How to apply for a mortgage

You and (anyone applying with you) must:

be a permanent UK resident and UK tax payer
be 18 or older at the time of application
end your mortgage by the time you turn 70 or before you expect to retire (whichever comes sooner)
show proof of your income and outgoings including payments to credit cards, loans, pension contributions and school fees etc
borrow a minimum of £10,000
have a term between 2 and 40 years
borrow a maximum LTV of 95% when buying a home or 90% if remortgaging
be borrowing against your main residence.

Ways to apply

You can apply online or over the phone. Please make sure you've viewed our rates before applying.

Apply online (no advice)

Apply online if you’re happy to choose your mortgage without any advice from a mortgage advisor.

You can apply online if:

you’ve had an offer accepted on a property* or
you’re remortgaging (without borrowing more than your outstanding balance)*

You can’t apply online if you own your home outright and want to borrow money against it.

*If you don’t meet this criteria to apply online you can still apply by calling us.

Important to know: If you apply online, first direct won’t assess whether the mortgage you choose is suitable for you, and you won’t receive the same FCA protections as you would through our advised telephone service.

Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you don't keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Apply online

Call us (mortgage advice)

Speak to one of our qualified mortgage advisers to help you find the right mortgage — free and with no obligation.

How it works:

Call us for an Agreement in Principle (AIP) to get started. You’ll need details of your income and outgoings
We’ll tell you what documents to send to support your application
Once we’ve received them, we’ll arrange a telephone appointment with a Mortgage Adviser.

New to first direct?

Call us on 0800 48 24 48

Have a 1st Account?

Call us on 03456 100 103

Lines are open: Mon–Fri 8am–8pm, Sat 8am–6pm, Sun 9am–6pm

Need to update an existing application?

How did you apply?

Online

You can change the amount, term or rate by selecting 'Amend application' below. Then select 'Already applied?' and follow the onscreen instructions.

Amend application

Over the phone

Give us a call to discuss your amendments.

If you're new to first direct call 0800 48 24 24

If you already hold a first direct 1st Account call 03 456 100 103

Both lines are open 8am-8pm Monday to Friday, 8am-6pm Saturday, and 9am-6pm Sunday.

Proof of income requirements

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Self employed

Depending on your circumstances, we'll need to see the following documents:

Type of self employment	Documents required
Type of self employmentSole trader, General Partnerships or Limited Liability Partnership with fewer than 50 partners	Documents required your last 2 years’ worth of the following documents (the most recent year must be dated within the last 18 months): Tax Year Overviews, and, Tax Calculations, evidenced by: a print out from HMRC website, or, an SA302, or, the computation produced by your accountant that is submitted to HMRC. NOTE: Additional information (i.e. business bank statements, further HMRC documentation) may be required by the underwriter to support the application.
Type of self employmentLimited Liability Partnership (LLPs) with 50 or more partners	Documents requiredA letter from the company finance director or accountant detailing your earnings over the past 2 years, dated within the last 3 months.
Type of self employmentLimited company director with 25% or more shareholding	Documents required your last 2 years' finalised financial accounts (the most recent year must be dated within the last 18 months) NOTE: Additional information (i.e. business bank statements) may be required by the underwriter to support the application. If there are multiple Directors within the business, and the financial accounts don't confirm the distribution of salary to each director, we’ll need evidence from either of the following: the last 2 years’ P60s the last 2 years' tax calculations and corresponding tax year overviews (a print out from HMRC website, an SA302 or the computation produced by your accountant that is submitted to HMRC).
Type of self employmentLimited company director with less than 25% shareholding	Documents requiredWe'll consider you to be employed - please go to the 'Permanent employment' section.
Type of self employmentSelf employed customers trading less than 2 years	Documents required we'll require a minimum of 1 year's finalised financial accounts (limited companies) or 1 year's tax calculations and tax year overviews (sole trader or partnership) dated within the last 18 months your latest 3 months business bank statements. The latest date showing on the statement must be within 35 days of the application start date.

In permanent employment

Income type	Basic income (including any permanent allowances)	Shift allowances	Variable income (Bonus/overtime/commission)
Weekly	Latest 4 payslips	Latest 6 payslips	Latest 6 payslips
Fortnightly	Latest 2 payslips	Latest 6 payslips	Latest 6 payslips
Four Weekly	Latest payslip	Latest 3 payslips	Latest 3 payslips
Monthly	Latest payslip	Latest 3 payslips	Latest 3 payslips
Quarterly	N/A	N/A	Latest 4 equivalent payslips or award letters showing payment. The payslips or award letters must include a payment that has been paid within the last 3 months.
Half Yearly	N/A	N/A	Latest 4 equivalent payslips or award letters showing payment. The payslips or award letters must include a payment that has been paid within the last 6 months.
Annual	N/A	N/A	Latest 2 equivalent payslips or award letters showing payment. The payslips or award letters must include a payment that has been paid within the last 12 months.

Property criteria

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General property criteria

All properties must be in the UK and be of standard construction (made of bricks, with a tiled roof) with a working kitchen and bathroom.

At the moment, we don’t lend on Buy to Let properties or where the property has been bought under a right to buy or shared ownership scheme. The property must be used as your main residence and not for business purposes.

For leasehold properties, we’ll only lend if there is at least 50 years left on the lease at the end of the proposed mortgage term.

New build properties

For remortgaging

Properties with land

If the property has more than 15 acres:

you’ll need to confirm there are no agricultural restrictions attached to the property and that it’s only used for personal use
we’ll only be able to lend you up to 75% of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is the lowest.

Flats

we may lend up to a maximum of 90% Loan to Value (LTV)
we may not offer a mortgage on a flat if it's in the same building as a commercial property
if the building containing the flat has more than 4 floors, it must have a working lift
we generally can't offer lending on freehold flats in England and Wales. But, there may be some circumstances in which we can lend – please call us for further details. Flats in Scotland with outright ownership are acceptable
we will consider lending on flats in England and Wales which have suitable remediation schemes, or those where leaseholders are protected under the Building Safety Act. In such cases an EWS1 (External Wall Sytem Fire Review) report is not required
for properties in Scotland and Northern Ireland where the EWS1 (External Wall System Fire Review) report confirms that the property does not meet minimum safety standards, we will be unable to proceed with an application.