First-Time Buyer Mortgage Broker in Surrey, Essex and Greater London

Buying your first home is a really exciting time, you're about to hit a huge milestone in your life and take that first step onto the property ladder.

Navigating the process of securing a first-time buyer mortgage can be a tricky one, particularly as a first-time buyer as the entire process is pretty unfamiliar. Our aim to make the process as easy as possible for you by guiding you through it all, every step of the way. We understand that there’s a lot to take in and consider when you start taking those first steps towards owning your own home, but you can count on us, your trusted mortgage brokers, to help you through it.

What We Do For You

Source The Best Deals

As a mortgage broker for first-time home buyers, our role is to find you the best deal based on your circumstances and with access to the whole market, you can trust that we will find the best deal for you. There are also lenders who offer specific product ranges for first-time buyers, often with lower rates or product fees, that just makes it even sweeter when you take the first step onto the property ladder.

Provide Additional Services

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to buying a property, but there are other aspects, aside from mortgages that we can help with.
We can help with finding the right solicitor to deal with your case or even local firms to carry out your surveys if you like. It’s one less thing that you need to worry about.

Work Quickly and Efficiently

There’s nothing more frustrating than having a mortgage adviser who takes days to respond to your last email. So, we’ve made it our mission to always be as responsive as possible so that you can get the answers that you need in as little time as possible.

Mortgages for First-Time Buyers

If you’re looking to secure a first-time buyer mortgage then get in touch with us to make sure that you get off to the best start. We will help to navigate you through the entire process, helping put the keys to your new home in your hands.

For a free & personalised quote, get started by entering your details below.

Check out our frequently asked questions below and if you have any of your own then get in touch and we'll happily answer those for you!

First-Time Buyer FAQs

Do I qualify for a first-time buyer mortgage?

You would be classed as a first-time buyer if you have never owner a property before. In some cases, if you have previously owned a property in the past, but have not been in the property market for quite some time - usually over 3 years, then some lenders may consider you to be eligible for their first time buyer products.

If you are not a first time buyer, but are living with a partner who does qualify for this type of mortgage, you may be able to jointly apply for a first time buyer mortgage.

How does the process work for a first-time buyer?

The process for a first-time buyer doesn't really differ at all compared to other types of buyers as the transaction follows exactly the same steps. The only real difference is that the process will be new to you compared to someone who might have moved home 5 times now.

I don't know how much I can borrow from a lender, where do I start?

Lenders all have their own affordability calculators which you can use to get an idea of how much you can borrow. However, it's always best to speak to a qualified adviser to understand how much you can borrow, as we have the experience and knowledge to understand which lenders would be best suited to your particular case and how to calculate your income according to each lender's criteria, as this is a factor that can vary quite significantly from lender to lender depending on whether you're self-employed, employed, have two jobs, receive bonuses/commissions/overtime and so on.

We will go into a bit more depth to get an understanding of what your goals are, what sort of properties you may be interested in and to establish a clear budget with you. Once we've got a clear idea of your goals and circumstances, we can then narrow it down and find the best lender to suit your circumstances and then we'll look to obtain an agreement in principle from that lender.

What is an agreement in principle?

This is a term you'll hear quite frequently when you start looking at property and you may also find that it is also referred to as a 'mortgage in principle' or a 'decision in principle'. This is where a lender will search you credit file and assess the details of your case such as your income, employment, outgoings and your personal circumstances. Once they've assessed these details they will then produce a decision which will state whether they are able to lend to your or not and if so, how much they are willing to lend.

The majority of lenders carry out a soft credit search at the decision in principle stage and so this wouldn't have an impact on your credit score or file. If for any reason we need to obtain an agreement in principle from a lender who conducts a hard search, we will make you aware of this so that you can decide if you'd like to go ahead as a hard search will have an impact on your credit score and will be visible to other lenders.

Once we've obtained an agreement in principle for you, it is usually valid for 3 months or 90 days but this does depend on the lender as some agreements are only valid for 30 days.

Now that you have an agreement in principle in place, you're in a really good position to start viewing properties and you'll be able to put in an offer on a property now that you know your budget. Estate agents are also likely to ask whether you've obtained an agreement in principle from a lender as this demonstrates to them that you are a serious buyer and that you are in a position to proceed with a purchase.

How much deposit do I need to have?

Typically, the minimum deposit required is 5-10% of the value of the property, but this is entirely dependent on your personal circumstances and the property that you are looking to purchase.

Lenders will also assess your credit history and carry out credit scoring to determine if you are eligible to put down a deposit as little as 5-10%.

If you do have a larger deposit then it can potentially be more in your favour as you may also benefit from lower interest rates as larger deposits present a lower risk to the lender compared to smaller deposits.

What is 'loan to value' (LTV)?

The loan to value ratio, is the amount of funds you are able to borrow, expressed as a percentage of the property value.

For example, if you were to purchase a property valued at £100,000 and needed to borrow £95,000 this would be a 95% LTV.

As a general rule of thumb, the lower the LTV (i.e. the more deposit you put down) the lower the interest rate would be.

How do I check my credit file?

We would always suggest taking a look over your credit file at least twice per year just to make sure that everything is in order and all of your payments have been kept up to date with any provider.

We always recommend using Check My File to view your credit file as they pull all of your records from 3 credit reference agencies - Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. This means that you can check all of the information that's currently held about your credit conduct. It's not uncommon for each credit reference agency to hold different information about you, which is why its important to check the information held as lenders do use different agencies to conduct the searches and some even use all 3 agencies.

If there's anything you're not sure on then we're always happy to look over credit files before we proceed with an agreement in principle - in fact, we encourage it!

The Mortgage Story

First Time Buyer