Alexander Southwell Mortgages

Alexander Southwell Mortgages Expert Mortgage Advice. Your trusted family-run mortgage brokerage in the UK. Personalised approach. You will deal with the same broker throughout the process.

Contact us to experience the difference local, family-oriented team. First Time Buyers 🏘️

Self Employed 🛠️

Remortgaging ↺

Based in Southampton. Alexander Southwell Mortgage Services Ltd is an mortgage broker business based in Southampton, Hampshire. Our team provide expert mortgage & financial advice tailored to your specific circumstances. We do not only pride ourselves on the proposition we o

ffer but we also take great pride in the personal element of the whole process

From the initial appointment, to the point of you collecting your keys to moving into your new home. First time buyers, Business owner Mortgages, Contractor Mortgages, Self employed mortgages, new build, help to buy. We are able to help all different type of clients. Contact us today to see how we can help you!

Your car finance is quietly reducing your mortgage offer. And most buyers have no idea until it is too late.Mortgage aff...
07/09/2026

Your car finance is quietly reducing your mortgage offer. And most buyers have no idea until it is too late.

Mortgage affordability is not just about what you earn. It is about what you are committed to spending every month before you even get to a mortgage payment.

Lenders take your gross income, run it through their affordability model, and then subtract your committed outgoings. Car finance, credit card minimum payments, personal loans, buy-now-pay-later balances - all of it comes off before they work out what you can borrow.

The numbers are uncomfortable.

A £350 per month car finance payment - entirely normal for a mid-range family car on a P*P deal - can reduce your maximum borrowing by roughly £60,000 to £75,000 depending on the lender. Not because you are a bad borrower. Because that £350 a month is already spoken for.

A £200 per month credit card minimum payment adds another £35,000 or so off the top.

This is not a reason to panic. It is a reason to plan.

Some fixes are simple: if the car finance ends in the next 6-12 months, some lenders will exclude it from the calculation entirely. A credit card with a small balance can sometimes be cleared before application in a way that materially improves your offer. It depends on your full picture.

Knowing this before you start viewings means you are not hunting for a £350,000 home on a budget that actually stops at £280,000.

Sound familiar? Let's look at your numbers properly before you go any further - no fees, no pressure.

Call us on 03300 432428 or visit www.as-mortgages.co.uk

She had been self-employed for 14 months. Every lender said they needed two years' accounts. We found one that did not.S...
05/09/2026

She had been self-employed for 14 months. Every lender said they needed two years' accounts. We found one that did not.

Sarah - not her real name - came to us after being turned down twice. She was a marketing consultant who had left employment in mid-2025 to go it alone. Her first year's accounts were strong. Her income was growing. But the high street kept counting from the start of year two.

Here is the bit most brokers miss.

A small number of lenders will consider applications on a single year's accounts - but their criteria are specific. The business needs to be in the same sector or trade as previous employment. The income trajectory needs to be upward, not flat. And the application needs to be packaged correctly, with a clear narrative alongside the numbers.

For Sarah, the previous employment history mattered as much as the accounts themselves. She had eight years in marketing before going solo. That continuity gave the underwriter confidence. Lenders are not just looking at figures - they are assessing risk. A credible track record reduces that risk.

She completed on a three-bedroom house in Hampshire six weeks after she first called us. Two lenders had told her to wait another year. She did not have to.

If you have been told to wait, it is worth a second opinion. Get in touch - no fees, no pressure, just an honest look at what is possible right now.

Call us on 03300 432428 or visit www.as-mortgages.co.uk

Your bank will write to you when your fix ends. That letter is not on your side.Most people assume their lender will do ...
04/09/2026

Your bank will write to you when your fix ends. That letter is not on your side.

Most people assume their lender will do the right thing. They will send you their renewal options, you will pick one, and that will be that. Job done.

Here is what actually happens.

The letter arrives 3-6 months before your deal ends. It offers you 2 or 3 products - all from that lender, all from that lender's range, assessed against nobody else's rates.

There is no mention of the 90+ lenders in the wider market. There is no mention that a different lender might offer a lower rate, lower fees, or better terms for your situation right now.

And there is a deadline. Which creates pressure. Which is the point.

The reality: a product transfer with your existing lender can be the right answer. Sometimes it genuinely is. But you should only choose it after checking the rest of the market - not instead of checking it.

A whole-of-market broker does that check for you, at no cost, in under 24 hours. If your lender is genuinely the best option, we will tell you. If they are not, we will show you exactly what you could save.

Fix ending in the next 6 months? DM us for a free rate check - no fees, no obligation.

Call us on 03300 432428 or visit www.as-mortgages.co.uk

Your bank is not trying to find you the best mortgage. It is trying to sell you its mortgage.That sounds obvious when yo...
02/09/2026

Your bank is not trying to find you the best mortgage. It is trying to sell you its mortgage.

That sounds obvious when you say it out loud. But thousands of people walk into their high street bank every week, sit down with an adviser, and assume they are getting a balanced view of the market. They are not.

