First-time buyer guide
First-time buyer deposit
Understand first-time buyer deposits, how deposit percentages work and why you should budget for buying costs as well as the deposit.
The deposit is the part of the property price you pay from your own funds.
The mortgage covers the rest of the purchase price, subject to affordability and lender criteria.
The mortgage covers the rest of the purchase price, subject to affordability and lender criteria.
Deposit examples
5% deposit on £250,000£12,500
10% deposit on £250,000£25,000
A larger deposit can change the mortgage
Increasing the deposit reduces the amount you need to borrow and can change the loan-to-value band available from lenders. But using every spare pound as deposit can leave too little cash for fees and moving costs.
Do not forget the completion-day cash
Your deposit is not the whole budget. Property tax, legal fees, surveys, lender charges and moving costs may all need to be paid from cash savings too.
Your whole move
Bring the numbers together.
Take what you’ve learned here back to MoveBudget and see what you’ll actually need in the bank.
Back to MoveBudget →