What are they?
A mortgage is a loan 'secured' against the value of a property - so if you don't keep up your repayments, your lender can take the property and sell it to repay your mortgage debt.

Traditionally, mortgages were taken out for a fixed time, often 25 years, but now many lenders offer greater flexibility on how much you pay and when you make the payments. You can often vary the term of the loan too, allowing you to repay it early and save yourself interest.

Can you get a mortgage on any property?
You can get mortgages on most houses and flats and sometimes boats! You can even get a mortgage on a house that's not yet built, or one you plan to rent out. The main condition is that the property provides good security for the loan. Or, put simply, it's worth more than the mortgage you want. You may find it harder to get a mortgage on the following types of property:

Flats with short leases (less than 40 years).
Homes that could be hard to resell.
Properties that require a lot of work or are in a very bad state of repair.
Some former council properties.

Remortgages
You don't have to stick with one mortgage for the whole term. It's now very common to remortgage. You may want to think about remortgaging if you want to switch your mortgage to another lender, switch to another mortgage with your existing lender, improve your existing home, or to allow you to pay off other debts.

When thinking about a mortgage, what should I think of first? You'll need to:

Decide how much you can borrow - visit our how much can I borrow - section to find out more.
Decide how you want to repay your mortgage - are you looking for repayment or interest only?
Choose the type of mortgage you want - our main mortgage types section will help you.
Choose what type of interest rate you want - from fixed and capped to tracker, our types of interest rate section will explain the differences.

Where do you get a mortgage?
You can get mortgages from:

Banks and building societies.

Financial companies.

The internet. Look at online mortgage finder sites to help you compare lots of different mortgages in one place.

You can also speak to a mortgage broker or an Independent Financial Adviser who can give you advice on the different types of mortgage available and what's right for you. These are independent experts who are authorised to sell or advise on financial products offered by insurance companies, and other financial service providers, such as banks and building societies. You'll find details of your local (IFA) in the Yellow pages, or visit www.unbiased.co.uk.