A bank adviser can only offer products from that one lender. If their rates are uncompetitive, their affordability model is restrictive, or their criteria does not fit your situation - you will not find out. You will just get a no, or a worse deal than you deserved.

Here is what that actually costs people:

- A rate that is 0.3% higher than the market best on a £250,000 mortgage adds roughly £750 a year to your payments
- A lender that caps borrowing at 4x income might offer £180,000 where a whole-of-market broker finds £210,000 at a better rate elsewhere
- If your income is self-employed, complex, or variable - a single-lender adviser often has no solution at all. A broker has dozens of lenders to try

The bank adviser is not necessarily doing anything wrong. They are just working within a very small box. The problem is that most people do not realise how small that box is until they have already sat in it.

Whole-of-market means exactly that. Hundreds of products, across dozens of lenders, assessed against your actual situation - not against one lender's rigid criteria.

And because our advice is typically fee-free, there is genuinely no reason to go to your bank first.

DM us for a free chat - no fees, no pressure.

Call us on 03300 432428 or visit www.as-mortgages.co.uk

Buying a home with someone else is romantic right up until you have to decide what happens to the deposit if it goes wro...
31/08/2026

Buying a home with someone else is romantic right up until you have to decide what happens to the deposit if it goes wrong.

This is not a particularly cheerful Monday thought, but it is a genuinely important one - and most couples skipping into property viewings have never heard of a Declaration of Trust.

Here is the situation it covers:

You are buying together. One of you is putting in a larger deposit - maybe a family gift, savings built up over years, or the proceeds from selling a previous property. The other contributes less, or nothing upfront. You own the property jointly. But if things do not work out, without a Declaration of Trust, the law may treat your shares in the property as equal - regardless of who put in what at the start.

A Declaration of Trust - sometimes called a Deed of Trust - is a legal document drawn up by your conveyancer that records exactly who contributed what, and how the equity should be split on a sale. It can be as simple or as detailed as your situation requires.

A few scenarios where this matters more than people realise:

- One partner contributed a £40,000 family gift to the deposit; the other contributed nothing
- One partner owns a larger share due to prior property equity rolled in
- You want the split to reflect contributions over time, not just day one

It costs a few hundred pounds to set up. It can save an enormous amount of grief later.

Your mortgage broker cannot draft this document - that is your conveyancer's job. But we will always flag it early, because the people who need it most are usually the ones who have never been told it exists. 🏡

Buying jointly and not sure how to protect both positions? Let us point you in the right direction from the start - no fees, no pressure.

Call us on 03300 432428 or visit www.as-mortgages.co.uk

He had been building his business for three years. The accounts told a complicated story. Every lender he tried told him...
29/08/2026

He had been building his business for three years. The accounts told a complicated story. Every lender he tried told him to come back when it was simpler.

Daniel ran a small civil engineering consultancy. He had taken the business from nothing to genuinely profitable - but the route there looked messy on paper. Year one was a loss. Year two, modest profit. Year three, a strong net profit that bore no resemblance to the first two.

Every lender he approached averaged the three years together. The loss in year one dragged the whole picture down. On paper, he looked like someone earning far less than he actually was.

He came to us having been declined twice and quietly convinced that homeownership was off the table for another two or three years.

Here is what most people do not know: there are lenders who will assess a self-employed applicant on the latest year's figures alone, where there is a clear and demonstrable upward trajectory. Not every lender. Not even most. But they exist - and knowing which ones, and how to package the application, is the difference between a decline and an offer.

We found one. We packaged Daniel's application around the year-three accounts, his current contract pipeline, and a clear narrative that explained the business journey. The underwriter understood it because we presented it in a way that made sense.

He completed four months later. 💚

Self-employed and worried the numbers will count against you? They might not. Let us have a proper look - no fees, no pressure.

Call us on 03300 432428 or visit www.as-mortgages.co.uk

Nobody tells you that the Lifetime ISA has a 90-day completion trap. Until it is too late.The Lifetime ISA - or LISA - i...
28/08/2026

Nobody tells you that the Lifetime ISA has a 90-day completion trap. Until it is too late.

The Lifetime ISA - or LISA - is genuinely brilliant for first-time buyers. The government adds a 25% bonus on top of everything you save, up to £1,000 free money per year. It is one of the best deposit-building tools available.

But there is a rule buried in the small print that can cause real problems.

When your purchase gets close, your conveyancer requests the LISA funds from your provider. From the day the funds are received, your purchase must complete within 90 days - or the money has to be returned to the provider to avoid the 25% government charge. Extensions are possible (60 days, then a further 30) but your conveyancer has to request them - it is not automatic.

In a slow chain or a delayed new-build, that window closes faster than you expect.

