Improve your chances of getting a mortgage

New rules mean that for some, getting a mortgage is going to be much tougher. Matthew Partridge gives some tips to improve your chances.

Banks will now have to pay much more attention to whether people can afford to repay their mortgages. Under new regulations that came into force last Saturday, lenders are required to ask detailed questions about borrowers' income and spending.

Banks also have to look at whether applicants are able to cope with a potential rise in interest rates. While this will make it harder to get mortgages, there are a number of common sense tips that you can follow to improve your chances of getting approved.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri