When a bank answers, its offer appears on your application with four figures.

How much they will lend. Sometimes less than you asked for. That is still an offer and sometimes a good one.

The interest rate, with where it sits against prime. "Prime less 0.25%" means a quarter of a percent better than the rate banks quote off.

What it costs each month. The figure you have to live with.

What it costs over the whole term. The figure that decides whether it was a good deal. A longer term always looks cheaper monthly and is almost always dearer in the end.

The two that catch people out

The lump sum at the end. Common on vehicle and equipment finance, called a balloon or a residual. It makes the monthly figure look much better because you are not actually repaying all of it — the rest falls due on the last day. We always show it. Know what it is before you sign.

The conditions. Things that must happen before the offer stands: a valuation, proof of a deposit, a policy in place. They are listed on the offer. An offer with conditions you cannot meet is not an offer.

Taking one

One button. The others are declined with thanks, and the bank you chose is told. You will hear from them about signing.

If an offer was read off a bank's letter by us rather than typed in, it cannot be accepted until somebody here has checked it against that letter. You may see "being checked" for a few hours. It is the one place we deliberately slow things down, because the wrong rate on a twenty-year commitment is not a mistake you can undo.

Offers run out

Most have a date on them. After it, the bank has to be asked to re-issue, and they may not say the same thing twice. We will tell you before it happens.

Nobody can choose for you

We will show you which costs least over its life and which asks least each month, and say so when they are different banks. That is as far as it goes. It is your money and your twenty years.