A 55-year-old woman from Staffordshire was left surprised after having her new application approved in just 12 minutes. Now, she is telling people in a similar situation to "just go for it" and not be scared to begin their own application. After her divorce, Michaela Kinnersley-Hill needed to buy a new home but had concerns about the challenges she might face, especially given her age.

She said: "I could only get a 14-year mortgage. You can't get a 25-year mortgage when you're older, which was a concern - the cost and everything - and the age is also worrying. But actually, it was all fine." Initially, Ms Kinnersley-Hill thought renting might be an easier route. She said: "For a while, I was looking at renting, but renting is equal paperwork-wise. It's the same, pretty much." Ultimately, she found that applying for a mortgage was preferable, noting that the paperwork and ID checks involved were similar to .

When asked about her experience applying for the mortgage, Ms Kinnersley-Hill, who works in sales in the hair salon industry, described how she opted to pay a mortgage advisor to help simplify the process. She said: "I probably could have gone and got free advice, but it made it easier because he did everything for me."

Ms Kinnersley-Hill's mortgage offer came through in a surprisingly quick 12 minutes. She said: "He sent me an email immediately, saying, 'Wow, Michaela, that was the quickest ever. 12 minutes your mortgage took.'"

She added: "It was a massive relief."

Despite her concerns about her age and high , Ms Kinnersley-Hill found the mortgage process was far more straightforward than her previous experience 25 years ago. She added: "It was all very stuffy back then in a bank or building society, in a meeting room. Now, it's better - it's a better process."

Ms Kinnersley-Hill's mortgage terms mean she pays just £500 per month for her "little cottage" in Staffordshire.

Reflecting on the entire experience, Ms Kinnersley-Hill advised others who might find themselves in a similar situation not to be afraid of the process. She said: "I'd say it's not scary at all. It's easy, simple - just go for it."

Ms Kinnersley-Hill's experience reflects the growing desire for faster, more transparent mortgage processes. New research by MPowered Mortgages found that one of customers' biggest concerns was not knowing where they stand with their mortgage offer, with 20% attributing worries to timeframes and delays.

Other pain points included excessive paperwork and admin, the stress of balancing life commitments, and a lack of transparency from lenders.

Stuart Cheetham, CEO of MPowered Mortgages, said: "Getting a mortgage can be arduous and time-consuming which involves gathering extensive documentation, navigating credit checks and meeting strict eligibility criteria. This new survey reveals that borrowers are quite simply fed up with the mortgage process. It's no wonder that our recent consumer survey showed that speed was important to 80% of borrowers in the mortgage process.

"In the worst case scenario, delays in the mortgage process can cost a consumer their dream property or in some instances, the best rate on offer to them, costing them potentially thousands of pounds."

He added: "Lenders need to remove the admin burden on borrowers because buying a home in itself is stressful enough."