First-Time Buyer Mortgages: Where Do I Even Start?

Okay, be honest.
You want to buy your first home. And you’re already lost.
How much can you borrow? What’s a deposit actually for? What’s this “Mortgage in
Principle” thing everyone keeps mentioning?
Breathe.
You don’t need to become a mortgage expert. You just need to do things in the right order.
Let’s go.

Step 1: Look at your money. All of it.

Before you touch a single property listing, get honest with yourself.
Write down:
Your income
Your partner’s income, if you’re buying together
Your savings
Any loans or credit cards
Car finance
Student loans
Your normal monthly spending

Here’s the thing lenders don’t tell you upfront: they don’t just look at your salary and do simple maths. They look at whether the mortgage actually fits your life. So two people on the exact same salary? They could get offered completely different amounts. It all depends on the full picture.

Step 2: Understand your deposit

Your deposit is your slice of the pie. The bit you’re putting in yourself. Say the house is £200,000. You put down £20,000. The bank lends you the rest — £180,000. That £20,000 is 10% of the price. That’s called your Loan-to-Value, or LTV. Bigger deposit, lower LTV. Lower LTV usually means better mortgage deals. But — and this matters — your deposit isn’t the only cash you’ll need.

There’s also:
Solicitor fees
Surveys
Mortgage fees
Moving costs
Property tax, where it applies
Furniture and setup costs
So don’t dump every penny of your savings into the deposit. You’ll need a cushion.

Step 3: Check your credit report

Do this before you apply. Not during. Before. Your credit report shows your credit cards, loans, overdrafts, phone contracts — all of it. Go check it’s accurate. See something weird or wrong? Sort it now. Don’t discover it halfway through a mortgage application. That’s a nightmare you can avoid. And here’s a myth to drop: you don’t need perfect credit to get a mortgage. Different lenders, different rules. Nobody’s checking you the same way.

Step 4: Work out roughly what you could borrow

You’ve heard this one: “You can borrow four-and-a-half times your salary.” Sure. As a rough guide. But real affordability is way messier than that. Lenders actually look at:

Your basic salary
Overtime
Bonuses
Commission
Self-employed income
Existing loans
Credit card balances
Car finance
Kids and childcare costs
The mortgage term
Interest rate assumptions

Every lender does this differently. So those online calculators? Treat them as a rough guess, not a promise.

Step 5: Set your real property budget

Simple maths first:
Mortgage + deposit = your budget.
£180,000 mortgage + £20,000 deposit = £200,000 to spend.
But just because you can borrow that much doesn’t mean you should.
Ask yourself: what does that monthly payment actually do to your life?
Because on top of it, you’ve now got council tax, energy bills, insurance, repairs,
maintenance. All of it, yours now.
Being approved for an amount and being comfortable with that amount — two very different
things.

Step 6: What is a “Mortgage in Principle”?

You’ll hear a few names for this:
Mortgage in Principle (MIP)
Agreement in Principle (AIP)
Decision in Principle (DIP)
Same idea. It’s a lender saying “roughly, based on what you’ve told us, we might lend you
this much.”
Key word: might.
It’s not a real offer. It’s a starting point. The lender still needs to check everything properly
— including the actual property you want to buy

Step 7: Meet the team

Buying a home means suddenly dealing with a bunch of new people. Here’s who’s who:
Mortgage adviser — helps you find and arrange the right mortgage.
Estate agent — works for the seller, not you.
Solicitor or conveyancer — handles all the legal stuff.
Surveyor — checks the property isn’t hiding problems.
Mortgage lender — the one actually giving you the money, and checking you and the
property are both good bets.
Know who does what, and the whole process gets way less confusing.

Step 8: Now go look at houses

Once you know your budget, your deposit, and roughly what you can borrow — now you’re
ready.
The journey from here usually looks like:
Offer → Offer accepted → Mortgage application → Valuation → Legal work → Mortgage offer
→ Exchange → Completion
Where you’re buying in the UK changes some of the details. So double-check the process
for your situation.

Don’t try to learn it all at once

Seriously. Stop trying to become an expert overnight. Just answer four questions: 1. How much have I actually saved? 2. Roughly how much could I borrow? 3. What monthly payment would I genuinely be comfortable with? 4. Is there anything in my finances or credit history worth checking before I apply? Nail those four, and you’re already ahead of most first-time buyers.

Quick-fire FAQs

Do I need a mortgage before I start viewing houses? No. But knowing your rough budget
stops you falling in love with places you can’t afford.
Should I talk to a mortgage adviser before house hunting? Yes, especially if your
finances aren’t totally straightforward.
How long does this whole thing take? No fixed answer. The mortgage bit is just one piece
— surveys, legal work, chains, all of it adds time.
What’s the very first thing I should do? Look at your income, your deposit, your spending,
and your credit report. That’s your starting point.

This is general info, not personal financial advice. Lending criteria vary by lender and by person. Your home may be repossessed if you don’t keep up mortgage repayments.