How to get a mortgage: the whole thing, step by step.

Stage 1: The year before (get mortgage-ready)

1. Check your credit reports with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion (all have free versions). Fix mistakes, close cards you do not use, make sure you are on the electoral roll. Credit score guide.
2. Start the deposit in one place. Open a Lifetime ISA if you are under 40 and buying a home under £450,000; the government adds 25%. Lifetime ISA guide.
3. Work out the real budget. Deposit plus £3,000 to £5,000 of fees and moving costs. The full list.
4. Tidy your bank statements. Lenders read three months of them. Gambling, overdrafts and bounced payments all get noticed.
5. Do not take on new credit in the six months before you apply. No new car finance, no new cards, no buy-now-pay-later sprees.

Stage 2: Three months out (find out your number)

6. Talk to a broker or a lender and get a mortgage in principle. Takes an afternoon. It tells you your budget and makes agents take you seriously.
7. Gather your documents: ID, three months' payslips and statements, P60, proof of deposit. Our free documents checklist has the full list.
8. Register with local agents and set alerts on Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket at your real budget.

Stage 3: Finding it (2 weeks to 6 months)

9. View properly. Twice if you can, once in daylight. Take the viewing checklist. Ask why they are selling.
10. Make an offer through the agent, in writing, with your mortgage in principle attached. How to make an offer.
11. Offer accepted? Instruct a solicitor the same day and tell your broker. The clock is now running.

Stage 4: The mortgage application (2 to 6 weeks)

12. Full application goes to the lender with all your documents. Answer any extra questions the same day.
13. Valuation. The lender checks the house is worth the price. You may also book your own survey now.
14. Mortgage offer. The formal yes, usually valid for 3 to 6 months. Read it. Check the rate, the fee and the term are what you agreed.

Stage 5: The legal bit (8 to 12 weeks, overlapping with stage 4)

15. Searches and enquiries. Your solicitor checks the title, the council, the drains and asks the seller questions. Conveyancing explained.
16. Exchange contracts. Now it is binding. You pay the deposit (usually 10%). Buildings insurance starts today.
17. Complete. Usually 1 to 2 weeks later. The money moves, the agent hands over the keys. Exchange and completion.

How long, all in?

From "let's do this" to keys, a year is comfortable. From offer accepted to keys, 8 to 14 weeks is normal, longer if there is a chain or a leasehold flat. The mortgage is rarely the slow part; the legal work is.

A note on the numbers. Thresholds, schemes and typical costs are correct as far as we know at the time of writing and are for England and Northern Ireland unless we say otherwise. Rules change and lenders differ. Check the current position, and get advice from a qualified broker before you commit.