Author profile
Chris Hancocks
About
I started Mortgage Notes in April 2026 because — after going through the buying process myself — I couldn't find a single UK mortgage site that explained the numbers clearly without trying to sell me a product at the same time. Everything was either dense enough to require a financial advisor to decode it, or so sugar-coated it dodged the actual figures.
This site is my attempt at the opposite: the numbers, dated and sourced; the process, explained like you're speaking to a smart friend; and every calculator built to show its working rather than hide it. The tone I'm going for is closer to a quality newspaper's finance pages than a comparison-site product feed.
What I cover
- UK mortgages (England-focused, with regional context)
- First-time buyer schemes — Lifetime ISA, Shared Ownership, First Homes, Freedom to Buy, Deposit Unlock
- Stamp Duty Land Tax — bands, first-time buyer relief, additional-property and non-resident surcharges
- Mortgage affordability, income multiples and FCA MCOB-era stress tests
- Remortgaging, product transfers and early repayment charges
- The wider UK rate environment — Bank of England policy, CPI, lender response
Credentials and scope
I am not a CeMAP-qualified mortgage adviser. Mortgage Notes does not give regulated financial advice — we publish information, under the FCA's Financial Promotions exemption for non-real-time, non-commissioned information (PERG 8.14). For advice on your specific situation, speak to an FCA-authorised mortgage broker: L&C, Habito and Mojo are good free starting points, or your own bank.
Every page that carries a rate figure, scheme rule or tax threshold carries the date I last verified it against the primary source (Bank of England, ONS, GOV.UK, FCA, UK Finance). When the source changes, the page changes. When I'm uncertain about something, I say so rather than round it off.
How I research
I use large language models and automated research as research aids, not as writers. Every claim is verified against the primary source before publishing — in practice, most of what an AI drafts doesn't survive that check. The voice, structure, arguments and worked examples on this site are human-written.
For technical ways the calculators work — the SDLT bands, the amortisation formula, the affordability logic — see the methodology page.
Errors and feedback
If you spot a figure out of date, a regulation change I haven't caught, or a calculator edge case that misbehaves, please tell me. The contact page has my email. Corrections are applied within 24 hours when I have evidence to act on; factual errors get a note at the foot of the page acknowledging the change.