Our best first-time-buyer mortgage deals & rates

If you’re aged 18 to 39, you can open a Lifetime ISA (LISA). Under the rules, you can pay £4,000 a year into your LISA until you're 50. The government adds a 25% bonus to the money you save, up to £1,000 annually.

If you withdraw the money for reasons other than your first home or retirement, you’ll pay a withdrawal charge of 25%, which means you’ll lose the government bonus plus some on top.

You can use the money from a LISA to buy your first home if you're buying with a mortgage and:

• The property costs £450,000 or less

• You have a LISA for at least a year before you buy a property

• You use a conveyancer or solicitor to act for you in the purchase

If you're buying a property in the UK, you may have to pay some form of Stamp Duty. How much you'll need to pay depends on the property's value.

However, if you're a first-time buyer, you'll usually get a discount. From 1 April 2025 In England and Northern Ireland, first-time buyers don't pay any Stamp Duty up to £300,000 (compared to £125,000 for others). For properties up to £500,000 you'll pay no Stamp Duty on the first £300,000 and then you'll pay 5% on the remaining amount. If the property you're purchasing is over £500,000, you won't benefit from the relief at all.

In Scotland, Stamp Duty is known as Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). First-time buyers benefit from LBTT relief up to £175,000.

In Wales, first-time buyers don't get any additional Land Transaction Tax (LTT) relief. However, no LTT is charged on properties less than £225,000.

In July 2025, the government introduced a permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme. It replaced the temporary scheme that closed to new mortgages on 30 June 2025.

The scheme gives participating lenders a government-backed guarantee on 91–95% loan-to-value mortgages, so more lenders may offer mortgages with a 5% deposit. Which lenders and products are available changes over time, so a broker can check what’s currently on offer. If you can save a bigger deposit of 10% or 15%, you’ll usually have more choice.

The Help to Buy is no longer available to new applicants in England. Check the Welsh Government website for the latest position on Help to Buy – Wales. The scheme provided an equity loan to top up the deposit on new-build homes, which meant borrowing less from the lender. The loan must be repaid when you sell, and part of any increase in the home’s value is also repayable.

Another government scheme is shared ownership.

This initiative lets you buy between 10% and 75% of a home as a share from a housing association or other organisation and pay rent on the rest.

Shared ownership lets you buy a house with a smaller mortgage and a smaller deposit.

You have the option to buy more of the property later once you can afford it. This process is known as “staircasing”.

Normally people can "staircase" until the point that they own 100% of the property.

You need to find a lender who offers shared ownership mortgages if you want to use this scheme.

According to Mojo Mortgages, the average age of a first-time buyer is 33 years, eight months. Although it can vary depending on which part of the UK you're in.

For example, it's slightly higher in London at 36 years, eight months.

You’ll usually need a deposit of at least 5% of the property price, plus money for costs such as legal fees, surveys and any stamp duty. For a £200,000 property, a 5% deposit is £10,000.

Most mortgages need at least a 5% deposit. For better interest rates, you will need to save more – the lower your LTV, the cheaper your mortgage is likely to be.

Some 100% mortgages are available to help you get onto the property ladder without a deposit, but these usually require having a friend or family member act as a guarantor.

You can use our mortgage affordability calculator to work out how much you could borrow. From there, look at properties in the area where you want to buy and work out how much you need to save as a deposit. 

Mortgage repayment calculators can give you an idea of what your monthly payments will be. Compare these estimated payments with your current monthly outgoings to see if you can afford them. 

There are other costs to consider when doing your first-time buyer mortgage, other than a deposit, including:

• Stamp duty - First-time buyers will have to pay Stamp Duty depending on the property purchase price. To find out more about how much property tax you'll need to pay, use our Stamp Duty calculator.

• Arrangement fee - This is the administration charge made by lenders for arranging to take out a mortgage. Fees vary, and you can choose to either pay this up-front or add it onto your mortgage. However, if you choose the latter expect to pay more in interest.

• Survey fees - The money paid to a surveyor to perform an inspection on the property's structure to determine its condition and value. The fee varies depending on the level of detail you want and the size of the property.

• Legal fees - The sum paid for legal services, including conveyancing and land searches.

• Home insurance - As part of their contract, some lenders only offer mortgages if you have buildings insurance.

It is very unlikely that you will be offered an interest-only mortgage as a first-time buyer.

Most mortgages are capital repayment mortgages, where you pay off the interest and the capital (the amount you borrowed) with each monthly payment.

Yes, your credit record matters for any mortgage application. Lenders want to see proof that you can keep up repayments.

If your credit score is low, you may find fewer lenders willing to give you a loan. However, speaking to a mortgage broker can help you find the providers that are more likely to.

Common reasons include a low or poor credit history, income that’s hard to evidence, high existing debts or regular outgoings, and a small deposit. Lenders each have their own criteria, so a broker can help you find which are more likely to suit your circumstances.

Yes, 95% mortgages are available to first-time buyers, though fewer lenders offer them than lower-LTV mortgages. Many are supported by the government’s Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, which became permanent in July 2025. The lenders and products on offer change over time, so it’s worth speaking to a broker about what’s currently available.

Yes, and getting a joint mortgage means you could borrow more and make the repayments easier to afford. 

Yes, if you're self-employed you can get a mortgage but you'll need to prove to the lender that you have at least two years of reliable income. If you can provide this, your rates may be similar to those for people in full-time roles, depending on the lender and your circumstances.

The best mortgage for you will be affordable and suit your circumstances. To find the cheapest deal, you should look at the total cost over the initial offer, which will take the interest rate and fees into account.

It's often a good idea to speak to a mortgage adviser who can help you find the most suitable deal for you.

Setting a budget, reducing regular outgoings and saving a fixed amount each month can help. If you’re eligible, a Lifetime ISA could add a government bonus on what you save. See our guide on how much it costs to buy a home.