Before you start searching

Remember the other costs

For example, £30,000 saved for a £300,000 home looks like a 10% deposit. But if £5,000 goes on buying and moving costs, £25,000 remains for your deposit, or less if you keep a reserve.

Check your savings and timing

• Compare the total cash needed with your available savings.
• Your deposit is paid at exchange. The purchase is then binding.
• The rest is paid at completion, typically 1 to 4 weeks later.
• Stamp Duty is due within 14 days of completion.
• In Wales, Land Transaction Tax is due within 30 days of completion.

Speak to a mortgage adviser if you need a mortgage

They can tell you what you could borrow. Many compare mortgages from several lenders, giving you more choice than one bank.

Also allow for

Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax, mortgage and adviser fees, insurance, moving setup and property-specific costs.

Before you choose a conveyancer, surveyor or removal firm

• Check what’s included, including VAT, searches and extras.
• Ask when you’ll pay and what you could lose if the purchase falls through.
• Compare the service as well as the price.

Check your circumstances

Past ownership, including inherited or overseas property, can affect eligibility. Higher rates or a non-UK resident surcharge may apply.

Example: a £300,000 home

With first-time buyer relief: £0, if all buyers qualify and no surcharge applies.
At standard rates: 0% on £125,000, 2% on £125,000, then 5% on £50,000 = £5,000.

Check your circumstances

Higher rates can apply if a parent owns another home and buys jointly with you.

Example: a £300,000 home

Under the main rates: 0% on £225,000, then 6% on £75,000 = £4,500.

1. Start with your take-home pay, or both of yours if buying together.
   Take-home pay, a month after tax

   £

   a month, after tax

   Work it out from your pay before tax

2. Take off everything except housing: food, transport, childcare, debts, subscriptions and savings. Recent bank statements show what you really spend. Leave out rent and bills: your new home replaces them.
   Spending and savings, a month

   £

   a month
3. What’s left is your comfortable monthly home cost. It needs to cover the mortgage and the running costs of the home.
   Comfortable monthly home cost

   £

   a month

Check the costs of the home

• Council Tax, water, energy, broadband and other household bills.
• Insurance: check who arranges buildings cover and when it starts.
• Service charges, ground rent, estate charges or shared-ownership rent.
• Repairs, maintenance and replacing things that wear out. Ask about planned major works and charges that could increase.

Leave room for change

• A £2,400 yearly bill is £200 a month in your budget. Note when it’s due.
• Check what’s left if costs rise, a repair comes up or your income falls.
• Aim for a reserve of three months’ costs, including your mortgage.
  Your reserve after moving

  £

Choose who to speak to

• Find a mortgage adviser through Unbiased or the Personal Finance Society, then check they’re FCA-authorised with our adviser check. If an estate agent recommends a mortgage adviser, you can still choose your own.
• Ask how many lenders they search, whether you or the lender pays them, and what you’d owe if the purchase falls through.

Tell them about you

• The mortgage payment you’re comfortable with (see section 5).
• Debts, self-employment, variable income, job changes or gifted money.

How your payments work, and what to ask

• Example: you borrow over 30 years (the term), with a rate fixed for the first 5 (the deal). Like a phone contract, the payment is set for the deal.
• Ask what happens when the deal ends. You move to the lender’s standard variable rate, often higher, unless you get a new deal.
• Ask what it costs to leave early. Leaving during the deal, for example to move or switch, can cost a fee.
• Ask the total cost over the full term. Fees count too: if they’re added to the loan, you pay interest on them.

Start gathering these now

• Proof of ID and address
• Payslips or other proof of income
• Bank statements for the last 3 to 6 months
• Proof of your deposit
• Details of any debts

Self-employed: add SA302s and tax year overviews for 2 or 3 years.

Yearly bonus or commission: you may need P60s as well.

Tell your adviser if your job, debts or deposit change.

If family or friends are helping

• Tell your adviser early, including when the money will arrive. Say whether it’s a gift, a loan or money for a share of the home. Your conveyancer will ask about it later too.
• They may ask the person helping for a signed letter, ID and proof of where the money came from. A template gift letter may not be enough.

Get an agreement in principle (AIP)

• It shows roughly how much a lender might lend. It isn’t a mortgage offer: the full application still checks your finances and the property.
• Ask if getting one affects your credit record, and how long it lasts.
• Estate agents may ask to see it, or other proof of funds, before viewings or offers. Ask what they need.

What lenders look at

• They usually ask for 3 to 6 months of bank statements, to see your income, spending and regular payments.
• They check your pay and spending match what you’ve told them.
• Buy now, pay later is borrowing, so lenders count regular repayments like other debts. They see the rest of your spending on your statements too, including gambling.

