How do mortgages work?

A mortgage lender will assess your credit score as part of your mortgage application. A good credit score could have a positive impact on the likelihood of an application being accepted (subject to satisfying all other criteria). A poorer score doesn't necessarily mean you won't be able to get a mortgage.

Get more useful information about your credit score and applying for a mortgage.

If a mortgage payment is missed you could incur additional fees, as stated in your mortgage agreement, so it's important you pay on time. Missed payments for any kind of borrowing can also negatively impact your credit score, which could have a detrimental impact on your ability to access lending products in the future

If you're struggling to meet your payments on a NatWest mortgage, you can find out more about how we may be able to help.

The 'exchange date' is the date a property seller & buyer exchange contracts, legally committing them both to the property transaction, with a deposit being placed. A buyer who does not proceed beyond this point risks losing their deposit.

• In Scotland, your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor will exchange contractual letters (known as “missives”) back and forth during the transaction, until the terms of sale have been agreed and finalised. At this point (known as concluding missives) the buyer and seller are legally bound to go ahead to with the transaction. In Scotland, a deposit is not usually payable until the settlement date (described below) but there can be financial penalties if either party walks away after missives have been concluded.

The ‘completion date’ is when the seller must vacate the property and the buyer will receive the keys and can move into the property. Upon completion, the buyer must provide all the remaining money required to complete the purchase of the property.

• In Scotland, this is usually known as the settlement date and as it is unusual for a deposit to be paid to the seller before this point, the full purchase price will be payable on this date.

Conveyancing is a word to describe the legal process of transferring the title of property from one person(s) to another person(s).

Your conveyancer, usually a solicitor, is a legal representative who will act on your behalf throughout this process. Conveyancers provide crucial legal assistance throughout the process, for both property buyers & sellers.

Property transactions are inherently complicated, and there is generally a lot of legal and administrative work required before both parties can exchange contracts (this is known as concluding missives in Scotland) and complete the transaction.

The cost of conveyancing varies between firms and is usually dependent on the value/type of property being purchased. There will be legal fees plus VAT, outlays, registration fees and usually Stamp Duty where applicable (described above) to pay.