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The first stage in the mortgage process is to obtain an Approval In Principle. This means that a lender will ask you for information on your circumstances (address, income, outgoings etc.). The lender will then submit this information onto their system and the system will carry out a credit check. A credit check involves checking your credit history and payment record. When the credit check is returned (normally instantly), the lender will inform you if you have been approved or not. Lenders will differ in their lending criteria and some will lend more amounts than others. If you have been unsuccessful with one lender it does not necessarily mean that you will not be able to obtain a mortgage. You may want to obtain an approval in principle before reserving property.

A full application involves moving your application forward from the approval in principle stage. At this stage the lender may require documentary evidence to confirm the information you have supplied at the approval in principle stage e.g. payslips, identification etc. The lender will also require a valuation of the property to be carried out.

By purchasing a new home rather than an older, less energy efficient property, last year’s new build purchasers are saving 576,000 tonnes of carbon emissions meaning that they are doing their bit to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions and saving themselves hundreds of pounds per year as well.

With new homes generating only around one-third of the carbon produced by the average older property each year, its impact on the environment and climate change is far lower than that of the existing housing stock.

Looking at the costs by type of property, a new:

• House is 63% cheaper to heat than its older equivalents
• Flat is 46% cheaper to heat than its older equivalents
• Bungalow is 50% cheaper to heat than its older equivalents
• Maisonette is 59% cheaper to heat than its older equivalents

When the lender has received all the relevant documentation and they are satisfied with your application, they will issue the Mortgage Offer. A copy will be sent to yourself and a copy will be sent to your solicitor. The mortgage offer is an agreement in writing from the lender setting out the terms and conditions (monthly payments etc) of your mortgage. The mortgage offer needs to be issued before your solicitor can obtain the funds from the lender to complete your purchase. A mortgage offer will be valid for a certain period of time depending on lender. With some lenders, this will be 6 months but with others, it may be shorter. You need to ensure that the entry date for your property falls within this period. Some lenders will be able to extend their mortgage offers, given certain circumstances.

With 95% of new build properties rated A-C for energy efficiency, and the majority of these rated A or B, the benefits that new build homes bring are irrefutable. Owners of new build homes use less energy, save large amounts of money on bills and considerably reduce their carbon emissions.