First Time Buyer Mortgage

Written by Payam Azadi, Director.

A first-time buyer mortgage helps someone who has never owned a home buy their first property to live in. This page is for first-time buyers whose circumstances are not straightforward — self-employed, adverse credit, on a visa, contracting or recently declined. The key risk: a home is secured against the loan, so it could be repossessed if you do not keep up the repayments. This is information, not advice — speak to a qualified adviser before you apply.

Not every application can proceed. Specialist lenders consider cases the high street declines, but acceptance is never guaranteed and depends on your circumstances, deposit and the lender criteria. For some people the right answer is to wait and prepare first.

Niche Advice Limited is a mortgage and credit broker, not a lender, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 750263.

We look across a broad range of lenders to help first-time buyers understand their options. Nothing on this page is a personal recommendation, an offer of finance, or a promise that any particular application will succeed.

Plenty of first-time buyers fit the standard mould: a steady salaried job, a clean credit file, a deposit saved in a UK account. For them, a mainstream lender is usually the simplest path, and a guide to deposits and schemes is enough.

This page is for everyone else.

If a high-street bank has declined you — or you already suspect the usual route will not fit your situation — the question is rarely “can I buy?” but “which lender will look at my circumstances properly?” Lending criteria differ enormously between lenders, and a decline from one is not a verdict from the market. Specialist and intermediary-only lenders exist precisely for cases the high street finds difficult.

The first-time buyer situations that most often need a specialist approach:

Each of these is explained below. Where a situation has its own dedicated section of the site, we signpost you to it.

This table is a starting point for a conversation, not a recommendation. No route is right or wrong in the abstract — it depends on your circumstances, which is why advice matters.

Being self-employed does not stop you buying your first home, but it changes how lenders assess you. Most want a track record — typically a couple of years of accounts or tax returns — and they treat salary, dividends and net profit differently. If you have only one year’s accounts, recently incorporated, or your income varies year to year, lender choice narrows and the assessment becomes more involved.

This is a distinct specialism. See our self-employed mortgage pillar for how income is assessed and which routes exist.

A past credit problem does not automatically mean no first home. Some lenders consider applicants with missed payments, defaults, CCJs or older arrangements, though the deposit required and the terms offered may differ, and choice is more limited. What matters is what is on your file, how serious it was, and how long ago.

Applying blind to a high-street lender after a decline can add another credit search and another setback. See our bad credit mortgage pillar for how adverse credit is treated. Acceptance is never guaranteed, and eligibility depends on your circumstances, credit file, deposit, property and the lender’s criteria.

Buying your first home as a non-UK citizen, or while on a work or family visa, is a recognised specialist area. Visa type, time remaining in the UK, residency status and the source of your deposit all affect which lenders will consider you. Some mainstream lenders decline these cases outright; others have specific criteria.

See our foreign national and visa mortgage pillar for the detail.

Day-rate contractors, fixed-term contracts, and applicants who have just started a job or are still on probation are often treated cautiously by mainstream lenders — yet several lenders assess contract income or new employment differently and more favourably. The right match depends on your contract type, history and the gap (if any) between roles.

This is a circumstance worth talking through before you apply, as a poorly matched application can mean an avoidable decline.

Some lenders offer profession-specific assessment or more generous affordability treatment to buyers in certain established career paths, sometimes taking expected income growth into account. Where these exist, eligibility is specific to each lender and profession.

For more, see our professional and high-income mortgage pillar.

A JBSP arrangement lets someone — often a parent — join the mortgage to support affordability, while only the buyer is named on the property’s title. It can help a first-time buyer borrow on combined incomes without the supporter becoming a co-owner.

The trade-offs are important:

Many first-time buyers are helped by family. A gifted deposit is money given — not lent — towards your deposit, usually from parents or close relatives. Lenders generally accept gifted deposits but will want:

If money is actually a loan rather than a gift, it affects affordability and must be declared. Some lenders are more flexible than others about who can gift and how much.

Government-backed and housing-association schemes — and their availability — change over time and vary by region and provider. They can lower the upfront barrier to ownership, but each carries its own conditions, ongoing costs and resale rules.

Routes such as shared ownership and Right to Buy have their own eligibility rules. If you are an eligible council or housing-association tenant, see our dedicated Right to Buy pillar rather than relying on a general summary here. An adviser can talk you through what is available when you apply.

Whatever route you take, lenders assess two main things:

On deposit: higher-LTV lending (for example a 95% LTV mortgage, where you put down a 5% deposit) makes buying possible sooner, but it usually means less equity to start with and tighter affordability checks. A larger deposit — say 10% or 15% — typically widens the range of products open to you. There is no single “right” deposit; it depends on your savings, income and plans.

Other costs to budget for alongside the deposit include valuation and legal fees, surveys and moving costs. Stamp duty (or its regional equivalents) may apply depending on the price and where you buy, and first-time buyer relief can change the position. Rules and thresholds change, so check the current position when you buy.

Want a rough feel for what you could afford and how much deposit you might need — without sharing any details? Use our figure-free affordability and deposit indicator to explore the shape of a first purchase, then check the stamp duty calculator (which includes first-time buyer relief) for an idea of the tax position. These tools are illustrative only and do not give a personal recommendation or a lending decision.

Try our calculators

Deposits commonly start from around 5% of the property’s value, though a larger deposit usually opens up more options. The right figure depends on your savings, income and the property — and on whether your circumstances are straightforward or need a specialist lender. An adviser can explain what is realistic for you.

A decline from one lender is not a verdict from the whole market. Criteria differ widely, and specialist lenders exist for cases the high street finds difficult — self-employed, adverse credit, visa holders, contractors and more. Speaking to an adviser before reapplying can help match your circumstances to lenders likely to consider them and avoid unnecessary credit searches.

Not necessarily. Many lenders consider self-employed first-time buyers, though they usually want a track record of accounts or tax returns, and they treat salary, dividends and net profit differently. How your income is assessed varies by lender. See our self-employed mortgage pillar for detail.

Not always. Some lenders consider applicants with past credit issues, though terms and the deposit required may differ and choice is more limited. The position depends on what is on your file and how recent it is — speak to an adviser to understand your options.

This is a recognised specialist area. Visa type, time remaining in the UK and residency status all affect which lenders will consider you, and some mainstream lenders decline these cases. A specialist adviser can talk you through the route. See our foreign national and visa mortgage pillar.

Yes, in several ways — a gifted deposit, a joint borrower sole proprietor (JBSP) arrangement, or other family-assistance options some lenders offer. Each works differently and has its own legal and tax implications, so it is worth talking through which suits your situation.

Related guides: bad-credit / adverse-credit mortgages, self-employed mortgages, tools and calculators.