For the last ten years or so the world of mortgages has changed dramatically. Not so Many years ago anyone wishing to buy a house or remortgage would just have to go to the bank and there consult a bank employee who would help to find a suitable mortgage. The options would probably range from only four to five products. This way of doing is of course still possible today; however with the arrival of the internet and the rise in competition you will be able to find a lot more options available.

One of the most common ways to find the right mortgage these days is to seek the help of a mortgage broker. They can help you to select a product to suit your needs and preferences through their expert knowledge of various lenders and ensure you receive the best deal possible. With the internet came easy access to information and brokers can nowadays search and receive the latest information on each lenders terms and offers, this in turn making it far easier for them to compare a large number of mortgage offers both quickly and efficiently.

The arrival of online comparison systems and databases brought a major change in the way clients could get information on mortgage deals. The huge main advantage of this is that people no longer has to rely on advice from a third party. The mortgage comparison website is a big hit with its users mainly due to the many advantages it offers. One of the most important benefits is that clients no longer have to depend on a third parties advice which can be biased or costly. For the experienced and more financially literate visitor to websites, the expansion of these tools allowed close inspection of all available options.

Mortgage tools on websites fall into three distinct categories; firstly, there are basic calculators, then there are tables of data that can be used to compare mortgages, then there are online mortgage sourcing tools that the public can actually use to enter specific information to generate a list of mortgages that are suitable for that person to apply for.

Interest calculators are tools that can let you make simple calculations such as the amount of interest you can expect to pay and how much your payments will be each month. This also applies to secured loans, or second charge calculators for loans that aren't mortgages but are secured using properties. There are other types of calculators and these include Budget Planners, these let you input your income after tax has been deducted plus all your monthly outgoings which will show up a surplus or deficit and let you see more clearly if you can afford to borrow.

Mortgage Tables provide lists of mortgages, usually separated by category such as Remortgage, Buy to Let or Self employed for example. It is then easy enough to scroll down the page and select all the mortgages that apply to your circumstances, simply click on the column heading to view the best initial rate or best overall cost depending on what you are looking for.

The sourcing tools are the most important category on a website. These are generally conducted via a questionnaire either on a multiple page wizard style structure or on a single screen of various lengths. You will be required to enter information such as property value or your current salary; the system will then produce a list of products that will fit your requirements.

eLink Technologies has developed mortgage data systems for websites for almost a decade and provides data to about 95% of UK mortgage websites via its industry leading mortgageLinked system.