What is the mortgage approval process for first-time home buyers?

We’ve put together 7 steps to help you through the process of buying a property and applying for a mortgage:

If you're ready to apply for a mortgage, take a look at our document checklist before you begin.

The first step is to estimate how much you can afford to borrow before applying for a mortgage. That way, you’ll have a better idea of the type of property and location you could afford. It may also help you work out how much you’ll need to prepare for the deposit.

You can use our instant mortgage assessment which has a suite of tools to help you obtain your personalised affordability result.

If you’re a first-time home buyer on a budget, you may be able to borrow up to 90% of your home’s purchase price or property valuation. This type of high loan-to-value (LTV) ratio mortgage, like the HSBC HighAdvance Mortgage, doesn’t require a large down payment.

Keep in mind, if you borrow at a high LTV and property prices fall, your home could be worth less than your mortgage (known as negative equity).

Calculate your desired loan amount

Search for your favourite properties that are on sale. The HSBC Property Valuation Tool can help you calculate the valuation of a property.

When you’re ready to buy, you’ll need to sign a Provisional Agreement for Sale and Purchase (PASP) with the seller and pay an initial deposit. This is usually 3% to 5% of the purchase price. The PASP will specify when you need to make your next deposit. The total down payment will be about 10% of the purchase price.

Remember, you may also need to consider the stamp duty fee. Learn more

After signing the PASP, you can submit your mortgage application to the bank for credit assessment.

A mortgage loan application is typically accepted 90 days before you complete your property purchase with the final balance payment. At HSBC, in the following circumstances, we may accept an application with a longer completion time, and an approval result may be obtained well in advance. You’ll have peace of mind securing the mortgage finance well before you need to make your final property purchase payment.

Explore our mortgage loan products to find one that suits your needs.

You’ve done all the preparations – now it’s time to gather the required documents. Not submitting the paperwork in time can affect your mortgage application.

See our mortgage application checklist to find out what you’ll need.

If you would like to apply for our Deposit-linked Mortgage repayment plan, don't forget to submit the enrolment form with your mortgage application. The plan allows you to designate a savings account to get a preferential interest rate at the same rate as your mortgage plan for your deposit (up to 50% of the outstanding balance on your mortgage).

For your protection, you’re required to take out individual fire insurance if the property is not covered by an existing master policy. You can choose your own insurance company, but you might find it more convenient to apply for fire insurance together with your mortgage application.

You will also need to appoint a solicitor who will help you through the legal process, including checking the property title and preparing legal documents.

If you would like the same firm of solicitors to act for both you and HSBC, the firm you have chosen must be agreed upon by us. Otherwise, they will not be able to act for HSBC as well, and we will need to appoint another firm of solicitors to act for us. 

Keep in mind that if there are 2 different firms of solicitors acting for you and HSBC, you’ll need to bear the legal costs of both firms.

Congratulations – you’ve reached the final stage of buying your dream home. There may be a few more things to take care of before you take possession of your property.

When your mortgage application is approved, you’ll usually receive a facility offer letter[@mortgage-offer] from your bank. This letter will set out all the loan terms.

If you apply for a mortgage loan with us, you’ll have 2 weeks to accept the loan terms. Remember – if you’re unable to draw down the mortgage loan within the validity period, your application may need to be re-assessed, new supporting documents (such as income proof) may be required, and the loan terms may change according to the prevailing conditions.

Your appointed solicitor will arrange other legal matters to help you complete the property purchase. They’ll arrange with the bank to draw the mortgage loan and arrange to pay the outstanding purchase price to the seller. You can then get the keys and the property is yours!

You’ll receive a repayment schedule after the loan drawdown.

Our professional Mortgage Specialists will guide you through the whole process to make it easy for you.

You can make an appointment via:

Online appointment booking

Mortgage Hotline (852) 2748 8080

HSBC Online Banking

To borrow or not to borrow? Borrow only if you can repay!