I is for...

Insurance
Mortgage lenders are very keen to sell you add on financial products and especially over-priced protection. It’s not a good idea to buy building and contents, life and mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) from your lender. Instead, hunt around online for this cover or see an established insurance broker.

Interest rate
Many prospective home-buyers don't look beyond attractive headline interest rates advertised by many mortgage lenders.
Although it's true that mortgage interest will account for the majority of your home-buying costs, you still need to account for other one-off and ongoing costs.
You have several choices when it comes to choosing your interest rate, such as capped, discounted, fixed, tracker and standard variable rate (SVR) deals.

L is for...

Lodger, parents or 'share to buy'
If you are unable to buy a property on your own, then you can get help from your parents or buy with others using a share to buy mortgage.  Another alternative is to take in a lodger: under the government's Rent a Room scheme, you can earn up to £4,250 a year, tax free, by allowing someone live under your roof.

M is for...

Monthly repayments
Most home-buyers arrange a mortgage over 25 years, which means paying 300 monthly mortgage repayments. However, with mortgages now available over 40 years, you could be paying out for 480 months.