Mortgage Guides

Buying Your First Home

Buying a house for the first time doesn’t need to be complicated. From the definition of a first-time buyer, through the steps to buying a property and the costs you’ll face - everything you need to know is in our guide.

Moving Home Guide

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or this is the first time you’re selling your home, our guide will take you through the journey.

House Buying Guide

Are you looking to buy your first home? Or perhaps want to move to a new area? Our step-by-step guide will tell you everything you need to know about buying a house.

Mortgage Types

Our guide explains everything you need to know about the different types of mortgages, including: interest rates, features, repayment methods and more.

Stamp Duty Tax Guide

Stamp Duty is a big part of buying a home. In this guide, we’ll explain Stamp Duty and help you understand how it works.

Second Home Stamp Duty

What is second home Stamp Duty? Learn how second property tax works & use our calculator to work out how much Stamp Duty you'll pay on a second home in the UK.

Tax on Rental Income

What don’t you know about the tax on rental income? Our guide gives landlords insight on how it’s applied, the rates you’ll pay and your allowances.

Applying for a Mortgage

Applying for a mortgage couldn’t be simpler with our easy and simple guide from application to accepting your offer.

Help to Buy Guide

Support from the government-backed Help to Buy initiative is available for first-time buyers and existing homeowners who are finding it difficult to move up the housing ladder.

Remortgaging Guide

Remortgaging means to switch to a new deal with a different lender but stay in the same property. Learn about remortgage costs, valuations and see our advice.

Buy-to-Let Guide

You can now get a buy-to-let mortgage at interest rates to suit almost any circumstances. Our guide takes you through the choices involved in more detail.

Buy-to-Let Tax Changes

Our simple guide takes you through the current and future changes, explaining what you need to know and how the changes will affect you.

Becoming a Landlord

You can make a lot of money from becoming a landlord – if you make smart choices. Our guide explains how it all works and contains tips to help you be successful.

Funding Home Improvements

You can finance home improvements by seeking a further advance, remortgaging, taking out a second charge and more. Our guide explains what options you have and how they affect your mortgage.

Borrowing into Retirement

In this guide we’ll outline the options, paths and solutions available to you, from remortgaging, to extending your mortgage and releasing the equity you’ve built up in your home.

Property Finance for Expats

In this guide, we’ll take you through everything you should be aware of and prepare yourself for when looking to arrange an expat mortgage or remortgage in the UK.

Protecting Your Home and Property

It's important to understand what protection you must have in place to buy a home and the options open to you to provide you with peace of mind. In this guide we'll look at three types of insurance and why you should consider making a will.

Limited Company Buy-to-Let Mortgage

We explain everything you need to know about purchasing a buy-to-let through a limited company – the mortgages, the advantages and disadvantages and more.

Freehold and Leasehold

Before you buy a property, you need to decide whether you want a freehold or leasehold. In this guide, we explain what they mean and how they affect your mortgage.

House Mortgage Deposit

Saving a mortgage deposit for a house is definitely one of the biggest hurdles you face as a buyer. In our guide we explain how deposits work and ways you can save.

Capital Gains Tax Guide

You pay Capital Gains Tax on the profit you make from the sale of a property that’s not your main residence. In our guide we answer all your questions about CGT.

Types of Houses

There are a few common types of houses in the UK. This guide explains how they’re different, as well as how they can affect your mortgage and insurance needs.

Right to Buy Guide

The Right to Buy government scheme helps current council tenants and some previous council tenants buy their home at a discount. Find out if you’re eligible in our guide.

Tenants in Common

If you buy a property with someone as tenants in common, you each own a separate share. Find out how this works, how it’s different from joint tenants and more in this guide.

Divorce and Mortgages

It’s vitally important that you understand your mortgage options during or following a divorce or separation from a partner. John Charcol’s guide provides the perfect starting point.

Second Property Mortgages

Are you looking to buy a second home and need advice on a second property mortgage? Perhaps you’re planning to buy a holiday home? Read our guide to find out more.

Shared Ownership Guide

Did you know you can part buy, part rent a property through shared ownership? In this guide, we explain how shared ownership works so you can decide whether it would suit you.

Guarantor Mortgages

With a guarantor mortgage, a relative guarantees to meet your mortgage payments if you can’t. We explain how this works and the benefits in our guide.

Equity Release Guide

Equity release is where you extract money from a property you own. There are 2 types of equity release: lifetime mortgages and home reversion schemes. There’s also another lifetime product called a RIO mortgage; we explain how all these products work, the benefits and pitfalls and more in this guide.

Types of House Surveys

There are a few common types of house surveys. This guide explains how they’re different, how much they cost and how long they take.