First time buyer mortgages

Can I apply for a First Time Buyer mortgage?

As long as anyone on the application has never owned a property before, you can apply for a First Time Buyer Mortgage with us.

You’ll need a deposit of at least 5% of the property’s value, but if you can afford more than 5%, you can often get a lower initial interest rate.

Lending is subject to an affordability assessment, credit score and a full mortgage application.

Use our mortgage calculator to see how much you could borrow and what your monthly payments might be. Or, to get a better indication apply for an agreement in principle.

You must be at least 18 to apply for a mortgage, and your mortgage must usually end before you reach the age of 80. If your mortgage term extends past your 70th birthday or when you plan to retire - whichever happens sooner - we'll look at your retirement or employment income to make sure that you can afford the monthly payments. If you’re taking out a joint mortgage, we take the age of the oldest person into account.

If you are thinking of buying your first home with someone else, find out what a joint mortgage is, how they work and what to consider before you apply.

Things to know when buying your first home.

There’s a lot to think about when buying your first home. Our first- time buyer guide explains the entire mortgage process, in an easy to understand way. In this guide you'll also find a list of questions we’re asked most often by first- time buyers. 

What is Stamp Duty?

Stamp Duty is a tax you might have to pay when you buy a new home. It’s called the Land and Buildings Transactions Tax in Scotland, and Land Transaction Tax in Wales.

Not everyone will have to pay this tax. To find out more, visit our Stamp Duty page.

How much do I need to save for my deposit?

We will only lend you a percentage of what the property is worth, so you’ll need to put down some of your own money towards the cost of the property. We call this a deposit. Your deposit should be at least 5% of the property’s value (unless you’re applying for our Family Boost mortgage). If you can put down more than 5%, you can often get a lower initial interest rate.

As well as your deposit, there are other costs to think about when buying a property and taking out a mortgage. Costs that apply to most buyers include conveyancing fees, Stamp Duty Land Tax/Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (properties in Scotland), valuation fees and Land Registry fees. There are often unexpected costs too in buying a property, so it's a good idea to have a reserve fund to cover them.

We support a range of government backed initiatives to help customers to buy their home.

Use our mortgage calculator to see how much you could borrow and what your monthly payments might be. Or, to get a better indication apply for an agreement in principle. 

Family Boost mortgage

With our Family Boost mortgage, your mortgage payments stay the same for 3 years, and you don’t need to save for your own deposit. Instead, a family member can put down 10% of the cost of your home, up to £500,000, which they’ll get back plus interest after 3 years (subject to conditions). Learn about the full Family Boost mortgage details and conditions.

Need help saving for your deposit?

Our savings tips page and savings range will help you to start building enough of a deposit to put down on your first home.

How much could I borrow?

You can use our online mortgage calculator to get an idea of how much you could borrow. Or, to get a better indication you can apply for an agreement in principle, also known as a 'mortgage promise'. We'll start by asking about your income, for example your basic salary and any regular overtime or bonuses. 

We'll also ask about your regular outgoings, for example credit card or personal loan repayments, and we'll take these off your income. After that, we make a further allowance for average day-to-day living expenses. This allows us to see how much we think you can afford for your mortgage payment each month.

As part of our process of assessing whether we think you can afford the loan, we'll ask your permission to contact a credit reference agency. They can give us information about:

• how you've conducted your finances in the past
• how many credit commitments you've got and how long they’ll last
• whether you've kept the payments up to date.

We'll use credit scoring to help us decide whether to lend you money. Credit scoring works by awarding you points based on the information that:

• you give us about yourself
• we already have about you, if you've an existing relationship with us
• is on your credit file at the credit reference agency.

We use this information to give an indication of whether we'll lend you money and if so, how much we'll be willing to give you as a mortgage.

How does an agreement in principle differ from a mortgage offer?

An agreement in principle, also known as a 'decision in principle' or 'mortgage promise', is useful if you haven’t found a property you want to buy but would like to know how much you could borrow. All we need is a few personal details about you and anyone else who will be named on the mortgage. Then we’ll contact a credit reference agency for a credit search and give you a credit score. If you reach our pass mark, we’ll give you a certificate, so that you can show the seller you can get a loan. 

