You are considered a first time buyer if you or the person you’re buying a property with has never owned a property before. There are many schemes available to help you get onto the property ladder and become a first time buyer.

The term is slightly misleading though, if you inherit a property, you will still be considered a first time buyer when you actually ‘purchase’ your first property.

Your deposit will vary depending on if you use a first-time buyer scheme. At a minimum, you’ll need at least 5% of the property value. However, the more you can put down for your deposit, the better rates of interest you’ll get as you’re considered a lower risk.

The majority of lenders will accept a deposit as a gift from family members and some will even allow a family member to be a guarantor if they have their own property.

This will depend on a variety of factors, such as:

• The amount of deposit you have
• How much you’d like to borrow
• Your outgoings and credit commitments
• Whether you need to make home improvements

You should seek help and advice off a trained mortgage advisor, who will be able to advise you on your affordability and how much you can borrow for a first-time buyer mortgage.

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This depends on the cost of the property, you will have to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if your property is in certain brackets.

Quickly check out how much you could pay by visiting our stamp duty calculator here.

For more information on stamp duty thresholds you can visit the government website here.