I'm in the Military
Serving your country? There's help for you too.
Forces Help to Buy lets eligible regular service personnel borrow up to 50% of salary (capped at £25,000) interest-free towards a deposit. Specialist key worker mortgages and shared ownership priority can stack on top.
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Recommended Guides
Key Worker Mortgages
Specialist mortgages for NHS, teachers, police, armed forces and other essential workers, often with higher income multiples and lower deposits.
Government Schemes
Overview of all government-backed routes to homeownership and how to decide which is right for you.
Affording Your Home
Budgeting strategies and financial planning for sustainable homeownership and long-term success.
Affordability & Deposit Alternatives
Family gifts, equity loans, low deposit mortgages, guarantor options, and regional schemes to help you buy.
Shared Ownership
Buy a share (10–75%), rent the rest, and staircase to full ownership over time.
Finding Your Home
Budgeting strategies, search tips, area research, and making competitive offers in today's market.
What usually gets in the way
The obstacles that come up most often for this group, and what actually moves each one.
Postings make the choice of location harder than the finance
You may buy somewhere you will not live in continuously. That changes what matters: rental demand, resale liquidity and travel time to likely future bases carry more weight than they would for a civilian buyer. Deciding whether this is a long term home or an asset you may let out shapes every other decision.
The advance is a loan, and repayment starts quickly
Forces Help to Buy is interest free, but it is repaid from your salary over a set period, and the outstanding balance is treated as a commitment. Factor the repayment into your monthly budget from the start rather than treating the advance as free money.
Lenders count the advance as a commitment, not as income
It helps with the deposit and it reduces the surplus income a lender sees. Some lenders handle this comfortably, others less so. This is a specific point to raise with a broker early, because it can change which lenders are worth approaching.
Letting your home out needs the lender to agree
If a posting means you cannot live in the property, you will usually need consent to let from your lender. Ask about that policy before you choose the mortgage, not after the posting order arrives.
Service accommodation makes your address history look unusual
Frequent moves, overseas postings and a BFPO address can produce a thin or fragmented credit file. Making sure you appear on the electoral roll where possible and keeping your address history accurate with the credit reference agencies both help.
Allowances are treated inconsistently between lenders
X Factor payments, flying pay, submarine pay and other allowances may be counted in full, in part or not at all. Bring twelve months of pay statements so a broker can present the full picture.
Routes worth checking
Eligibility rules differ by nation and sometimes by local authority. Always check the current rules for where you plan to buy.
Forces Help to Buy
An interest free advance of up to 50 percent of salary, capped at £25,000, towards a deposit and purchase costs for eligible regular service personnel. Eligibility, the application route and the repayment period are set by the MOD, so confirm the current terms through official channels.
Armed forces friendly and professional mortgage criteria
Several lenders have specific policies for service personnel, covering allowances, BFPO addresses and consent to let. A whole of market broker who handles forces cases will know which ones.
Shared ownership
Some providers give armed forces personnel priority for shared ownership homes. Buying a share lowers the deposit and mortgage needed. Check the rent, service charge, resale rules and staircasing costs.
First Homes
A discount on eligible new build homes for local first time buyers. Local connection rules can be applied flexibly for service personnel in some areas, so it is worth asking the local authority.
Deposit savings alongside the advance
A Lifetime ISA (e.g. a LISA) adds a government bonus on eligible contributions towards a first home, with a withdrawal penalty if used for anything else. Combining savings with the advance reduces the loan and the rate tier.
How the advance and its repayment work together
An illustration using made up figures to show the mechanism. Not a quotation, a prediction or advice.
- Salary
- £34,000
- Advance available at 50 percent, capped at £25,000
- £17,000
- Purchase price
- £190,000
- Loan needed using the advance as deposit
- £173,000
- Loan to value
- Around 91%
- Monthly salary deduction to repay the advance
- Counted as a commitment by lenders
The advance improves the loan to value and reduces the surplus income a lender sees, which is why the two effects have to be looked at together. Confirm current MOD terms and caps through official channels. Illustration only, not financial or mortgage advice.
Your next steps
- See what lenders count as affordable
- Read the deposit alternatives guide in full
- Read the overview of every government scheme first
- Read the full step-by-step guide to buying a house in the UK
- Score how mortgage ready you are with the free Readiness Check
- Test a monthly payment that still works with the advance repayment in the Monthly Budget Builder
- Plan your deposit timeline in the Deposit Builder
- Add up legal fees, survey and stamp duty with the Total Cost to Complete calculator
- Compare service accommodation or renting against buying with the Rent vs Buy calculator
Ready to Dive In?
Read the whole buying process end to end, or browse every guide in one place.