But who will lend you the money and how much will they give you?
What is the best mortgage for your circumstances and what happens if your financial situation ever changes? The list of questions is always long and it can be increased further if you have a disability. A proportion of your income may come from state benefits and your ability to work may decrease over time. Perhaps the reason you are moving home is to make modifications to a new property, which will cost even more.

Whatever your situation, it is important to take your time investigating your options before committing yourself to one particular plan. All banks and building societies produce reading material that can help outline the key things you will want to think about (most of which can be provided in Braille, large print or on audio tape). They will also be able to make an appointment for you with a mortgage adviser who?ll be able to give you a more personal recommendation based on your own particular circumstances. (Your lender should be able to arrange a home visit if you are unable to visit the premises.)

The amount of money you can borrow from a lender typically could be up to 3.25 times your gross annual income. So if you earned £20,000 a year for example, you would be able to get a £65,000 mortgage. Don't forget, however, that any state benefits you receive are classed as income and should be included in this figure.

If you are buying a property with a partner, you will generally be offered a slightly larger mortgage. The figures can get complicated, but generally the lender will offer you 2.5 times your combined incomes (If the higher income is £18,000 and the lower is £10,000, your maximum borrowing will be 2.5 times £28,000, which amounts to £70,000).

Mortgages providers will almost always let you pay less than 10% deposit of the purchase price but it is worth checking to see whether there is a fee for paying a smaller percentage deposit.

• Variable rate. The interest rate tends to move in line with the current base rate.
• Fixed rate. You choose a fixed rate for a set period of time and the interest will stay the same whether the base rate moves up or down. After this set period expires, you should be given the option to continue with a fixed rate or change to a variable rate.

In recent years the number of different mortgage types available to the consumer has increased. With the number of choices now available it is sometimes tricky to know where to start. Every mortgage, however, broadly fits into one of two classes.

A Repayment Mortgage is one where payments to your lender cover both your loan and interest. In the early days of a Repayment Mortgage, you will be paying off the interest on the loan, but towards the end, the proportion of capital paid off increases until the mortgage is paid.

• Can be paid off over a number of years


• Simple and easy to understand


• Guarantees your loan will be repaid in full so long as you make each repayment in full


• Because it is important not to fall behind on payments, if possible, it is advisable to take out some form of cover in case of illness or death.

Interest Only or Investment Linked mortgages demand that over a set period of time, you repay just the interest on your original loan. At the end of the term you pay off the loan with capital from another source.

• If you are considering an Interest Only mortgage, you may need to seek advice on a suitable investment product to provide the funds to pay off the mortgage at the end of the period.
• Interest Only mortgages used to be popular but have recently begun to lose favour due to lower expected investment returns and the risk that the investment product will not provide sufficient to repay the mortgage.

Over the years, you will be spending many thousands of pounds paying off your mortgage. A Which? report published last year suggested that most UK homeowners were paying thousands of pounds more than they needed to on their mortgage. There are, however, a number of traditional ways used to minimise the financial burden.

• The five-year saving plan. The first saving you can make on a mortgage is by getting a 20-year mortgage as opposed to a 25-year mortgage. This will save you thousands as you are paying interest for a shorter period of time. For example, if you take a £60,000 mortgage over 20 years rather than 25 - the typical length - you can save about £15,000 in interest. You have to take into account whether you can afford to do this, for you will pay slightly more each month over the 20 years.
• Make sure your interest is calculated on a daily basis. If you have a repayment mortgage, each time you make a monthly repayment, you reduce the debt you owe. But lenders that charge interest on an annual basis give you no credit for this - in terms of the interest you're charged - until the start of the following year. So you pay interest on money you no longer owe.
• Pay back more than you have to. If you find that you have spare capital to spend, it can often be wiser paying off your mortgage than saving it. By repaying a lump sum towards your mortgage, you cut the amount on which you're paying interest. If you then stick to the same monthly repayments, you will not only be free of your mortgage earlier but you'll pay less interest, too. If your mortgage lender calculates interest on a daily or weekly term, you might also consider adding a bit to your regular monthly repayment as an alternative to paying the occasional lump sum. Although repaying more than is necessary has many benefits, it can cost you. If you do so within the so-called 'redemption penalty period', most lenders will penalise you. Clearly, there is no point in making payments over what is necessary if the penalty outweighs the potential gain. If you think you may want to pay in this way then a flexible mortgage may be your best option.

