Mortgage lenders recognise the struggles some people face to reach that first step on the property ladder. Whether it’s not being able to save a large deposit whilst paying rent, or that house prices in the area are simply unaffordable on your income, lenders have introduced products to help.
Most high street lenders offer products specifically for first-time buyers, and these typically include being able to buy with a 5% deposit or adding a non-owner onto the mortgage to boost your borrowing power. They often include incentives such as free legal work or cashback.
However, some lenders have gone a step further and introduced products designed to make home ownership even more accessible – read on for more details…
Barclays have introduced a product called Family Springboard. This allows helpers to deposit 10% of the purchase price into a “Helpful Start” account. This would allow applicants to buy without having saved any deposit from their own funds. The money in the Helpful Start account is locked away for 5 years, and after this time, as long as the mortgage has been maintained satisfactorily, the helper will receive their money back with interest (restrictions apply).
They can lend up to 4 times your income, or 4.49 times if you have a household income of over £50,000. The maximum loan amount is £500,000 and can be borrowed over a maximum of 35 years.
The family springboard product is available for purchases but you do not have to be a first time buyer to apply, however applicants cannot own another property either as a buy to let or second residential. The mortgage must be taken on a repayment capital and interest basis.
It is not available for new builds or certain schemes like shared ownership, and it cannot be a joint borrower sole proprietor application.
Helpers must get independent legal advice and be aware that the money in the helpful start account is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Halifax offer a £5k deposit mortgage. This allows first-time buyers to purchase a house worth up to £300,000 using a deposit of only £5,000. The deposit must come from the applicant’s own funds and not be gifted by friends or family.
The applicants’ minimum income must be £40,000 (either individually or jointly), and at least one of the applicants must be a first-time buyer.
Halifax can lend between 4.49 and 5.5 times your household income depending on loan-to-value criteria.
It is not available for new builds or certain schemes such as shared ownership. It must be used as the applicant’s only residence, and they must not own any other properties.
Halifax have certain credit profile criteria that applicants would need to meet to be eligible for this product.
Leeds Building Society offer their Start Mortgage and Income Plus options.
The Start Mortgage allows you to buy with a low deposit of between 2% and 5%. It is only available for 5-year products, and you must have a minimum household income of £30,000.
Leeds can lend up to 5 times your household income on this product.
The minimum deposit amount is £5,000, and the maximum loan is £500,000.
They will accept self-employed income and also gifted deposits.
Again, this product is not available on new builds or other schemes like shared ownership, right to buy, etc.
Leeds Income Plus can lend 5.5 or even 6 times your income, subject to minimum income criteria and is available to home movers and those remortgaging too, not just first-time buyers.
Nationwide’s Helping Hand mortgage offers loans of up to 6 times the household income on purchases with as little as a 5% deposit.
To qualify for this product, all applicants must be first-time buyers and have a minimum income of £30,000 individually or £50,000 jointly. It is only available on 5-10 year fixed rate terms and must be on a repayment capital and interest basis.
Again, this product is not available for new builds or other schemes like shared ownership or right to buy.
Santander has a My First Mortgage product that allows you to buy with low deposits of between 2% and 5%. All applicants must be first-time buyers.
The deposit must be a minimum of £10,000, and the loan amount must be between £190,001 and £500,000, borrowed over a maximum term of 40 years.
Santander will lend up to 4.45 times the household income on this product, and it is not available for new builds or other buying schemes.
Skipton’s Track Record mortgage allows you to buy without having any deposit at all (though you can use a deposit of less than 5% if you have it). Instead, they look at your recent rental history.
You must be over the age of 21 and be able to prove your successful rental history and payment of household bills for 12 consecutive months (within the last 18 months).
The maximum loan term is 40 years, and the maximum loan amount is £600,000.
Skipton may lend up to 4.49 times your household income. A delayed start of up to 3 months is available on this mortgage, which can be helpful with the added start up costs involved with buying your first home, however interest is accrued from day one of the mortgage.
I cannot stress enough that all of these products are subject to the lender’s own eligibility and underwriting criteria. All lenders calculate affordability slightly differently and have different parameters for stress testing. These products will be the right match for some people, but the best way to find out if that could be you is by talking to a good mortgage adviser.
If you would like to discuss any of these products in more detail, then please reach out to us. We can talk through your circumstances and match you up with the best product to help you meet your goal, or help you make a plan to get there if you aren’t quite ready yet.
All product details correct on 09.09.2026
Your home/property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage.
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