Rates are rising but first-time buyers do have options

This year has brought a lot of changes that are making it harder than ever for first-time buyers to get on the ladder.

The Help to Buy scheme, which helped over 375,000 households to buy, has now ended and there are no confirmed plans to replace it, leaving an affordability gap in its wake.

Added to the mix, the cost of borrowing is becoming more expensive. Rising interest rates are making mortgages more costly, with many fixed-rate deals as of June 2023 sitting above 6%. At the same time, mortgage lenders are pulling deals left, right and centre as they re-price, creating an unstable environment for prospective buyers.

Amidst all of this, how can the next generation of home buyers make homes happen? Here’s where Tembo comes in.

Buying a place of your own may feel impossible at the moment with so many doom-and-gloom headlines. The good news is, there are loads of budget-boosting schemes out there that you might not have heard of which can help you get on the property ladder, or even access lower mortgage rates.

This includes schemes which help boost the amount of mortgage you can borrow. For instance, Deposit Unlock allows you to buy a new build home from a participating developer with just a 5% deposit.

Those who are high earners, work in professional roles or are key workers like teachers, police and NHS staff, may be able to borrow 5.5 or even up to 6.5 times their income for a mortgage - much more than the typical 4 to 4.5 income multiple offered with traditional mortgages.

You can also add a family member to a mortgage application as a guarantor to increase the amount you can borrow through an Income Boost mortgage.

There are other family-supported guarantor mortgages available, such as a Deposit Boost which