About
About Mortgage Notes
Mortgage Notes is an independent UK mortgage information publication. This page explains who runs it, how it's paid for, how we make editorial decisions, and what we can and cannot legally do.
What this site is
An editorial publication with calculators and guides covering the UK mortgage market, focused on England. The audience is first-time buyers, movers and people remortgaging — regular people trying to make informed decisions about the biggest financial transaction of their lives.
What this site is not
Mortgage Notes is not an FCA-authorised firm and does not provide regulated mortgage advice. Nothing you read here is a personal recommendation for any product. We are an information publisher — closer in purpose to a consumer magazine than to a broker. Before making any mortgage decision, speak to an FCA-authorised mortgage adviser or contact a lender directly.
This distinction matters for both of us: it's what gives us editorial independence, and it's what defines what you should expect from the content.
How this site is funded
At launch, Mortgage Notes has no commercial relationships. No affiliate partnerships with lenders or brokers, no sponsored content, no advertising. The running cost (hosting, domain, image generation, time) is absorbed personally.
When that changes — and it may — we'll disclose it clearly:
- Any affiliate relationship will be labelled on every page it affects.
- No article will be commissioned, written or edited to serve a commercial partner.
- The ranking of products or brokers in any comparison table will be based on publicly verifiable criteria, stated on the page, not on commercial fit.
- If we run display advertising, it will be limited to slots that do not disrupt content or confuse commercial placement with editorial opinion.
How we research and maintain the content
- Every numerical figure has a source. Primary sources where possible — HM Treasury, Bank of England, ONS, HMRC, Land Registry. Secondary sources (Moneyfacts, Which?, HomeOwners Alliance) for market-data we can't get directly.
- Every rate is dated. You can see when the figure you're looking at was last verified. Rate data is refreshed daily via an automated pipeline.
- Regulatory change triggers a review. When something moves — SDLT bands, a scheme is replaced, affordability rules change — the affected pages are updated within days, not months.
- We flag uncertainty. Where a number or policy is in flux, we say so rather than pretending to certainty we don't have.
On AI-generated content
Some research for this site uses large language models. Every claim is independently verified against primary sources before publication. We don't publish unverified AI output; it isn't an editorial shortcut, it's a research tool.
Privacy and data
We don't capture personal data. There's no newsletter signup, no email gate, no contact form that stores input. Analytics is privacy-respecting and cookieless. See the privacy policy for details.
Getting in touch
If you spot an error, a rate that's out of date, or a regulatory change we haven't caught up with, please tell us. The site is better for the catches.
Who writes it
Mortgage Notes is a small team. At launch, the founder and editor is Chris Hancocks — who also writes most of the content. We are not FCA-authorised mortgage advisers. We're researchers and writers publishing information under the FCA Financial Promotions exemption for non-real-time, non-commissioned material. For regulated advice on your specific situation, speak to an FCA-authorised broker or directly to a lender.
We are actively seeking CeMAP-qualified advisers and conveyancing solicitors as review contributors. If that's you, get in touch via the contact page.
Feedback on the methodology
The mathematical assumptions behind our calculators are documented in the methodology page. If you spot a maths error or a modelling choice you'd change, please email. Transparent working is part of how we earn trust.