The ‘eligibility checker’ carries out a soft credit check on a prospective first-time buyer, home mover or remortgagor after they give personal details including income and outgoings.

Users are also asked about the type of property they’d like to buy, length of required mortgage term and deposit details.

The tool, which takes around five minutes to complete, then lists lenders that may be suitable as well as how much a user could borrow.

The service is not whole of market with only eight providers covering 12% of market share; lenders working with Comparethemarket include Accord, Platform, West Brom, as well as Coventry, Leeds, Skipton and Family Building Society.

Users are then directed to call the comparison site’s partner broker Moneyquest mortgage brokers to continue with an application.

Expanding mortgage comparison services

The comparison site said it will expand the offer later this year to give users specific mortgage rates and details from lenders, such as fees and monthly repayments.

Shakila Hashmi, head of money at Comparethemaket, said: “Our mortgage eligibility checker allows customers to check whether and how much they can borrow, before making an application.

“In some cases people may find they are not eligible for a mortgage at the time of checking, but a soft check does not impact your credit rating and allows you to make the changes necessary to help secure a mortgage at a later date.

“This is particularly beneficial to first-time buyers who have not been through the home buying process before, but equally beneficial to remortgagors who may be looking to take out some funds for home improvement or get on to a better rate.”

Comparethemarket is the latest comparison site to expand its mortgage offering.

Moneysupermarket.com is developing a tool with an Experian-owned company that will allow users to compare and take out mortgages, without going through a broker.

​GoCompare partners with Mortgage Gym, which offers a similar service to Comparethemarket’s eligibility tool.