beginners guide to mortgages and remortgages

Getting a mortgage to buy a property (or a remortgage to get a better deal on existing property) is not easy. Mortgaging is a complex process and will always involve some professional services and advice. At a minimum you will require a solicitor to handle conveyancing and title of the property, you may also use a mortgage broker or advisor and even perhaps a property consultant and/or surveyor (in addition to the surveyor acting on behalf of mortgage lender). For some, particularly first time buyers, dealing with all these "experts" can seem daunting. So lets examine some of the basic issues regarding mortgages and remortgages to better prepare you. A mortgage is simply a "home loan", basically a type of secured loan using the property as security for the lender. To protect themselves lenders will need to know how much property is worth just in case they have to sell it to recover the mortgage (i.e. if you fail to make mortgage repayments), to establish rough property value lenders will instruct a home valuation survey. Using the valuation recieved from survey report lenders can establish the loan to value (LTV) they are willing to offer. Loan to value is a basically the percentage of the value of the property up to which they are prepared to lend, for example, if a property was valued at