Get a mortgage offer in just 30 minutes

Need to know whether you can get a mortgage in a hurry? You could soon be able to get a home loan offer within just half an hour.

Lender BlueZest, which will be open for business this Autumn, wants to modernise the application process using cutting edge technologies to deliver a mortgage decision within 30 minutes.

Russell Gould at BlueZest said: "The company was born out of a frustration with current archaic practices and a desire to create a range of innovative mortgages, supported by an online application process that is more transparent, more efficient and simpler."

The company's mortgage and secured loan products have initially been designed to help support intermediaries such as mortgage brokers and accountants, but individual borrowers will be able to apply for them through the BlueZest website too.

"We have created products and processes that will help intermediaries deliver solutions their clients want in a fraction of the time," Gould added.

Borrowers will have to ensure they have all the necessary information - including income figures and details about the property - to hand in order to get an accurate decision within minutes, though.

"BlueZest will collect data from over 30 different data sources such as credit reference agencies and use advanced validation technology to utilise this data, the information provided by the customer and automated property valuations to make instant decisions," Gould said.

Other speedy mortgage services

Earlier this year, HSBC launched a "mortgage in a day" service involving an in-branch interview that typically lasts three hours.

Once this interview has been done, the bank comes back with a response within 24 hours.

Unlike BlueZest's 30-minute process, this service is already available.

However, HSBC's service is not open to self-employed workers, while mortgages cannot be approved in a day if they have to be referred to the bank's underwriting team, which is likely to happen in more unusual cases.