In the months before you apply

• Check your credit report with Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Crediva for mistakes, and ask for them to be corrected. It’s free and won’t affect your score.
• Register to vote at your address, if you can. Lenders use the electoral register when they check credit applications, and being on it can help your score.
• Pay every bill on time. Missed payments stay on your credit report for up to 6 years.
• Avoid new credit until you’ve got the keys, including car finance and phone contracts. Even after a mortgage offer, a lender can withdraw it if your finances change.
• Let your adviser choose where you apply. Each application shows on your credit report.
• Try to stay out of your overdraft in the months before you apply.

What it is

• You save up to £4,000 a year, and the government adds 25% on top. Save £4,000 and it adds £1,000.
• Most people aged 18 to 39 who live in the UK can open one.
• From 6 April 2029, a new First Time Buyer ISA is due to replace it for new savers. Open one before then and you can keep paying in.

Rules for using it to buy a home

• It’s for first-time buyers buying a home to live in, with a mortgage.
• For a home over £450,000, you lose the bonus and a fifth of any interest.
• You can use it 12 months after you first pay in.
• It’s paid straight to your conveyancer, and can take up to 30 days.
• If you’re buying with someone who’s also a first-time buyer, you can each use one. If they’ve owned a home, you can still use yours.

If you don’t use it for your home

• You can leave it until you’re 60, then take it out without a charge.
• For anything else, a 25% charge usually leaves you with less than you put in: £4,000 + £1,000 bonus = £5,000, minus 25% = £3,750.

Check your other savings

• Some accounts make you give notice, or lock your money away for a set time. Check when you can get yours.
• Investments can go down in value, so don’t count on a set amount.

If you’re buying with someone

• This could be a partner, a friend or family. Agree who pays for what: the deposit, monthly payments and repairs.
• Agree what happens if one of you wants to sell or can’t pay.
• With a joint mortgage, if one of you can’t pay, the other has to pay it all.
• Decide how you’ll own it. You can own it all together, so it passes to the other person if one of you dies. Or you can each own a share, equal or not, which you can leave in a will.
• Your conveyancer will call these “joint tenants” and “tenants in common”. “Tenants” is just the legal word: you’re still the owners.
• If one of you puts more into the deposit, ask your conveyancer about a declaration of trust. It sets out how much of the home each of you owns.

If you’re self-employed or your income changes

• Lenders usually want at least 2 years of accounts, or SA302 tax calculations from HMRC with their tax year overviews. Some ask for 3.
• They look at your income across those years, so one good month or year won’t decide what you can borrow.
• If you’ve been self-employed for less than 2 years, speak to an adviser before you apply: lenders’ rules differ.
• Tell your adviser about any changes to your work.

If you’re using a scheme

• Schemes can lower the price or the deposit you need. Each has its own rules and costs, so check them before you rely on one.
• Shared ownership: you buy part of a home and pay rent on the rest, plus service charges.
• Your First Home (England, from 2027): for new-build homes. You put down at least 2.5%, the government lends 20%, and a mortgage covers the rest. For household incomes up to £110,000 (£140,000 in London), with a price cap in each area. Registration is due to open by the end of December 2026, and the first homes in April 2027.
• Help to Buy Wales: a government loan of up to 20% of the price of a new-build home up to £300,000. You need a 5% deposit. Apply by 31 March 2027.
• These loans are interest-free for 5 years, then charge interest.
• You pay back the same share of the home’s value, so more if prices rise.

If you’re buying without a mortgage

• You won’t need a lender’s valuation. A survey checks the home’s condition.
• A conveyancer still does the legal work, and fees and tax still apply.
• Have proof of your money ready. Agents will usually ask to see it before they put your offer forward.
• Your conveyancer will want statements showing how you saved it.

A quick final check

• You know what you need from a home, and what you could do without.
• You know your deposit, buying and moving costs, and comfortable monthly home cost, or have noted what you don’t know yet.
• You’ve spoken to a mortgage adviser, or you’re buying without one.
• You have an agreement in principle, or proof of funds.
• You’ve lined up a conveyancer, ready for when an offer is accepted.
• You’ve raised any questions about gifts, schemes or buying together.
• You know what to do next, and who to ask.

Who can help

Your search

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Questions still open

• How much can I borrow for a mortgage?Your top price, from what a lender might lend and what you can comfortably pay.
• How much do you need to buy a house?Your deposit, Stamp Duty and every other cost, added up.
• Stamp Duty calculatorStamp Duty in England, with first-time buyer relief, or Land Transaction Tax in Wales.
• Mortgage repayment calculatorYour monthly payment and what a higher rate would cost.
• Lifetime ISA calculatorYour bonus by the time you buy, and the £450,000 price limit.
• First-time buyer schemesWhich government schemes might suit you, with your own figures.
• Get mortgage readyWhat lenders check, what to sort out first, and the documents to gather.
• Estate agent emailRegister with every estate agent in one email.