Mortgage expert issues warning to first-time buyers over 'disastrous' incentives

A mortgage expert has issued a warning to any first-time buyers who are hoping to get on the property ladder using an incentive. With house prices continuing to soar across the UK alongside rising interest rates, it is becoming even more difficult for people to afford to buy their first home.

Recently, Skipton Building Society launched an 100 percent mortgage, the first of its kind since before the 2008 financial crash, in a bid to help 'trapped' renters onto the property ladder with a no deposit and no guarantor scheme.

But a personal finance expert at NerdWallet has now warned first-time buyers to be 'cautious' and says it is imperative that people don’t get carried away with 'disastrous' schemes and incentives in the hopes of buying their first home.

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“Housing affordability is a big barrier to homeownership for many prospective buyers. Inflated house prices have hit home ownership for younger buyers especially hard over the last 20 years," Brean Horne says.

“Instead, there has been an increase in those renting homes and a rising number are continuing to live with their parents. Across England and Wales, the number of 25 to 29 year-olds living with their parents rose from 20.1 percent in 2011 to 26.7 percent in 2021.

"Similarly, the number of those aged 30 to 34 living with their parents was 11.6 percent compared to 8.6 percent a decade earlier."

The mortgage expert added: “The 100 percent mortgage product aimed at helping renters get onto the property ladder joins a handful of other providers in offering low-deposit mortgage products to help first-time buyers purchase their first home.

“But, while low-deposit mortgages reduce the challenge of