A Mortgage Agreement In Principle is sometimes called a Pre-Agreed Mortgage and can be a very useful bargaining tool.

The application can be made before the property is found, enabling prospective purchasers to understand exactly how much they can comfortably borrow, and avoid disappointment and financial over-commitment later on.

In some cases, where there is more than one potential buyer for the property, it is often the case that the buyer who already has an Agreement In Principle is the person who is most likely to have their offer accepted.

Although every offer is important, giving the estate agent confidence in your ability to proceed is vital and lots of estate agents will expect you to have an Agreement In Principle before you make an offer on any property.

So, even if you have not found a property yet, it would still be of benefit to you to have a mortgage AIP before making an offer on a property.

If you’d like an Agreement In Principal and don’t want to have to trawl the High Street banks and building societies and wait ‘ages’ for an appointment, then why not call Cook Allen & Associates on 0845 257 9301 or complete our "questionnaire" here.