Most of the heavy lifting of buying a home has been completed by the time someone completes a full application for a mortgage.

For starters, they will already have had a decision in principle from their lender which, based on their financial and personal details, and the property’s value, will tell them how muh they can borrow.

Also, the paperwork (payslips, bank statements, passport, utility bills, evidence of deposit) will have been gathered up and be ready to send off. So, what’s left to do?

Advice or not?

One decision that needs to be taken is whether to take advice. For regulatory reasons lenders must offer mortgages that come either with a face-to-face and/or telephone advice or that come without any advice. But good advice will help pick the best mortgage.

But if you are very financially savvy, then the second choice - getting a mortgage without finanicial advice - could be for you.

Even then, getting advice is a good idea - a quick search around the internet reveals the thousands of mortgage deals available from hundreds of lenders, well as the fast-paced nature of these deals. Ending up with an inappropriate mortgage could be very expensive in the long run.

If someone doesn’t know where to start, then it’s crucial to get an ‘advised’ mortgage. This advice can either be from a lender’s experts, or you can use an independent broker, although they may charge for their services or receive a fee from the mortgage provider. The size and nature of these charge or referral fees must be made clear to you in both cases, at the outset.

CreditLadder have their own mortgage broker who won't charge any fees if you want to apply for a mortgage and they can help you get the best mortgage deals. You can book an appointment here.

Unwavering commitment?

One of the decisions you’ll need to make is which type of mortgage to pick. These are, basically, either feature fixed or variable interest rate. For a full run-down, read our guide to the world of mortgages.

Next up is the job of filling out a full mortgage application, which asks applicants to provide details of who they are plus full details of their life, how much they want to borrow, what they’re buying, current address, contact details, bank details, previous addresses, monthly outgoings and some details of their credit history. It’s a long list of pages to fill in, and can stretch to nearly thirty A4 pages depending on which lender you use.

Once the application form and all the paperwork has been sent in, the lender then begins to process the mortgage application. This is when having a good credit score is important - the worse a person’s borrowing profile, the fewer and worse the mortgage that will be offered to an borrower.

Read out guide to how much lenders are prepared to lend first time buyers

Read our guide to credit scores and how they work

Even worse, an application can be rejected, although this is unlikely if you’ve earlier applied for, and received, a decision in principle. But if his does happen, here’s what to do

Survey said

The other main task a lender will complete after receiving a mortgage application is to ask a surveyor to estimate the value of the property. This is a very basic survey and, particularly if the house is non-standard or very old, it’s advisable to pay for a more detailed a survey before you dive in.

It takes approximately a week for a lender to make a decision although in some cases it can be a few days, although some more complicated mortgages can take several weeks to complete.

If someone’s application is successful then it can take another week for the official mortgage offer to be sent out, which will be posted both to the conveyancer and borrower. It’s then time for the next step; getting through the exchange of contracts and on to completion.

Remember, CreditLadder can help you improve your credit score.

CreditLadder can improve your credit position by reporting your rent payments. CreditLadder is the first way to improve your credit score and position across all three of the main Credit Reference Agencies in the UK, namely Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Building up a high credit score has a lot of benefits, including helping you access finance at better rates - this can also help save you money. CreditLadder also runs a free mortgage application service in partnership with Tembo which will tell you how much you could borrow.

Remember the content provided in this article is for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice.