Affordability & Deposit Alternatives

If you have been paying rent on time every month, you may already be proving you can afford a mortgage. Skipton Building Society's Track Record Mortgage is the standout product here, and it remains the only widely available 100% mortgage in the UK that does not require a guarantor.

The idea is simple: if you can show 12 months of unbroken rental payments, Skipton will lend you up to 100% of a property's value (capped at £600,000) with no deposit required. Your maximum monthly mortgage payment is based on your average rent over the past six months. In some cases, Skipton will now allow mortgage payments up to 120% of your recent rent, which broadens eligibility compared to when the product first launched.

• 12 months of consecutive rent payments within the last 18 months, with no missed payments
• 12 months of household bill payments on time
• A clean credit history (no missed payments on any debts in the past six months)
• To have not owned a property in the UK in the last three years
• To be aged 21 or over

If you can scrape together a 5% deposit, your options open up significantly. The government's Mortgage Guarantee Scheme supports lenders offering 95% loan to value mortgages on properties up to £600,000, and the number of participating lenders has grown steadily.

Rates are higher than for buyers with larger deposits. In early 2026, expect two year fixed rates around 5.1% to 5.4% at 95% LTV, compared to 3.5% to 4.0% at 60% LTV. But for many first time buyers, the ability to buy now and start building equity is worth the premium.

If your family is in a position to help, there are several ways they can support your purchase without necessarily writing a large cheque. The table below compares the main options at a glance.

The Lifetime ISA remains one of the best deposit building tools for first time buyers. You can save up to £4,000 per year, and the government adds a 25% bonus of up to £1,000 annually. The account must be open for at least 12 months before you can use the funds to buy, and the property must cost £450,000 or less.

You need to be aged 18 to 39 to open one. Contributions can continue until age 50.

Buy a share (25% to 75%) of a home and pay rent on the rest. You only need a mortgage and deposit on the share you buy, making the upfront costs significantly lower. Income caps apply: £80,000 per household outside London, or £90,000 in London. You can 'staircase' (buy more shares) over time.

New build homes sold at a minimum 30% discount to local first time buyers and key workers. The discount is locked to the property permanently, meaning future buyers also benefit. Eligibility varies by local authority, and properties must meet local price caps.

Military personnel can borrow up to 50% of their annual salary (capped at £25,000) as an interest free loan, repayable over 10 years. This can be used as a deposit or towards other purchase costs.

Some employers offer deposit loan schemes, shared equity arrangements, salary sacrifice options for deposits, relocation packages, or key worker housing. If you work in the public sector, education, or health, it is especially worth asking your HR department what is available.

• London: Homes for Londoners, including shared ownership and discount market sale homes
• Scotland: LIFT (Low cost Initiative for First Time buyers), offering shared equity through the Scottish Government
• Wales: Help to Buy Wales shared equity scheme for new build properties
• Northern Ireland: Co Ownership Housing, a long running shared ownership scheme
• English regions: Many councils run local deposit loan schemes, intermediate rent programmes, or discount purchase initiatives. Check your local authority's website or ask a local mortgage broker.

Buying your first (or next) home in your 50s, 60s or 70s is more common than most people realise, and the mortgage market has quietly grown around it. Lenders very rarely refuse purely because of age. What they price is the mortgage term, the income you can evidence for the whole of that term, and the exit at the end.

• Maximum age at end of term. Most high street lenders will run a term to age 70 or 75. Later-life specialists (e.g. Family Building Society, Vernon, Suffolk, Marsden, LiveMore) will go to 80, 85 or, on retirement interest-only, have no upper age limit. The younger you finish, the shorter the term, the higher the monthly payment.
• Evidenced income for the whole term. Salary counts up to your planned retirement date. After that, lenders will typically take the new State Pension (£12,547.60 per year for 2026/27) at face value, defined benefit (final salary) pensions at face value, and defined contribution pots at a notional drawdown of around 3% to 4% per year. Rental income, annuity income and continuing self-employment can all count if properly documented.
• The exit. On a repayment mortgage the exit is you owning the home. On interest-only or RIO, the lender wants to see how the loan gets repaid at the end, whether that is downsizing, sale of another asset, or on death.