To give yourself the best chance of getting a mortgage, experts recommend taking the following steps:

• Establish roughly how much you can borrow. Numerous online calculators can provide an estimate, which will be determined by your income, outgoings and the size of your deposit. Remember that lenders will often stress-test your finances to assess how well you could cope with an increase in interest rates or a significant change to your personal circumstances (e.g., being made redundant).
• Check your credit rating (use a credit reference agency such as Experian), which will highlight problems that could negatively impact your application (you may be able to resolve these before applying). Make sure that your record is up-to-date and dispute anything that looks wrong.
• In the run-up to your mortgage application, avoid taking out any other loans, using your overdraft facility, taking advantage of ‘buy now, pay later’ shopping deals and (in particular) resorting to payday loans.
• Most mortgage providers will review three months’ bank statements as part of their assessment, so plan ahead and reduce your outgoings in the period leading up to your application.
• Seek to increase your deposit, which will improve the deals available to you.
• If your circumstances are unusual, consider using a mortgage broker to help you find a suitable deal.