As if the cost of the mortgage wasn't enough, when buying property you must put aside money for a variety of other costs and fees that you will incur along the way, from solicitors fees to stamp duty. If you are planning to make expensive adaptions or alterations to the property, you should also consider taking out extra finance, perhaps a top-up loan. A possibility worth investigating is getting a mortgage from a provider that offers 'cash-back' to help pay for the modifications when you move in. The extra costs outlined:

• Property survey. The lender will require a property survey to make sure the property is suitable for a mortgage and worth the offer price. You can opt for a more detailed survey, ranging from a fairly limited visual inspection to a full structural survey. If you are fairly seriously disabled and require that your potential home fulfil certain strict criteria, it might be important to get a fairly comprehensive property survey undertaken. It may be worth also using an access design consultant to determine what the best solutions to your needs are before you have the saves done. Most surveyors are not expert in this field.
• Legal costs. You need to employ a solicitor or conveyancer who will ensure that all the legal arrangements for the transfer of the property are in order. You will also have to pay for a search fee charge by the local authority and a Land Registry fee.
• Stamp Duty. Stamp Duty is a tax paid to the Government if the agreed purchase price is over £60,000. It will be charged as a percentage of the price you pay for the property.

Despite the increasing flexibility of mortgages, and the possibility of switching mortgages to another lender, you should be aware that if you redeem your existing loan too soon, you may have to pay a charge. There are also other ways that mean you pay more than you might have to.

• Extended lock-ins. These are when you are required to stay with the lender for a set period of time. Their initial attraction is that the lender may be offering a lower rate of interest for the start of your mortgage. However, it is common for lenders to charge a fee if you break the lock-in within the fixed rate period by transferring to another lender.
• Buildings and contents insurance. Some lenders make it a condition that the customer must buy and maintain the lender's own insurance which can be more expensive than that offered by competition.
• Interest recalculated on an annual basis. Many lenders recalculate interest on the balance only once a year. This means that you are being charged the same interest on a loan for a year despite eleven payments. A significant saving can be made if you find a lender who recalculates interest on a daily or monthly basis so every payment you make has an effect.

When you take out a mortgage you commit yourself to paying a certain amount of money each month. If you fail to pay this money the consequences can be serious. Ultimately you risk losing your home.

Unfortunately, it is not unusual for people to run into difficulties. If you become ill for a long period and your income falls, you will struggle to find the necessary cash. If a partner dies, then a slice of the family income has gone.

If you have a disability, these type of scenarios pose an even greater threat. If your condition is likely to worsen with time, your ability to work will fall.

This could mean that during the later years of your mortgage, you find it increasingly difficult to pay.

Fortunately there are ways to protect yourself, and each of them is worth investigating fully.

• Take out a Flexible Mortgage. If you're uncertain from year to year how your condition will affect your ability to work, you might want to consider a flexible mortgage. These are designed for customers who want to vary the amount and timing of their mortgage payments. They let you pay back more in some months and less in others.
• Ask your lender about a form of mortgage protection Most banks and building societies offer a form of mortgage protection scheme so that if you're unable to keep up payments due to unemployment, an accident or illness, the policy will pay the mortgage. Such a scheme adds to the overall cost of the mortgage, but it can be a financial lifesaver. BE WARNED however: mortgage providers are very careful who they issue protection to. If you have a serious disability or a degenerative condition, you are unlikely to be accepted to such a scheme. If you ARE, there will be limitations on exactly when you can claim the protection. Usually the underwriters stipulate that if your financial difficulties are caused by a PRE-EXISTING disability or illness (that is, one that you had when you took out protection), you are not eligible for protection. This should always be checked in advance.

The best advice to give if you have any anxieties is to talk to your potential provider. If you are worried that you may, in the future, be unable to keep up payments, then speak frankly about your situation BEFORE taking out the mortgage.

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