For family law professionals
Mortgage capacity reports for financial remedy proceedings
An impartial, evidence-based opinion on the borrowing each party could realistically raise after separation — written for the solicitor who has to use it, and accepted on joint instruction from both firms.
Draft-first3-working-day standard turnaroundFixed fees
Fees fixed in writing before work begins, so they go straight into a costs estimate. No surcharge for turnaround.
- Fees
- £295 single party · £495 joint. No surcharge for turnaround
- Turnaround
- Draft within 3 working days of receiving everything we need to complete the assessment; final report promptly after you have confirmed the draft is factually correct
- Draft first
- You see a draft and can correct factual matters before the report is finalised
- Joint instruction
- Accepted from both parties' solicitors on a joint letter of instruction
- Coverage
- Instructed by firms across the UK; residential and buy-to-let lending
- Prepared by
- Jonathon Mark Turner CeMAP, Mortgage Capacity Specialist
The problem
A settlement built on the wrong borrowing figure is a settlement that fails
Rehousing is usually the question the case turns on. Whether either party can raise a mortgage — and how much — decides whether the former matrimonial home can be retained, what a Mesher order is worth, and whether a proposed settlement is capable of being implemented at all.
Online calculators and decisions in principle do not answer that question. They ignore how lenders actually treat maintenance, bonus and commission income, dependants, term restricted by age, and adverse credit. A capacity figure that cannot be explained is a figure that will be challenged.
Impartial, and independent of both parties
We are instructed to give an opinion, not to argue a case. The same methodology is applied whichever party instructs us, and we are equally content to be instructed jointly.
Reasoned, not asserted
Every figure is supported by stated assumptions, the evidence relied on, and the affordability approach applied. Where the answer is a range, we say so and explain why.
Written for the file
Structured so that a solicitor can lift the conclusions into a position statement, and so that the other side can see how the number was reached.
Draft issued first
You receive a draft before anything is finalised, so factual errors and misunderstood instructions are corrected before the report becomes a document in the case.
Fixed fee, quoted in writing
No hourly rates, no range, and nothing added for speed. The fee can be put into a costs estimate, or into an application to limit the cost of expert evidence, without qualification.
A nil finding is a finding
Where the evidence shows a party cannot presently borrow, that conclusion gets the same analysis and the same reasoning as any other — because it is the one most likely to be challenged.
Where the report fits
The court's own language, not ours
In most financial remedy cases a mortgage capacity report is the “brief indicative material as to… borrowing capacit[y]” that the Financial Remedies Court expects the parties to file before the First Appointment, and which it expects to be jointly obtained wherever that is possible.
Material of that kind does not usually need the court’s permission, because it is not being adduced as expert evidence. Where the court does give permission under Part 25 — including on a single joint expert appointment — we prepare the report in accordance with Practice Direction 25B instead.
Two routes, deliberately distinguished
- Indicative borrowing-capacity material
- The standard product. Filed with the First Appointment material, jointly obtained where the parties can agree it. No permission required.
- Part 25 expert report
- Where the court has given permission for expert evidence on borrowing capacity. Prepared to PD25B, with a statement of truth, a declaration of no conflict, the range of opinion, and the overriding duty to the court.
We do not describe ourselves as an expert witness unless and until the court has given permission for expert evidence in the case concerned.
Read the guide to joint instructionHow it works
Instruct in ten minutes. Draft in three working days.
- 1
Instruct
Send the instruction online or by email, with the letter of instruction if you have one. We reply confirming the fee, the scope and the delivery date in writing before anything begins. - 2
Evidence
We send a single, itemised evidence request. Most cases need income evidence, bank statements, details of commitments and dependants, and the position on the former matrimonial home. - 3
Analysis
Affordability is modelled across the residential lending market, with the treatment of variable income, maintenance, commitments, term and age reasoned and recorded. - 4
Draft
The draft is issued to you — and, on a joint instruction, to both firms at the same time — so that factual matters can be corrected before finalisation. - 5
Final report
The final report is issued promptly after you have confirmed the draft is factually correct.
Fees
Two fees, fixed before work begins
No hourly rate, no estimate, no range — and nothing added for turnaround, because the turnaround is the standard service. The figure goes straight into a costs estimate or an application to limit the cost of expert evidence.
Account terms may be available to law firms by arrangement, so that instructions are invoiced rather than paid in advance.
Both published fees include the draft-first process and the standard turnaround.
Questions
The questions solicitors ask first
Is this regulated mortgage advice?
No. Mortgage Capacity Opinion is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and does not provide regulated mortgage advice. We do not recommend mortgage products or individual lenders, arrange mortgages, submit mortgage applications, obtain decisions or agreements in principle, or introduce the subject of a report to a broker or lender as part of our service.
The report is a professional opinion on borrowing capacity, assessed by reference to lending criteria and affordability methodologies across the mortgage market. It is not an offer of finance and no lender is bound by it. Our full regulatory statement explains the position.
Do we need the court's permission before instructing you?
Usually not. In most financial remedy cases a capacity report is the brief indicative material as to borrowing capacity that the Financial Remedies Court expects the parties to file before the First Appointment, and which it expects to be jointly obtained wherever possible. Material of that kind is not being adduced as expert evidence, so the permission requirement in FPR 25.4 is not engaged.
Where the court has given permission for expert evidence on borrowing capacity — including on a single joint expert appointment — we prepare the report to Practice Direction 25B instead. That is a different piece of work, and the fee is agreed for the scope before it begins rather than taken from a price list.
Permission is a matter for you and the court, and nothing here is legal advice.
Can you be instructed jointly by both parties?
Yes, and we would encourage it. The Financial Remedies Court expects borrowing-capacity material to be obtained jointly where the parties can agree it. We accept a joint letter of instruction, issue the draft to both firms at the same time, and take instructions on factual corrections from both. Joint reports are priced as a single fee, which the parties usually share.
How quickly can you turn a report around?
A draft is issued within 3 working days of receiving everything we need to complete the assessment, and the final report promptly after you have confirmed the draft is factually correct.
That is the standard service on every instruction. There is no expedited tier and no charge for priority. If a hearing or filing date needs the report sooner than that, contact us and we will confirm whether it is feasible before you instruct.
What does it cost?
£295 for a standard single-party report, and £495 for a joint report covering both parties. Both include the draft-first process and the standard turnaround; there is no surcharge for speed. Where the court has given permission for expert evidence, or we are proposed as a single joint expert, the fee is agreed for the scope before work begins — talk to us about the instruction. Fees are confirmed in writing beforehand, so they go into a costs estimate without a range. See the fees page.
Can we see a specimen report before instructing?
Yes — ask us and we will send you one. A specimen based on entirely fictitious facts can be requested, so you can see the structure, the level of reasoning and the way assumptions are set out before you commit a client's money. Request a specimen report.
Instruct a report
Ten minutes to instruct. Written confirmation of fee, scope and delivery date before any work begins. Draft within 3 working days of receiving everything we need to complete the assessment.