more help or contact your branch for friendly, helpful advice.

Buying a property can be expensive, so it’s crucial that you discover all you can about the property before making a legal commitment. Principality Surveyors offer a wide range of valuation and surveying services to help you.

Mortgage valuation

Your lender will arrange a report for mortgage purposes. This is a limited review of the property carried out to help the lender decide whether or not to lend to you. The cost of your valuation depends on the property value. See: Surveys and Valuations

Homebuyer Survey
The mortgage valuation is not a survey and it won’t tell you whether the purchase price is reasonable or whether the property needs repairs now or in the future. That’s why it can be a good idea to opt for a homebuyer survey. This costs more and the report includes a summary of the main positive and negative features of the property, so you can make an informed decision about whether it’s a reasonable buy at the price agreed. It’s most suitable for properties built within the last 120 years. See: Surveys and Valuations

Building Survey
This is the most comprehensive inspection of a property, and includes photographs. It costs more again and it provides you with a detailed report on the property’s condition and a summary of the main positive and negative features of the property so you can make an informed decision whether it’s a reasonable buy at the price agreed. 

Need help deciding which valuation or survey to choose?
This clear, impartial guide to property surveys from RICS may help you.

Whether you are buying a new home or remortgaging, you will need to appoint a conveyancer.

Simply speaking, conveyancing is the legal process of carrying out all the actions needed to transfer the ownership of a property.

Principality’s eConveyancer offers you a quick and hassle-free way of finding a conveyancer. It’s an online conveyancing referral service provided by United Legal Services Ltd that gives you an instant quote and it means you can track your case 24/7.

What’s more, you won’t pay any fee (apart from disbursements such as searches) if for any reason your sale, purchase or remortgage doesn’t go ahead!

Take a look at Principality eConveyancer to sort your conveyancing the easy way.

Buying a mortgage is one of life’s biggest purchases, so it’s obviously important that you choose a reputable mortgage provider.

Why choose Principality?

• We are the 7th largest building society in the UK
• We have been in business for over 150 years
• We have 52 branches and 13 agency counters
• We have over 500,000 customers
• Recent research has shown that we are the most trusted and friendliest out of the banks and building societies on the Welsh high street.

• Use our mortgage calculator to work out how much you can borrow and what your monthly repayments would be
• Take a look at our mortgage offers
• Get an agreement in principle online, or if you prefer, visit your local branch, or call us on 0845 045 0006 (between 8am and 8pm weekdays, except Wednesdays 9.30am to 8pm, and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.)