Two in five (41%) homeowners suffer from stress when they take out a mortgage – totalling 625,000 people each year – according to Trussle.

The online mortgage broker surveyed 2,000 UK mortgage borrowers, asking them which parts of buying a home were most stressful.

One in five (20%) said there was too much paperwork involved in the initial application and subsequent remortgage process, while 15% claimed the industry’s use of jargon was the main problem.

Reduce mortgage stress

When asked what could be done to reduce stress levels, a large number of customers wanted mortgages to become more digital. Three quarters (73%) said lenders should be legally required to make their outstanding balances accessible online, while 70% wanted a downloadable mortgage statement, instead of posted by lenders once a year.

In an experiment involving one of the Big Six lenders and a local conveyancing firm, Trussle found that a mortgage customer was required to deal with 219 sheets of paper to complete their home purchase.

Ishaan Malhi, CEO of Trussle, said: “I’ve experienced the frustration of struggling to secure a mortgage first-hand. There‘s too much jargon, too much complexity, and not enough transparency.

“Millions of people lose out not only financially, but emotionally as a result. Your mental health is no less important than your financial or physical health, so I’d like to see modern brands working hard to reduce the friction and stress of their products and services.

“The mortgage sector has traditionally been one of the worst offenders, with 40% of borrowers finding the process stressful and a third sitting on the wrong mortgage, collectively spending £15bn a year too much on interest as a result.”