Compare first time buyer mortgages

Why apply for your first mortgage with L&C?

Applying for your first mortgage with L&C can help save you time, money and hassle.

• Our online Mortgage Finder allows you to start your mortgage journey on your desktop or mobile device, either at home or on the go.
• You’ll need to provide information such as the purchase price of the property you’re considering buying, how much you want to borrow, and how long you want to repay your mortgage over.
• The Mortgage Finder will give you a list of personalised results in real time, which will show you all the deals you might be eligible for.
• Once you’ve sent us your completed Mortgage Finder, you’ll get your ‘Decision in Principle’ by email. If we need to check anything, one of our expert advisers will give you a call to confirm your details and fill in any blanks, before sending you a Decision in Principle certificate. This will give you an indication of how much you might be able to borrow before you submit a mortgage application and receive a formal mortgage offer.
• Our advice won’t cost you a penny. Like all other brokers, we receive a payment from the lender when the mortgage completes, but we choose not to charge our customers a fee on top of this. You’ll pay no more applying through us than you would going directly to the lender on the same deal.

Lending criteria & eligibility

You must be aged at least 18 to apply for a mortgage as a first time buyer.

When you submit your application, lenders will look closely at how much you earn. They will also want to know about all your outgoings, such as any loan or credit card repayments, and the amount you spend on things like travel, food and utilities. If you can reduce unnecessary outgoings before you make an application, it could boost your chances of being accepted.

They will check your credit history too, which shows how you’ve managed debts in the past. If you’ve been late with or have missed any payments this might have affected your credit score and may mean your mortgage application is refused. You can find out about this in our guide How does your credit score affect your ability to get a mortgage?

We offer the best mortgage options for first time buyers

There are lots of different mortgage options to choose from, so it’s worth weighing up the pros and cons of each before deciding which one to go for.

• Fixed rate mortgages. As the name suggests, with a fixed rate mortgage your interest rate won’t change for the term of the deal. You can typically lock into a fixed rate mortgage for anything between two and ten years, although sometimes even longer deals are available. Fixed rate mortgages usually appeal to first time buyers who want peace of mind that their monthly payments won’t change, whatever happens to interest rates.
• Tracker mortgages. Tracker mortgages are variable rate mortgages and usually track the Bank of England base rate, plus a set percentage. The main advantage of a tracker deal is that when rates are falling you will benefit. However, when rates start to rise, so will the cost of your payments.
• Discounted mortgages: Discounted mortgages are also variable rate deals, typically offering a discount from the lender’s Standard Variable Rate (SVR). This rate can change over time if the SVR goes up or down.
• Capped rate mortgages. Capped deals are again variable rate mortgages, so the rate and your payments can move up or down over time, but there is a cap or ceiling which the rate cannot exceed. This can provide peace of mind that your monthly payments won’t increase beyond a certain point during the term of the deal, even if rates keep rising.
• Parental support mortgages. Several lenders offer first time buyer mortgages which enable parents to use their savings to help their children get onto the property ladder. Parents usually commit to putting a percentage of the first time buyer’s property value into a savings account held with the lender for a few years. Other lenders may allow parents to borrow extra on their mortgage to gift to children as a deposit.

Find out more about the various kinds of mortgage you can choose from in our guide Different types of mortgage explained.

Choosing your first mortgage

Before you choose your first mortgage, there are a few initial steps you need to take.

1. Find out how much you can borrow. The amount you’ll be able to borrow will depend on your income and outgoings, and how much deposit you have to put down. Our How much can I borrow? calculator can give you a quick idea of the likely mortgage amount you can borrow.
2. Work out how big a deposit you can afford to put down. You’ll usually need to save a deposit of at least 5% of the property value. However, if you’re able to save more than this, you’ll have access to a wider range of mortgages at more competitive rates, as lenders will consider you a lower risk.
3. Factor in other costs. Remember that as well as saving a deposit, you’ll also need to save up for the other costs of buying a home, such as legal fees and moving costs. Fortunately, when it comes to Stamp Duty, there is help available for most first time buyers in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland in the form of first time buyer relief. You can read more about this here.
4. Understand the key differences between the different mortgage types. It’s worth getting to grips with how different types of mortgage work so that you can pick the right deal to suit your needs. For example, if budgeting certainty is a top priority, you might decide a fixed rate mortgage is best for you, but if you don’t mind your monthly payments moving up or down over time, you might prefer a variable rate deal.
5. Calculate how much your repayments will be each month. Your mortgage needs to be affordable, so you’ll need to make sure your monthly payments aren’t going to be too much of a financial stretch. The longer your mortgage term, the less your monthly payments will cost, but the more interest you’ll end up paying back overall, and vice versa. Use our How much will my mortgage cost? calculator to help you find out the cost of your mortgage.

Remember too that if you’re struggling to get onto the property ladder, there are Government schemes available that may help.

Start your search online for a first time buyer mortgage

Hopefully you’ll now have a clearer idea of which type of mortgage you want and the sort of information lenders will want to see when you apply for a mortgage.

Whether you want a fixed or variable deal, our online Mortgage Finder searches over 90 lenders’ deals on your behalf, which means finding and applying for your first time buyer mortgage needn’t involve filling out lots of mortgage enquiries for different mortgage providers.

Our experts will advise you on the best deal for you, and once you’ve applied for your mortgage, you can then track your application online 24/7 so you know exactly how it’s progressing.

Begin your online mortgage journey using our Mortgage Finder.