First Time buyer Advice

moondog9

Hi,

I'm a first time buyer and looking for some unbiased advice from someone who knows what they are talking about.

Today I had a meeting with the halifax as I am ready to buy a house - I have made an offer and it has been accepted and I have the deposit. They told me that they can offer me the mortgage - I think this is just an offer in principle though.

The bit that I am confused about is they said they were doing a 'soft' credit check on me. I told them that later in the week I am meeting with an independent mortgage adviser through a local estate agent, and towards the end of the meeting they were saying how I had to be careful about how many credit checks I had as it may effect my credit score. I thought this a bit odd as all I am doing is shopping around a little and seeing which is the best deal for me, not doing a full application. Basically if I could borrow a little bit more it would make life easier for me.

So my question is this: how much does a soft credit check effect your credit status/likelihood of getting a mortgage?