Ask anyone who has bought a property and they will tell you that you need to plan everything with military precision. To a certain degree, going and looking at flats and houses is the fun part – not least because you get to see how other people live! But before you even get to that part, you need to make sure that you have worked out your budget.

Depending on how large a UK mortgage you want to go for, you are generally going to have to come up with at least a 5% deposit. Then take into account the following: your solicitor's fees, searches, Land Registry costs, lending source's solicitor’s fees, mortgage indemnity guarantee, lender's valuations, survey fee, buildings insurance, and the cost of a removal firm.

The website www.yourmortgage.co.uk estimates these costs to be around £3,800 for a £100,000 property – and that’s before decorating and furnishing costs.

It used to be the norm for UK mortgage companies to base their lending limits on a number of factors, including a multiple of the applicant’s salary. At Direct Line, we think this is a limited way of thinking. We take into account personal circumstances and work out how much you can borrow based on your income and outgoings.

So why not find out how much a competitive Direct Line mortgage could cost you with our mortgage calculator. You can even apply online.