Last updated: 29th January 2026
The Validity of a Mortgage Offer in the UK
Typically It’s 3 to 6 Months – But That’s Not Always The Case
The length of time a mortgage offer is valid for can vary quite significantly, all depending on who the lender is & what kind of property you’re buying. Check your offer letter for the exact date, because it’s really important to know you’ve got how much time you have to complete the purchase.
Key Details on Offer Lengths
- Standard Offers Are Usually Good For 6 Months – Most standard offers for buying a property are up to 6 months – 180 days to be exact.
- Remortgaging Offers Are Usually Much Shorter – Offers for moving to a new mortgage on your existing property are often a lot shorter, usually around 3 months, or 90 days.
- New Builds Can Have Longer Offers – For new-build properties, where delays are common, lenders may offer a longer initial validity period, anything from 9 to 12 months.
- Starting Point For Validity Period – Another thing to keep an eye on is when the lender starts counting down the validity period from. Sometimes it’s from the date they issue the offer, other times it’s from the date you first applied, or even a specific date by which you need to complete.
Extending or Reapplying
If you think you’re going to miss the deadline, get in touch with your lender or mortgage broker asap to ask about extending the offer. Staying on top of this and making sure the mortgage offer remains valid is crucial.
- Extensions are possible – They may be willing to extend the offer for another 1-3 months if your personal financial situation hasn’t changed much.
- If the offer has expired & you can’t get an extension – you’ll need to reapply for a new mortgage, which is going to involve new checks, possible fees & the risk that the market has changed since you first applied, making your new options not so great.
Agreement In Principle Stage
Simply put, an Agreement in Principle, sometimes written just as AIP and also referred to as a or decision in principle or mortgage in principle, is a written estimate from the lender outlining how much you can borrow from them.
Our Mortgage Adviser will go through your financial situation with you and by asking a few questions they’ll get an idea of how much you’re in a position to borrow.
From that they’ll come up with an AIP (Agreement in Principle) that’ll give you an idea of how much you’ll be able to borrow – which lets you start seriously thinking about what your next home might be.
Some estate agents or sellers might want to see that you’ve got an AIP in place before you even go and view a property or put in an offer, as it gives them a bit of reassurance that you’re not just some dreamer – you’ve actually got a viable plan in place and it won’t let the sale fall through at the last minute when the contracts are finally signed.
But just to be clear, an AIP isn’t actually a mortgage offer yet.
You’ll still need to make a full application for a mortgage once you’ve found the property you want to buy and had an offer accepted.
An AIP isn’t a guarantee that a lender will actually offer you that amount. It’s just an indication based on the information available at the time. If anything changes before you submit the full application — for example, your deposit reduces or you change jobs, that can affect the final decision.
It’s also worth being careful about how many AIPs you apply for. Most lenders will carry out a credit check to issue one. If this is a hard credit check, it leaves a visible mark on your credit file. Apply for several AIPs in a short space of time and it can start to drag your credit score down.
The good news is that some lenders and advisers can run an AIP using a soft credit check instead, which doesn’t leave a footprint on your credit file.
How long does a mortgage agreement in principle last?
Typically, your agreement in principle will be valid for anywhere between 30 to 90 days in total. After that, the agreement in principle will usually expire, but you can always re-apply (even to the same lender).
One thing to bear in mind is even though you have got an mortgage in principle with one lender, this doesn’t have to be the lender you use to get a mortgage. When you apply for a mortgage your mortgage broker should re-assess the market before mortgage application submission.
Mortgage in principle to mortgage offer
Moving ahead in time slightly and assume you’re happy with your agreement in principle and that it provides you with the loan you need in order to buy a home.
You may now be ready to press ahead with your mortgage application in full.
While you’ve already provided your lender with some details about yourself, they’ll need more information in order to take your application forward.
We will ask for further information & documentation so we can submit your mortgage:
- Payslips from your employer (typically for the last 3 months)
- Identity (usually your passport or driving license)
- Current account bank statements (usually from the last three to six months)
- Credit file to see your credit score
These documents will help secure your mortgage offer.
If you’re self-employed, they might also need information from you such as tax return forms, business account statements and proof of income as part of your mortgage application.
Your lender will need this information from you so that they can carry out underwriting checks on you.
Other than the information that you provide your lender with, they will also want to understand more about the property you’re interested in buying.
Typically, they find out what they need to know through a valuation survey of the home, which they will summarise in a report.
If the property also passes their assessment criteria, then you may be well on your way towards you being able to get a mortgage offer.
