Turned down by three brokers. In their new home in nine weeks.

The Watsons had been trying to buy their first home for eight months. Two mainstream brokers had told them they could not borrow enough. A third had recommended a Help-to-Buy scheme that would have added significant complexity and cost. With their offer already accepted on a family home in Kingswood, they had six weeks to find a lender willing to work with them.

Anthony reviewed the case. On the surface the maths looked tight, joint income of £51,000, two children, only a 5% deposit. But the previous brokers had used affordability calculators that heavily penalise dependants without accounting for the wife’s recent promotion, which came with a pay rise not yet reflected in her latest payslip.

A large lender panel search identified a specialist lender that used current salary certificates (rather than a three-month payslip average) and that had a more generous treatment of household outgoings. The agreement in principle came through in 36 hours. Anthony coordinated with the family’s solicitor to align the mortgage offer with the completion date the vendor needed.

The Watsons completed on their new home nine weeks after the first call, two weeks inside the vendor’s deadline. Total mortgage secured: £178,500 at 95% LTV. They subsequently arranged mortgage protection, life insurance and critical illness cover with Anthony, and have referred three friends to A&L.