Who can I borrow from?

In terms of lenders, high street banks invariably offer the best rates and the best loan to value mortgages. However, they can demand a high level of income and cash flow to repay debt obligations and the application process can be lengthy (often over three months). Challenger banks will offer a more lenient lending criterion, but they are generally more expensive than their high street counterparts and have higher exit fees. Niche or specialist lenders offer the lowest affordability criteria but are more expensive still than the banks.