5 Mortgage Myths Newcastle Buyers Should Stop Believing

Misconceptions about mortgages put people off even starting the conversation, sometimes for years longer than necessary. Myles Mortgages Ltd, a mortgage broker based in Newcastle City Centre focused on simplifying the process for buyers, remortgagers and buy-to-let landlords, hears the same myths on repeat. Here's what's actually true.

Myth: You need a 20% deposit to get a mortgage

Fact: Many mortgage products are available with deposits considerably smaller than that, in some cases from around 5-10% depending on the lender and your circumstances. A bigger deposit usually means access to better rates, but it isn't a hard entry requirement in the way many first-time buyers assume, and waiting years to save 20% can mean missing out on buying sooner than necessary.

Myth: Self-employed people can't get approved

Fact: Self-employed applicants get mortgages regularly — it just requires more documentation, typically two to three years of accounts or tax returns rather than a couple of payslips. Some lenders are notably more comfortable with self-employed income than others, which is exactly the kind of detail a broker who works across the whole market can navigate on your behalf.

Myth: Going direct to your bank gets you the best deal

Fact: Your own bank can only offer you its own products. A whole-of-market broker compares mortgages across a much wider range of lenders, some of which aren't available directly to the public at all, so "loyalty" to your current bank rarely translates into the best available rate.

Myth: A mortgage in principle guarantees you'll get the mortgage

Fact: An Agreement in Principle is a useful early indicator based on limited information, but full underwriting — including a property valuation and detailed checks on your income and credit history — happens later in the process. It's a helpful planning tool for house-hunting, not a binding guarantee, and it's still possible for a full application to come back with different terms.

Myth: One credit check "won't matter" if you shop around at several lenders

Fact: Multiple hard credit searches in a short period can actually affect your credit score and how lenders view your application. This is one of the clearest reasons to use a broker who can assess which lenders are likely to accept you before a formal application and hard search takes place, rather than applying speculatively to several lenders yourself.

Myth: Remortgaging is only worth doing if rates have dropped

Fact: Remortgaging is also about avoiding your lender's standard variable rate once your current deal ends, which is usually higher than any competitively arranged fixed or tracker product regardless of which direction the market has moved. Reviewing your options before your current deal expires is worth doing every time, not just when rates look favourable.

Myth: Mortgage advice is only for first-time buyers

Fact: Existing homeowners, landlords and anyone remortgaging benefit just as much from advice, arguably more so, since their circumstances, the lending market and their property's value have all likely changed since their last mortgage was arranged. Treating a mortgage broker as a one-time, first-purchase-only service means missing out on better options later.

Myles Mortgages Ltd, based in Newcastle City Centre and rated 5 stars from 127 Google reviews, works with buyers, homeowners and landlords to cut through exactly this kind of misinformation. If any of these myths sound like something you've believed, it's worth having a proper conversation rather than ruling yourself out.