Getting a Decision in Principle

A Decision in Principle is confirmation from your mortgage lender of how much they’re willing to lend you for your mortgage.

They can also be called:

• Agreement in Principle
• Mortgage in Principle
• Mortgage Promise
• Lending Certificate

A Decision in Principle makes it easier when you start to look for properties and buy a home. You’ll have an idea of what your budget is, and you can show it to estate agents and new home builders to prove you’re a serious buyer.

When changing to a different lender or borrowing more, you’ll still need to get a Decision in Principle.

A Decision in Principle is not a mortgage offer. You will still need to make a full application to see if you can get a mortgage.

A Nationwide Decision in Principle is valid for 90 days, and you can use it to apply for a mortgage straight away.

When you receive your Decision in Principle, you will get a confirmation email from us, with a website link that goes to your own Mortgage Hub. Please keep this email as you will need it to log into the Mortgage Hub when you have completed your house search.

You’ll need to submit a full mortgage application when you:

• have found a property and had your offer accepted
• are ready to change mortgage provider
• are ready to borrow more.

If your application is successful, we’ll make you an official mortgage offer. This will be based on the amount you’ve asked for in your mortgage application.

No. A Decision in Principle and a mortgage offer are different things.

A Decision in Principle is only an indication of how much we are prepared to lend you. This is because we only ask for limited information about your finances. And you don’t need to have found a property yet.

A mortgage offer is based on more detailed affordability checks. As well as a valuation of your chosen property. Unlike the Decision in Principle, a mortgage offer is confirmation of what you can borrow.

You can only get a mortgage offer by completing a full mortgage application.

A Decision in Principle (DIP) doesn’t guarantee that your mortgage application will be successful.

A Decision in Principle (or Mortgage in Principle) is based on limited information about your finances. When you apply for a mortgage, we'll carry out more detailed checks and assess the property you're planning to buy.

Your application could be affected if:

• Your circumstances have changed since getting your Decision in Principle, such as changes to your income, spending or credit commitments.
• The property doesn't meet our lending criteria - for an example self builds that are still under construction.
• The property's valuation is different from what's expected.

Only a mortgage offer confirms how much we're able to lend you.

We’ll do a soft credit check when you apply for a Decision in Principle. Soft credit checks do not affect your credit rating. They do not appear to lenders on your credit report and will not affect your ability to apply for borrowing in the future.

If you go on to apply for a full mortgage application, we’ll run a formal credit check which will leave a foot print on your credit report.