A few things worth knowing:

- You can only use a LISA for a property priced at £450,000 or under. Above that, the bonus is forfeit.
- The property must be purchased with a mortgage - cash buyers cannot use a LISA for the bonus.
- If you withdraw for any other reason, you lose 25% of the total pot - not just the bonus. That means you lose some of your own money too.
- Your LISA must have been open at least 12 months before you can use it penalty-free. Opening one the month before you buy will not work.
- Plan the withdrawal request carefully with your conveyancer. Do not leave it to the last week.

The bonus is real and the savings are real. The trap is just as real. Know about it before you start.

Planning to use a Lifetime ISA as part of your deposit? Let us make sure the timing works - no fees, no pressure.

Call us on 03300 432428 or visit www.as-mortgages.co.uk

Moving house does not always mean giving up the mortgage rate you are on. Most people have no idea this is even an optio...
26/08/2026

Moving house does not always mean giving up the mortgage rate you are on. Most people have no idea this is even an option.

It is called porting - taking your existing mortgage deal, rate and all, with you to the next property.

If you fixed at a low rate a few years ago, porting can keep that rate on the amount you already owe. Against today's rates, that can be worth hundreds of pounds a month.

A few things worth knowing:

- Porting is not automatic. You re-apply and pass the lender's affordability checks again, even though you already hold the mortgage.
- Borrowing more to move up? The extra is priced as a separate product at today's rates - two parts, one mortgage. The blended cost can still comfortably beat remortgaging the whole lot.
- Selling before you buy? Most lenders give you a window to port after redemption - miss it and you could face the early repayment charge on the deal you were trying to keep.
- Not every mortgage is portable, and not every property passes the lender's criteria second time around.

Whether porting or a fresh deal wins depends entirely on your numbers - we run both before you commit to either.

Thinking about a move? Let's check what your current rate is worth to you first - no fees, no pressure.

Call us on 03300 432428 or visit www.as-mortgages.co.uk

Your mortgage fix ends soon. Your lender will write to you. The letter will suggest you call them.Please don't.Well - no...
14/08/2026

Your mortgage fix ends soon. Your lender will write to you. The letter will suggest you call them.

Please don't.

Well - not yet, anyway. Not until you've done one thing first.

When your fixed rate ends, your lender will offer you a product transfer. A new deal, staying with them, usually with no new affordability checks and no legal work required. It's quick, it's painless, and it is almost never the best rate available to you.

Here's what that letter won't tell you:

You can start looking at remortgage options up to 6 months before your current deal expires. That means locking in a rate today - at today's pricing - and completing the switch the moment your fix ends, with no early repayment charge.

If rates fall in the meantime, a good broker can often switch you to the better product before completion. If rates rise, you're already protected.

The difference between your lender's retention offer and the best whole-of-market rate can be as much as 0.5% - 0.8%. On a £250,000 balance, that's roughly £100 - £165 a month. Over a two-year fix, that's potentially £4,000.

The lender's letter is not timed to help you. It's timed to make the product transfer path feel like the natural, obvious thing to do.

The natural thing is rarely the optimal thing.

Fix ending in the next 6 months? Now is exactly the right time to check what's available - no fees, no pressure.

Call us on 03300 432428 or visit www.as-mortgages.co.uk

He'd been a landlord for eleven years. Nobody would remortgage him.Dave came to us with four buy-to-let properties, a li...
12/08/2026

He'd been a landlord for eleven years. Nobody would remortgage him.

Dave came to us with four buy-to-let properties, a limited company structure, and a rate that had crept up to his lender's standard variable rate after his fix expired. He'd been paying it for seven months.

He'd called two lenders directly. Both told him the same thing: with four properties already in the portfolio, he'd need to go through full portfolio underwriting. The paperwork request alone was enough to make him put it off.

When he finally got in touch with us, we started with the full picture.

Four properties sounds straightforward. But two were HMOs, one had a short lease that had since been extended, and the limited company had two directors - one of whom was a silent partner with no income from the business. The kind of complexity that makes a high street lender's system flag and stall.

What Dave didn't know is that portfolio landlord rules - the ones that kicked in under the Prudential Regulation Authority in 2017 - require lenders to assess the entire portfolio's cash flow, not just the property being remortgaged. Most high street lenders run this through a rigid spreadsheet. Specialist BTL lenders do it with an actual underwriter.

We packaged the case properly - rental schedules, company accounts, the lease extension documentation - and placed it with a lender whose portfolio underwriting team actually read the file.

Offer issued in nine days. Rate down by 1.4%. Saving Dave just over £620 a month across the portfolio.

The SVR had cost him nearly £4,300 over those seven months of putting it off.

If you've got multiple properties and you're not sure who will remortgage you, let's have a conversation - no fees, no pressure.

Call us on 03300 432428 or visit www.as-mortgages.co.uk

Address

NIX Business Centre, Suite 11, 2 Park Court, Abbey Park Industrial Estate
Southampton
SO167DP

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 6pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 6pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 6pm
Thursday 9:30am - 6pm
Friday 9:30am - 6pm
Saturday 9:30am - 1pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Alexander Southwell Mortgages posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category