The shortest mortgages have terms of 2-3 years, but these tend to be rare and used in particular scenarios. At the other end of the scale, it is sometimes possible to have 40-year mortgages, but these tend to be offered to mainstream borrowers with good income looking to maximise what they can borrow, rather than the norm for high-net-worth individuals.  

For high-net-worth individuals, mortgages with terms of 5 to 25 years are typical, although mortgages in the 5-to-15-year range tend to be the most usual. 

An interest-only mortgage is when you effectively pay your lender the interest on the amount you borrowed, but you don’t make repayments on the principal loan amount. At term, this means you have repaid the borrower the interest you owe, but the principal remains outstanding, and you will need to repay it. Interest-only mortgages are relatively rare these days and are generally only offered to high-net-worth individuals who will easily be able to repay the principal amount at term.

Repayment mortgages are the most common type of mortgage today. Here, you will make monthly repayments to your lender, repaying both the capital and interest each month over the loan term.

Generally, yes, provided you can put down a good deposit, afford the mortgage in terms of income, and your income is steady and has been for some time (lenders will generally look at your tax return over the past three years). Self-employed mortgages generally tend to be more challenging to arrange if you approach lenders without the help of a mortgage broker. Lenders view self-employed borrowers as riskier than employed borrowers, especially if you want a mortgage of £500,000 or more. PFC has a track record of helping self-employed individuals to borrow significant amounts, connecting you with lenders that can look at things like directors loans that you will eventually pay yourself back or recent changes to your business that have dramatically increased your income.