An agreement in principle is subject to us performing various further checks, and so isn't a guarantee we'll be able to lend you the money. For this you need a mortgage offer.

A mortgage offer is issued by a lender once your mortgage application has been received and the necessary checks, such as the property valuation and confirmation of your details, have been carried out. It sets out the terms under which the lender is prepared to offer you a loan.

What type of properties will you lend on?

The property you buy must be located within the UK and loans can only be used to buy your main residential home or for purposes relating to this home.

We'll consider lending you money to buy different types of property. For some types of properties, we may ask you for a bigger deposit. Any loan we make will be subject to a satisfactory property valuation by a surveyor of our choice.

Is there a minimum purchase price?

While we'll consider many types of property, we've a responsibility to make sure that a property is suitable security for a mortgage. As a result, we'll not lend against properties where the lower of the valuation or purchase price is less than £40,000.

What are the risks I should be aware of?

A mortgage has a key difference to other loans - it's secured against your home. If you can't keep up with your monthly repayments, or you get into financial difficulties you should contact us straight away so we can give you the help you need.

House prices can rise or fall. If your home’s value becomes less than you owe, you’ll be in negative equity. If you need to sell and the sale price is less than your mortgage, you’ll face a shortfall you’ll need to repay.

What should I consider when applying for a mortgage?

Mortgages can last for a long time, so it's important you get the one that's right for you. You'll need to think about such things as the type of loan, how long you want it for and what type of product you'd like.

Methods of repayment - there are 3 different ways of repaying your mortgage. These are repayment, interest-only, and a combination of repayment and interest-only.

Mortgage terms - Halifax mortgages can extend up to 40 years. The length of your mortgage affects your monthly payments and the overall cost. With a repayment mortgage, a longer term with lower monthly payments would take more time to repay. This would mean you'd pay more interest over time. As a result, the total cost of your mortgage would be higher.

With an interest-only mortgage, the length of the term makes no difference to the monthly payments because these are only paying off the interest charges and not the loan itself. With an interest-only mortgage, your mortgage term needs to match the time when you will have enough money in your repayment plan(s) to repay the loan.

Mortgage products - we may have different types of mortgage products with different types of interest rates. These change from time to time and we'll give you details of the current range when you apply.

Product incentives - from time to time we may offer mortgage products that include an incentive. The interest rate for products with incentives may sometimes be slightly higher than for products without incentives. So you'll need to consider whether the incentive offered at the start of the mortgage is more important to you than the slightly lower interest rate you may get during the product rate period without the incentive.

Your mortgage adviser will ask you about your preferences and discuss your needs and circumstances before deciding which mortgage to recommend to you.

How can I speed up the mortgage completion process?

Return any requested documentation for your mortgage as soon as possible.

Work closely with your conveyancer to understand timings and next steps in the process – such as local authority search turnaround times.

Make sure that all parties are working towards the same completion date and be aware of any chains you may be in which may impact this.

Consider any other third parties you’ll need to contact and obtain quotes from (for example, from removal firms), and make sure they're aware of the completion date you are aiming for.

What insurance will I need?

It's a requirement of your mortgage to have buildings insurance. This covers the bricks and mortar, fixtures and fittings. It's also a good idea to take out contents insurance as well - this protects all your possessions in your home, from furniture to jewellery.

It’s also important to think about what would happen to your mortgage in the event of your death, or if you are too ill to work. Our expert mortgage and protection advisers can help you to find the right level of cover to protect your mortgage, should the worst happen. 

Will I be charged any fees?

This will depend on the mortgage product, there may be a product fee to pay and early repayment charges if you repay early. Any product fees can be added on to your mortgage on completion. There could be other charges and standard costs that you may have to pay during the course of setting up your mortgage. You'll be charged interest on any fees, charges and standard costs added to your loan.

There are other costs associated with buying a property and taking out a mortgage.

What happens at the end of my mortgage deal?

When you take out your mortgage, you arrange to have a fixed or variable rate product for a period of time. At the end of this time, the product will end and your loan will usually be transferred to a Lender Variable Rate. At this point, you may choose to move it to a new product for a further period of time.

What happens if I want to move home in the middle of my mortgage deal?

It's sometimes possible to take a product with you to a new mortgage - we call this 'porting‘. Your Illustration and offer letter will say if any of your products are portable.