Your first UK mortgage, approved faster.

Most UK lenders require a minimum 5% deposit, meaning you can buy a £250,000 home with £12,500 saved. A 10% deposit unlocks materially cheaper rates, and 15%+ gives access to the lowest pricing. Schemes like the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme and Skipton's Track Record (100% LTV for renters) can reduce or remove the deposit requirement entirely.

UK lenders typically offer 4–4.5× your gross annual income, so a £55,000 salary borrows around £247,500. Specialist first-time buyer products such as Nationwide's Helping Hand stretch to 5.5× income for eligible applicants. Affordability also depends on credit commitments, dependants and outgoings — Elena models all of this in real time.

The main UK schemes in 2026 are: Shared Ownership (buy 25–75% and rent the rest), First Homes (30–50% discount for local first-time buyers), the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme (5% deposit at 95% LTV) and the Lifetime ISA (25% government bonus on savings up to £4,000/year). Eligibility varies by region and income.

Mortgage.ai issues a Decision in Principle in under 60 seconds and delivers full mortgage offers in an average of 11 days, against a UK industry average of 28 days. Completion typically follows 6–8 weeks later, depending on conveyancing.

First-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland pay no stamp duty on the first £425,000 of a property up to £625,000. Above £625,000, standard rates apply. Scotland and Wales use LBTT and LTT respectively, with their own first-time buyer reliefs.

Yes — specialist lenders such as Kensington, Pepper and Bluestone accept first-time buyers with missed payments, defaults or CCJs. Rates are typically 0.5–1.5% higher than high-street deals, and a larger deposit (15%+) widens your options significantly.