It’s no secret that having children can be an expensive business. No matter what good intentions you start out with about how they won’t be spoiled or have everything they ask for, your household expenses are bound to increase considerably.

And hand-in-hand with having kids goes the need for a bigger or more suitable house to accommodate you all, which of course is likely to be more expensive as well due to the requirements for more bedrooms, a bigger garden and simply the need for more space.

Surely you just apply for a bigger mortgage to cover it and carry on as normal? Not necessarily – rules brought in earlier this year mean that it may not be that easy and those applying for mortgages should be prepared to have their finances scrutinised and queried closely.

Although banks and building societies have been implementing stricter practices over mortgage lending during the past few years, new rules were introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April this year, aimed at ensuring borrowers only get a mortgage they can afford to repay.