Using ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini to find a mortgage? What to include in your mortgage enquiry

Using ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini to Find a Mortgage? What to Include in Your Mortgage Enquiry

 

More homebuyers are using ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI tools to research mortgage options, compare lenders and find mortgage brokers.

At Trinity Financial, we are increasingly receiving mortgage enquiries from people who have used AI tools to help them research their options or draft an email to our brokers.

AI can be extremely useful for helping borrowers understand the mortgage market. However, many AI-generated enquiries do not include enough information for a mortgage broker to properly assess the case. 

One of the most common problems is that borrowers do not include a telephone number or a link to the property they want to buy. Other enquiries may mention a salary and purchase price but leave out the deposit, mortgage amount, bonus income, financial commitments or details about the property.

Providing this information at the start can make it much easier for a mortgage broker to understand your circumstances and identify suitable lenders. There is a huge choice of banks and building societies, as well as specialist lenders offering straightforward and complex mortgages. Each has different acceptance criteria, so if one lender won't issue a mortgage, another might with a bit more information. 

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "Not everyone wants to send all personal details over email, but it is good to have some basic information, ideally with a rough idea of what they would like to do, the property they want to buy. Also, their phone number and a good time to call."

What information should you give ChatGPT or Gemini when preparing a mortgage enquiry?

If you are asking an AI assistant to draft a mortgage enquiry, it should ideally ask you for the following information before preparing the message.

Your contact details

Include:

• Your full name

• Your telephone number

• Your email address

A telephone number is particularly important. Mortgage enquiries can involve detailed lender criteria, and it is often much quicker for a broker to speak to you about your circumstances than to exchange several emails. The mortgage market moves very quickly at the moment, and we like to secure our clients a mortgage as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

What type of mortgage do you need?

Tell the AI whether you are:

• A first-time buyer

• Moving home

• Remortgaging

• Buying a buy-to-let property

• Purchasing through a limited company

• Looking for an interest-only mortgage

• Buying a second home

• Looking for a large mortgage

• Buying an unusual or complex property

• Buying with a family member or partner

The type of mortgage required can significantly affect which lenders and products may be suitable.

What property are you buying?

If you have found a property, include:

• Purchase price

• Property type

• Property location

• A Rightmove, Zoopla or estate-agent website link

• Any unusual features

The property link is particularly useful. It allows a mortgage broker to see whether the property has features that could affect lender choice, such as acreage, an annexe, outbuildings, a flat above commercial premises, unusual construction or multiple dwellings on one title.

Trinity Financial's mortgage questionnaire specifically asks borrowers to provide a property URL, such as a Rightmove or estate-agent link.

How much deposit do you have?

Tell the broker:

• Your deposit amount

• The purchase price

• Approximately how much you want to borrow

For example:

Purchase price: £750,000
Deposit: £150,000
Mortgage required: £600,000

This helps establish the loan-to-value, which is one of the main factors lenders use when pricing mortgages.

How much does each applicant earn?

Do not simply tell an AI tool, "I earn £100,000."

You could explain how the income is made up.

For an employed applicant, this could include:

• Basic salary

• Bonus

• Commission

• Overtime

• Other regular income

Different lenders can treat bonus, commission and overtime differently.

Trinity's mortgage questionnaire separates salary, bonus, commission and overtime so our brokers can get a clearer understanding of the income available.

Are you self-employed or a contractor?

If you are self-employed, tell the AI:

• How long you have been trading

• Your latest year's profit or income

• Previous years' figures where available

• Whether you operate as a sole trader, partnership or limited company

Contractors should normally provide information such as their day rate and contracting history.

Trinity's questionnaire asks contractors for their day rate and self-employed applicants for recent profit figures because lender affordability calculations can vary substantially. Our brokers will need to know if there has been a gap in your contracting history. 

Tell the broker about your financial commitments

Mortgage affordability is not based on salary alone.

Include significant commitments such as:

• Personal loans

• Car finance

• Credit-card balances

• Student loans where relevant

• Childcare or school fees

• Pension contributions

• Other regular financial commitments

Trinity's mortgage questionnaire also asks about monthly credit commitments, transport costs, utility costs, living costs, pension contributions and childcare or school fees.

Mention any credit-history problems

If relevant, explain whether you have experienced:

• Missed payments

• Defaults

• County Court Judgments

• Debt-management arrangements

• Previous mortgage arrears

• Other adverse credit

Do not hide credit problems from your mortgage broker. Different lenders have very different approaches to credit history, and having the information early can save considerable time.

If you are not sure how good your credit score or credit history is, then we often ask our clients to use the Checkmyfile link. There is a fee if you don't cancel it, but the report is very thorough because it uses Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. This matters because lenders use different credit reference agencies. 

What should remortgage clients provide?

If you are remortgaging, it is useful to include:

• Estimated property value

• Current mortgage balance

• Existing mortgage lender

• Current mortgage rate

• Date your current deal ends

• Remaining mortgage term

• Whether you want to borrow additional money

This makes it easier for a broker to assess whether a remortgage, product transfer or alternative arrangement could be suitable. Trinity has recently launched a tool that lets borrowers book a remortgage appointment if their mortgage ends in six months, a year, or further away. 

What should buy-to-let investors include?

Buy-to-let enquiries should also include:

• Purchase price or property value

• Deposit or equity

• Mortgage required

• Expected monthly rent

• Whether the property will be owned personally or through a limited company

• Existing property portfolio if applicable

• Property link

Rental income can be particularly important because lenders normally carry out a rental affordability assessment as part of the application.

A prompt you can give ChatGPT, Gemini or another AI assistant

If you are using AI to prepare your enquiry, you can copy and paste the following prompt:

"Help me prepare a mortgage enquiry for Trinity Financial.

Before drafting the enquiry, ask me for my name, telephone number and email address.

Ask whether I am a first-time buyer, home mover, remortgaging or buying a buy-to-let property. Also, if I am buying with a partner/husband/wife, include some of their information or cc them into the enquiry. 

Ask for the purchase price or property value, deposit, mortgage amount required and a link to the property on Rightmove, Zoopla or the estate agent's website.

Ask for the income and employment status of each applicant, including basic salary, bonus, commission, overtime or other income.

If I am self-employed or a contractor, ask for my relevant profit, income or day-rate information.

Ask about significant loans, credit commitments, childcare costs and any relevant credit-history problems.

Also ask whether there is anything unusual about the property or my personal circumstances that could affect the mortgage.

When drafting the final enquiry, make sure my telephone number and property link are clearly included."

Complete Trinity Financial's mortgage questionnaire

If you already have most of this information available, you can complete Trinity Financial's online Mortgage Questionnaire.

It asks for contact details, employment and income information, financial commitments, credit history and details about the mortgage and property.

The questionnaire is designed to help us provide a faster and more accurate initial response.

Alternatively, you can contact Trinity Financial and speak to one of our mortgage brokers about your requirements.

Speak to Trinity Financial

If you are buying a property and would like to understand how much you could borrow and what your monthly mortgage payments may be, contact Trinity Financial to discuss your options with one of our mortgage brokers.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a mortgage, book a consultation, or complete our mortgage questionnaire. 

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change. It is for general information purposes and is not advice.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage