Guides
Written to answer one specific question properly rather than to cover a topic broadly. Each guide gives the short answer first, explains the reasoning, and points to the calculator that lets you check it against your own numbers.
How much deposit do I need to buy a house?
Why lenders price in loan to value bands rather than on a sliding scale, what each band typically unlocks, and the thousands in other costs that catch buyers out at completion.
Short answer: 5% is usually the minimum, 10% opens up meaningfully better rates, and 20% is where the best deals start. Budget several thousand more on top for costs that cannot be borrowed.
Mortgages and savingShould I overpay my mortgage or save instead?
How to compare the two properly, including the tax point most comparisons miss, the four things that usually take priority over both, and the one question worth asking your lender.
Short answer: compare your mortgage rate against the savings rate you could earn after tax. Whichever is higher is where your money works hardest, though access to the money matters too.
Planned
- What happens when a fixed rate mortgage ends
- Stamp duty on a second home, across all four nations
- How lenders actually decide what you can borrow
- Snowball or avalanche: which order to clear debts in
- Is an offset mortgage worth it?
How these are written
Every guide leads with the answer, because that is what you came for. The reasoning follows for anyone who wants to check it, and the assumptions are stated rather than buried.
Where a guide relies on figures that change, such as tax thresholds or savings allowances, it points to the official source rather than quoting a number that will quietly go out of date. Where it relies on arithmetic, the relevant calculator is linked so you can run your own numbers rather than trusting an example.
These are general information, not financial advice. Nothing here is a recommendation, and no lender, broker or provider pays to appear or to influence what is written.