First-time buyers

Top tips for saving for your first home

Open a lifetime ISA. Lifetime ISAs are the ultimate house-buying hack for first-time buyers because the government pays in when you do*.
Search for 'First Home Schemes'. Properties that are part of this scheme are offered to first-time buyers at a discount (between 30% and 50% less than their market value!)
Speak to a mortgage adviser. A professional will be able to tell you about the best mortgage deals out there at the time you're looking, including special offers for first-time buyers.
Consider a shared ownership scheme. Also known as 'part buy, part rent', this is where you buy a percentage of the property and pay rent on the rest.
Get started. The sooner you start putting money aside for a deposit, the sooner you can start booking some viewings!

Find out more about speeding up the buying process

*The government pays in 25% of whatever you pay in. As you can pay in up to £4,000 within a tax year, the government will contribute up to £1,000 a year.

How much does it cost to buy a house?

As well as the cost of the home you want to buy, you'll also need to pay for:

Solicitor (conveyancer) fees. Up to around £2,500 but this varies depending on how much the solicitor charges.
Surveys. It's a good idea to check for hidden surprises before you buy a property, you can pay a surveyor to check things like whether the roof is in a good state and whether there are any problems with damp. Surveys generally cost between £300 and £1,500 depending on what you want checked.
Mortgage adviser fees. Some mortgage advisers are paid in commission by the provider they recommend to you, but some will ask you to pay. Find out before you commit!

Find out more: How much deposit do I need to buy a house?

Moving costs. If you need to hire a van to move your things, this could cost you anywhere between £200 and £1,000, depending on the size of the van, the distance your moving and how many people you need to help you.
Redecorating and new furniture. If you're starting from scratch, you could use the money you save on a moving van to furnish your new place.

One thing you won't need to pay for as a first-time buyer is stamp duty, which is a home buying tax (unless the property you're buying costs £425,000 or more).

Here's how you can work out how much you need to save up.

How much mortgage can I borrow?

Mortgages are simply a loan that's specifically to buy property.

The amount of money you can borrow when you take out a mortgage depends on:

How much you earn
What your outgoings are
Your credit rating

The exact amount you can borrow will depend on how much the mortgage provider is prepared to lend you. But a mortgage adviser should be able to give you a rough estimate.

Find out more: What is a mortgage?

How do lifetime ISAs work?

Every month, the government looks at how much you've paid into your lifetime ISA and adds another 25% of the amount you've put in that month.

So, if you put £100 in one month, the government will put in another £25.

The catch is that you have to use the money in your lifetime ISA to buy your first home (or leave it in there until you turn 60), otherwise you'll be charged a withdrawal fee on any money you take out for any other reason.

Find out more: How to use a lifetime ISA to buy your first home

Did you know?

With a lifetime ISA, you can save a house deposit 25% quicker!

Find out how

First home buying guides

Couple in a kitchen dangling their new keys

How to save for your first home faster

How much deposit do I need to buy a house?

The front of two terraced houses, one with a blue front, the other pink

How to get on the property ladder

A person holding a wooden model house and a pair of keys.

What is a mortgage?

Smiling young couple sitting on the floor looking up thinking of their new home

Renting vs buying: which one is right for you?

What is the First Homes scheme?

Hand putting coin in a wooden house money box next to a stack of coins

How to save on the extra costs of buying a home

Buying a house at 40: why 30 isn’t too late to start saving

Start building your deposit with a lifetime ISA

Use our calculator to see how a lifetime ISA could speed up the time it takes to save your first home deposit

The lifetime ISA calculator shows how your lifetime ISA could grow with low, medium and high performance, plus the government bonus. But projections are not a guarantee of future performance and you could get back less than you pay in.

How much I'll pay in each month

What do these numbers mean?

Please note: No more than £4,000 may be invested into a Lifetime ISA within a single tax year. This includes your initial investment and your monthly direct debit payments.

Open a OneFamily Lifetime ISA

Make the most of your lifetime ISA

A man and woman having fun, pushing the woman along the floor in a cardboard box.

Where should I buy my first home?

Thinking about moving to a new area?

Every year, our index ranks the UK's towns and cities with over 200,000 residents on a range of factors including average salary, rent, property prices, commuting costs and overall quality of life.

Top five places to live and work in the UK (2023 rankings):

Norwich
Liverpool and Edinburgh
London
Cardiff
Bristol

How to buy your first home: the definitive guide