the big big thing is your incomings and outgoings - companies want to see that you can comfortably afford your repayments as well as allowing for bills, food and general living costs. Companies look at your disposable income and assess if you can afford the repayments. your lender can offer you more information but its always a good idea to be aware of your disposable income and how much you can comfortably afford to pay before approaching a lender. your deposit plays a big part - the more you put down the less you have to pay in your monthly morgage installments . its worth shopping around for the best deals and rates and some companies offer for example a months free or to pay your council tax for a month etc . the best advice is to approach a lender directly different companies have different requirements so discuss your personal circumstances directly and this can often lead to your morgage been better suited to you .