Once the application has been submitted, this tends to take 2 to 3 weeks for the lender to issue the formal mortgage offer. This can vary from lender to lender.
Mortgage offer issued! What happens now?
Now you have done the decision in principle, found a property you want to buy, submitted the mortgage application & received a mortgage offer, it might feel like the time to celebrate.
But there’s still a way to go in the house-buying process.
Your mortgage offer is definitely a milestone and a big step in the right direction.
There’s also the small matter of there being a time-limit on the offer you’ve received.
So why does your mortgage offer have an expiry date? Essentially, your offer is a screenshot of your current circumstances based on your household income, credit history, interest rates, and the purchase price at the exact moment of your application. These factors can fluctuate, which is why any mortgage offer has an expiration date.
This expiry date varies between mortgage lender. Typically, mortgage offers last between 3 and 6 months from the date they’re issued. The length of time can vary from lender to lender and when this runs out, some lenders offer a mortgage extension.
What if your mortgage offer expires before exchanging contracts?
Sometimes there are unexpected delays, and it’s going to take longer to complete the sale than the time that’s left on your mortgage offer. As mortgage brokers, we will inform you if this is going to happen.
Depending on your provider and the cause of your delay, you might be able to get an extension on your mortgage offer.
This might involve additional fees. An extension often allows you an extra 1 month to complete the purchase of your new property.
If the lender isn’t willing to offer you an extension, or you’ve left it too late to notify them of the delay, you might need to re-apply for your mortgage. This could involve paying for another valuation and additional solicitors fees.
Your mortgage provider will need to run similar checks they did before. If a delay is unavoidable, an extension is much better than a new application, particularly if your financial circumstances have changed.
Exchanging contracts
This is mainly between you and the seller of your future home (via your solicitors and theirs). Before you actually get to exchanging contracts with the seller, there are a number of things to tick off of the list first.
- Firstly there’s getting a list of the ‘fixtures and fittings’ that are included in the price of the property.
- There’s also the matter of buildings insurance, which is compulsory when buying with a mortgage. It’s worth pointing out that if you’re buying a leasehold property, you should double check if the buildings insurance is already taken care of by the freehold owner.
- Your solicitor/conveyancer should have completed local area searches for you and have a survey of the home on record.
- You will also need to have all your finances in place in order to complete the transaction. Make sure you have your deposit ready to send as soon as possible.
Once contracts are exchanged, there’s no going back! It can take between 7 and 28 days to go from exchanging contracts to completion. However, some lenders do allow this to happen on the same day), and it’s only at the later stage that you can move in.
For new build properties there can be a large period of time when you exchange contracts and the completion date. This can sometimes be up to 6 months, this is a standard process with a new build purchase.
Putting It All Into Perspective: When Do You Get Your Mortgage Offer?
A mortgage offer is a major milestone in getting a mortgage but it’s definitely not the last hurdle to clear when you’re buying a house.
Once your lender has looked over your application, made sure everything checks out, pulled your credit report, and gave the property the green light. They’ll send you a formal letter telling you the mortgage loan details and what your mortgage deal looks like.
Don’t forget a mortgage offer has a limited shelf life.
If your offer expires before things are wrapped up and you’ve exchanged contracts then you’re either going to have to ask for extra time or even go back to square one and start the mortgage approval process all over again.
And, if you do that, get ready for fresh checks, updated paperwork, and a chance that the lending criteria or interest rates may have changed on you.
Your mortgage offer is just one part of the whole property buying thing which also involves stuff like conveyancing, getting a valuation done, and the lender doing their final checks. And any delay at any stage can throw your whole timeline into disarray which is why knowing how long your offer is valid for, and being on the ball if there are any problems that come up, is a big deal.
Getting the right advice and planning ahead will really help keep your mortgage on track and avoid any unnecessary stress. Working with an experienced mortgage advisor can make all the difference, ensuring that your mortgage deal, the conveyancing, your lender requirements and all the rest of it keep moving in the same direction, so you can get on with buying your house without a hitch.
Want to find the right mortgage for you?
It’s normal to consider your options once you start to look at the finer details involved when buying a home.
How long it takes to get your mortgage will depend on if you have a broker or not.
Mortgages don’t need to be slow and in fact, a broker will speed the whole process up.
Once the lender has been chosen, your broker will also know what documents and information will be needed.
They will be able to submit this with the application.
This can shorten the process to mortgage offer by as much as 2 weeks.
Related Mortgage Guides
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Different Repayment Types
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Remortgaging in 2023
