Probably the biggest commitment of your life and a sign that you have to be a truly responsible adult. This may be a single pad, a new family home or more children may be driving you to a bigger home, you may be buying to rent or you may be retiring and looking for an easier life- this is a huge decision whatever your situation.

So what happens if you die or have a serious illness? The last thing you want is for you or your family to be worrying about paying off the mortgage. You may not know this but if you have a joint mortgage and one of you dies your lender will expect the debt to be repaid immediately.

You have bought your house and now you will fill it with your prized belongings. You have also now probably stretched your budget as far as it has ever been stretched before so we are guessing that you wouldn’t cope easily if you were burgled or your roof blew off in the wind.

You need to figure out what you can afford, what your costs will be after you buy the house, whether you want to repay the mortgage each month (repayment) or whether you want to do your own separate savings (interest only); whether you pay over the shortest or longest time; whether you want a fixed or variable rate; how much deposit should you put down; what would happen if you couldn’t afford it in the future?

You can take cover for a specific term (Term Assurance) to match the length of your mortgage or another appropriate length of time alternatively you can select a Whole of Life policy.(WOL); on two single lives or on joint first death; you can cover just your mortgage or add additional family protection and most importantly you may choose to put your policy into trust to avoid delays on your death or ending up with the tax man.

You will need to cover your buildings and contents, you may also want to think about redundancy cover if the worst happens but how much do you need, what happens if you underinsure the value, what if you are in area of subsidence? This isn’t mandatory cover but you are unlikely to get a mortgage without protecting your asset.

We believe that lenders are more risk-averse than ever, yet property prices are rising, quickly in some parts of the country. The Mortgage Market Review commences in April 2014 and lenders will be under more scrutiny to make sure you can afford the mortgage. Why not get some help from people with real experience?

This isn’t trivial decision but it could make all the difference to a loved when it counts so why would you leave it to a comparison site and simply select the cheapest product on offer without seeking assistance to discover which product actually meets your needs best? This is also the time to write your will.

So much to think about and all you want to do is get moved in and have your moving in party. Let us guide you through the process and make sure all the I’s are crossed.