BBC Money Box

Money Box Live: How to Pick a Mortgage

Loading player...
Mortgages are one of the most important financial products most of us ever come across, but they're also complicated. With more than 7,000 products on the market, how do you pick the right one for you?

It can feel pretty overwhelming and hard to choose the best product at a time when rates are held at 3.75% but expected to fall, and relaxed lending rules mean some people can borrow 6.5 times their salary over longer terms.

We'll answer listener questions about trackers, what term you should pick, and what to do if you're a first-time buyer.

Paul Lewis is joined by Sally Mitchell, a mortgage advisor at Versed Financial, and Paul Broadhead from the Building Societies Association.

Presenters: Paul Lewis and Felicity Hannah
Producers: Sarah Rogers and James Graham
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson

(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 11th February 2026)
11 Mar English United Kingdom Business

Other recent episodes

Credit Card Debt and Civil Service Pensions

Debt charity StepChange says its research suggests around 2.5mn people who have debt on a credit card have paid more in interest, fees and charges over the past 18 months than they have repaid off the debt itself. Its survey of 6,000 adults, done by the polling organisation YouGov, found…
7 Mar 27 min

Money Box Live: Student Loan Debate

Student loans and their impact on graduates’ finances have dominated the news recently. The average student debt in England for 2024 graduates was approximately £53,000, with repayments being made when salaries hit a certain threshold set by the government. But, the finer details on who gets what and how it's…
4 Mar 30 min

Report Fraud and Student Loans

Billions of pounds is lost each year to fraud, be that by criminals simply stealing someone's money or by thieves tricking victims into giving them their details before draining their bank accounts. It's a crime that is massively under-reported, with very low conviction rates too. To tackle this, a new…
28 Feb 26 min

Money Box Life: Working for Longer

The number of people working past retirement age is growing. New analysis of tax data found a 12% rise over the past five years. It was carried out by the specialist employment law firm, Littler, which says official estimates for the last financial year show 2.1 million workers and self-employed…
25 Feb 30 min

Energy Ombudsman Powers and Cheques

The chair of Parliament’s Energy Select Committee has told Money Box it’s “vital” the Energy Ombudsman is given new, stronger powers as quickly as possible. Bill Esterson says that it is too easy for energy suppliers to simply ignore ombudsman decisions leaving consumers powerless. Energy UK, which represents suppliers, says…
21 Feb 26 min
All episodes