Despite the obvious importance of getting the details right when taking out a mortgage, fewer than half of all borrowers actually take the trouble to read the policy documentation prior to taking out what is likely to be the biggest financial commitment of their life.

A new survey carried out by MORI Financial Services on behalf of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed that just 47% of borrowers read all the information provided by their lender, with a further third at least managing to skim read the bulk of the documents. One in eight mortgage borrowers revealed that they had not paid a jot of attention to any of the policy literature.

The survey also revealed some of the difficulties that borrowers generally experience when taking out a mortgage:

• 30% of borrowers find the hardest task is understanding the information provided.
• 22% said that the choice of which mortgage to take out was most difficult.
• 10% revealed that their biggest problem was in comparing the costs and product details between lenders.

In relation to the factors which borrowers consider the most important when taking out a home loan, the survey revealed that:

• A competitive interest rate was the single most important factor influencing their choice, even though only 18% of people said that this actually influenced which mortgage they chose.
• Second most important was any advice received by a professional, which led to 16% of consumers opting for a specific bank or building society.
• 7% chose their lender entirely based upon the fact that they one they already had a mortgage with them.

Commenting on the survey and particularly on the fact that more than half of borrowers said they had approached their lender directly, while 38% went through an intermediary, the CML said: "The survey supports the view that proposals for the statutory regulation of mortgages should be comprehensive, encompassing both lenders and intermediaries, and mortgage information and advice. While the majority of borrowers like to deal directly with the lender, a sizeable minority seek mortgages through intermediaries and would follow the same course to arrange home loans in future."