Which lenders have the best mortgage schemes to help first-time buyers get on to the property ladder?

by Aaron Strutt

May 18 2025

Banks and building societies are constantly launching new schemes to help more first-time buyers get on the property ladder. 

First-time buyer schemes are widely available across large and small mortgage lenders. Some are good for borrowers with a bigger deposit or those with access to the bank of mum and dad, while there are  low deposit options for borrowers needing an income stretch. There are even low-deposit mortgages for those with credit blips. 

There are almost too many first-time buyer schemes to list, but here is our pick of the latest leading top eight:

1) Nationwide's Helping Hand income stretch mortgage

The most popular first-time buyer scheme is arguably Nationwide's Helping Hand income stretch mortgage, which helps borrowers access up to six times their salary to secure a mortgage.

Applicants will need to take a five—or ten-year fix, but the Helping Hand scheme has helped thousands of first-time buyers secure sufficiently large mortgages to get on the property ladder. 

• All applicants must be first-time buyers.
• 5 and 10-year fixed rates are available for borrowers, provided they have a 5% deposit.
• Minimum qualifying income of £35,000 for sole applicants or £55,000 for joint applicants. You can include all income sources (except self-employed income).
• Up to six times your salary mortgage, which is more generous than most other lenders.

2) Accord Mortgages £5k deposit

The Accord Mortgage £5k deposit scheme is a 1% deposit mortgage available to first-time buyers who provide a £5,000 deposit. The minimum loan size is £95,001, and the maximum is £495,000.

• At least one applicant must be a first-time buyer (defined as never having owned a property in the past) and have no background properties on the application.
• The maximum age allowable at the end of the term is 70.
• Both applicants must have an indefinite right to reside in the UK.

3) Skipton's 100% Track Record Mortgage

Skipton for Intermediaries is offering a 100% Track Record Mortgage, providing a no-deposit mortgage for current renters who haven't owned a property in the last 3 years and can demonstrate a track record of affordability of all monthly rent for a minimum of 12 months in the last 18-month period.

• After one year of helping renters into their homes, Skipton has made various improvements to the way we calculate affordability, which should help more customers step up on the property ladder. This means that in some circumstances, we will lend loans with monthly payments up to 120% of the rent the customer is currently paying.
• The maximum term is 40 years. 
• Each client must not have owned a property in the UK in the last the years.
• The maximum loan-to-income is 4.49 times salary or 4.75 times salary if the income is over £50,000.

4) NatWest's Family-Backed Mortgage

NatWest's new Family-Backed mortgage, sometimes known as a ‘joint borrower sole proprietor’ (JBSP) mortgage, can help buyers get onto the property ladder sooner or borrow more money. It lets borrowers add a second person to the mortgage, but without them owning the property.

Adding a second person to the mortgage as a 'non-owner', can help borrowers access larger mortgages than they would otherwise have been able to borrow, which means they could buy their own home sooner than they thought. And, the non-owner could be a family member or friend. 

• The non-owning borrower must seek independent legal advice before completion. An Independent Legal Advice Certificate will be sent to the non-owning borrower with the mortgage offer, seeking confirmation legal advice has been obtained.
• Their future borrowing limits will be affected because the mortgage will show on their credit report and will be used in future affordability calculations.
• Standard residential mortgage policy rules will apply to all applicants, including NatWest's eligibility criteria of a minimum age of 18 and a maximum age of 75.

5) Barclays Family Springboard Mortgage

This scheme has been available for years and, surprisingly, is not used as much as it should be.

Applicants can use a family or friend’s savings to buy a house with their own mortgage, and the person lending the money should* get their money back, with interest. 

You can borrow the full purchase price of your home because your helper provides 10% as security for five years. The Barclays Family Springboard can provide a 100% loan-to-value mortgage.

• The family member or friend can earn an "attractive" rate of interest on their savings for the agreed term.
• The saver's money will only be returned provided the mortgage account is not in arrears.* The saver's money can also help more than one family member or friend get their own place at the same time.

    

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a first-time buyer mortgage, book a consultation, or complete our mortgage questionnaire. 

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage