Our Awards: Three New Awards in 2026 for A Little Mortgage Advice

The best first-time buyer mortgage advisors in Essex¹

Fresh from the Southern Enterprise Awards 2026, where SME News named us Best First-Time Buyer Mortgage Advisors in Essex. This is the work behind it.

What are the five reasons we believe we won the first-time buyer award?

1. First-time buyers are a big part of what we do. Forty-three of our 185 Google reviews are from first-time buyers.
2. We give people a plan when the answer is "not yet". One client came to us a year before they were ready: "A year ago, she gave me a clear plan to improve my credit score and reduce my outgoings so I'd be in the best position to apply for a mortgage." (Aura Hair & Beauty, Google review, February 2026)
3. We move quickly once you're ready. Dani Martin had a mortgage in principle "within 24 hours of speaking with her" (Google review, March 2024).
4. One income is not a dead end. "I'm a first time buyer, buying a property on my own thanks to the help of Angela and Morgan." (Billy Kelly, Google review, August 2025)
5. You know the cost before you start. Our fees are published: £199 when your decision in principle is issued and £495 on mortgage offer for a standard case, and the first conversation is free.

Everything a first-time buyer needs to know, from deposits to family help, is on our first-time buyer mortgages page.

Award-winning client service in Essex²

The same Southern Enterprise Awards 2026 gave us the Financial Services Client Service Excellence Award for Essex.

What are the five reasons we believe we won the client service award?

1. 5.0 from 185 Google reviews, every one of them five stars.
2. We are easy to reach. The phone is answered 9am to 9pm, seven days a week.
3. You hear from us before you have to chase. "Up dates on progress without chasing" (leslie daniels, Google review, January 2025)
4. One person runs your case, start to finish. In Angela's own words: "Where i differ from a lot of Mortgage Brokers is that i deal with the whole process including all the pre underwriting and dealing with the lenders and solicitors personally" (Angela Little, responding to a client review).
5. You can see where things stand. Documents go through our client portal, which one client called "very user friendly and well organised, making it easy to track progress and manage documents" (Nicky A, Google review, September 2025).

Every review is on our reviews page, in full and unedited.

The best adverse credit broker in Essex³

BFSI Insider named us Adverse Credit Mortgage Brokerage of the Year, Essex, in 2026. Adverse credit is the work we're asked for most, and the work we're best known for.

What are the five reasons we believe we won the adverse credit award?

1. People come to us after a no. Ten of our Google reviewers came to us after another broker or their own bank had already turned them down.
2. We do the underwriting before the lender does. We read your credit file, work the case up against real lender criteria and choose the lender before anything is submitted, starting with a soft search that leaves no mark.
3. Waiting is not always the answer. Ryan Andrews "had been told we had to wait 2 years before trying to get a mortgage", then had an offer "4 weeks start to finish" (Google review, September 2023).
4. We find the lender other specialists miss. Monika had "tried a couple of so called specialist bad credit brokers who said we would have to wait another year" before coming to us (Google review, January 2023).
5. We've been recognised for this before. In 2024 the UK Enterprise Awards named us Best Independent Bad Credit Mortgage Broker in Essex⁴.

How lenders read CCJs, defaults and missed payments is set out on our adverse credit mortgage broker page.

Best Independent Bad Credit Mortgage Broker 2024, Essex

Our first award, from the UK Enterprise Awards 2024 (SME News). The 2026 adverse credit award builds on it.

Final thoughts from us

What the awards come down to:

• Four awards, all for our work in Essex: three in 2026 and one in 2024.
• Two are for the work we're known for: first-time buyers, and people with adverse or bad credit.
• One is for how we look after people, which is what our reviews talk about.
• Every claim on this page is tied to the award's full name in the notes below.
• Awards are one measure. The other is 185 Google reviews at 5.0.

Award details

1. Best First-Time Buyer Mortgage Advisors 2026, Essex. Southern Enterprise Awards 2026, SME News. Awarded to A Little Advice Limited, October 2026; SME News publishes the winners in December.

2. Financial Services Client Service Excellence Award 2026, Essex. Southern Enterprise Awards 2026, SME News. Awarded October 2026; published in December.

3. Adverse Credit Mortgage Brokerage of the Year - Essex 2026, BFSI Insider, October 2026.

4. Best Independent Bad Credit Mortgage Broker 2024, Essex. UK Enterprise Awards 2024, SME News.

Reviews are individual experiences. Every case is different and approval is never guaranteed.