How to Get a Mortgage With a First Time Buyer? 

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Credit Scoring & Getting a Mortgage With a First Time Buyer 

Buying a Home With a First Time Buyer 

Helping a First Time Buyer Buy a Home 

Regularly we come across the situation where one applicant is a first time buyer, and the other one is not. The good news is that we can usually help, whether it be with a new purchase or a remortgage we will have options.

The mortgage side to this is straight forward, however, you may want to investigate the stamp duty implications on the HMRC stamp duty calculator website as it will impact the first-time buyer exception relief.

To get a mortgage with a first-time buyer is the same process as any other application, you will need to meet lending criteria, pass affordability checks, and pass your lenders credit score.

Documents will be requested as part of the process and these include identification, evidence of income, bank statements, details of any existing mortgages, loans, or credit cards, and proof of deposit/equity.

It will take on average 2 to 3 weeks to receive your mortgage offer with a first-time buyer, for the legal side to completion this is typically 3 to 5 months.

If one partner is providing all or most of the deposit, it is possible to get a legal document drawn up by your solicitor so that in the event of a break-up the funds are not split evenly.  

Credit Scoring & Getting a Mortgage With a First Time Buyer 

Credit scoring is also important when considering a mortgage with a first-time buyer as you will be creating a financial association together.

As with any joint mortgage, it is a clever idea to check your credit files to see if there are any issues on there.

If one applicant has bad credit and does not fit the criteria with a high street lender, we might recommend a more specialist lender where the interest rate will be higher.

Also, bad credit mortgages are deemed as higher risk therefore a bigger deposit, typically 15%, will be required. It is quick and easy to check your financial history and it will be a worthwhile exercise. 

Buying a Home With a First Time Buyer 

The most popular type of enquiry about getting a mortgage with a first-time buyer is when one partner already has a mortgage and owns a home, and they are looking to buy a new property together to live in.

If affordability is there, there may be an option to keep the existing property in the background and turn it into a buy to let investment, this is called a let to buy mortgage transaction. If there is enough equity, you may have the option to release equity to help with the deposit on the new home. 

Helping a First Time Buyer Buy a Home 

Another popular enquiry we receive is when a parent is looking to get a mortgage with a first-time buyer child to help them onto the ladder and boost the amount they can borrow. There are specific mortgages to help with this, these are guarantor mortgages or joint borrower sole proprietor mortgages.

There are lots of mortgage types available for this situation and it is always best to speak with an independent mortgage broker to run through all the options.

There is always a wide range of age 50+ mortgage products available to help towards providing a bigger deposit for your family member.

The factors that will be considered in this situation would be income both now and, in the future, age, affordability, and credit score.