First Homes Scheme Mortgages

You must be a first time buyer, aged 18 or over, and buying the home as your only or main residence. Your household income must be no more than £80,000 a year, or £90,000 in London. If you are buying with someone else, both of you must be first time buyers.

You also need to be able to get a mortgage for at least half of the price.

Local authorities can set extra local eligibility criteria for the first three months a property is on sale. These might give priority to people with a local connection, key workers or people on lower incomes.

Members of the armed forces, and recent veterans, do not have to meet local connection criteria. After three months the national eligibility criteria apply.

Lenders assess affordability on the discounted price, using your income and outgoings in the usual way. Because the price is lower, your monthly payments are lower too, which can make the difference between passing and failing an affordability assessment.

We check your borrowing with lenders that accept First Homes before you commit to a property.

Lenders that offer First Homes mortgages look at the same areas as any other purchase, plus the scheme paperwork.

Income and Affordability: your household income, outgoings and existing debts.

Credit History: a clean record gives you the widest choice. If you have adverse credit, you could be referred to our sister company, Alexander Southwell Mortgages, as this may fall under the specialist category.

The Scheme Documents: lenders check the discount, the price cap and the legal restriction on future sales.

The Property: most First Homes are new builds, so lenders apply their new build lending criteria too.