First Time Buyer mortgage

Buying your first home is exceptionally exciting but can also be daunting as everything is new!

Don’t worry, we will hold your hand and guide you through the full process from start to finish.

First time buyers are sought after by Vendors as they are chain free! 

First time buyers can also benefit from government schemes aimed at helping them onto the property ladder.
 

Get saving for a deposit

Its hard! We know..but the bigger the deposit the easier it will be to get on the property ladder and the wider the choice of mortgages you’ll have available to you.

If you’re struggling to save, come in and see us, we can help you with a budget planner that will help you decide what is essential costs and what you could squirrel away to get the new home you are dreaming of.

Help to Buy Scheme

Help to Buy is a government scheme designed to help people with limited deposits buy their first property.

        Advantages of the Help to Buy Scheme

• It’s for buyers who’ve managed to save a 5% deposit.
• The equity loan is interest-free for the first five years.

        Disadvantages of the Help to Buy Scheme 

• You’re restricted to new build properties only, so if you want to buy an older property, you won’t be eligible.
• You can only buy a property from house builders registered to take part in the scheme.
• When you sell, you’ll need to pay back the Government the percentage it contributed.

The Equity Loan

Under the equity loan part of the scheme, which is available to first time buyers purchasing a new-build property, you need to put down a 5% deposit. The Government will lend you a further 20% of the property price interest-free, or 40% if you’re buying in London, for the first five years.

After the five-year interest-free period finishes, you’ll be charged interest on your loan from the Government at 1.75%. The interest rate will increase every year in April by the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation, plus another 1%.

The current equity loan scheme will run until March 2023. The new scheme will only be available to first time buyers, who will be able to purchase properties up to the value of new regional price caps, shown below.

New Help to Buy regional property price caps

(Price cap for properties eligible for Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme from April 2021 to March 2023)

Region Cap

North East £186,100
North West £224,400
Yorkshire and The Humber £228,100
East Midlands £261,900
West Midlands £255,600
East of England £407,400
London £600,000
South East £437,600
South West £349,000

Source: HM Treasury analysis

This scheme ends in 2023, and there are currently no plans to introduce any further equity loan schemes.

The ISA

The Help to Buy Individual Savings Account (ISA) was designed to help first time buyers save up a deposit.

Savers could initially pay in up to £1,200, followed by up to £200 a month, and the government will add another 25% to any contributions you make. The maximum bonus you can claim is £3,000.

Help to Buy ISA accounts closed to new savers on 30th November 2019. If you already have an account, you can keep saving into it until 30th November 2029, after which additional contributions will no longer be allowed. The government bonus must be claimed by 1st December 2030.

The Bank of Mum & Dad 

Those of you fortunate enough to have family who are prepared to provide you with financial help, there are various ways they can support you. For first time buyers the bank of Mum and Dad accrues for over half of the deposits for new homes.

They may help you out with a gift, or they may act as guarantors for you. Some mortgages are specifically designed with parental support in mind, enabling spare equity in the parental home to be used as additional security.

Parents who agree to become joint owners and who also own their own home must remember that this could lead to a capital gains tax (CGT) liability and incur a stamp duty surcharge on the additional property.

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