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UK Mortgage Glossary

Agreement in Principle (AIP)

Indicative borrowing figure based on a soft credit check.

Full definition

An Agreement in Principle (also called a Decision in Principle or Mortgage in Principle) is a lender's indicative offer based on a soft credit check and basic income/expenditure data. It is not a binding mortgage offer. AIPs typically last 30-90 days and give estate agents and sellers confidence that you're a serious buyer.

How this affects you

Whether agreement in principle (aip) is relevant to your mortgage depends on your circumstances — lender, product, deposit, employment, credit profile, and stage of application. An FCA-authorised mortgage broker will tell you exactly where it applies to your case.

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