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On your own

Boost your buying budget without a loved one’s help.

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Guarantor Mortgages

Boost your buying budget with the help of family or friends.

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Family Remortgage

Build a house deposit using a loved one’s existing property.

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Part Buy, Part Rent

Buy a share of a home and pay rent on the rest.

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The journey to your first home starts here

Tired of scrolling through Rightmove? We specialise in helping first time buyers get a mortgage faster and for less. Find out how much you could borrow by creating a Tembo plan and book an appointment with one of our award-winning brokers who can help you buy your home.

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Discover how much you can really borrow.

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Average £82,000 boost to affordability

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Voted the UK's Best Mortgage Broker

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Over 20,000 mortgage products

What is the best type of mortgage for first-time buyers?

The best type of mortgage for first time buyers depends on whether you can borrow what you need without any additional help. With house prices on the rise, many first time buyers find they can't afford to buy using a standard residential mortgage. At Tembo, we specialise in helping buyers discover how they could afford to get a place of their own through a range of budget boosting schemes.

Buying without family help

Not everyone can get family help to buy a home. But that doesn't mean homeownership is out of reach. Read about some of the specialist mortgages for first time buyers below. To see which you could be eligible for, create a free Tembo plan.

See what I'm eligible for

Standard Mortgage

Borrow up to 4-4.5 times your income with a standard repayment mortgage. You’ll put down a house deposit and borrow the remainder from your mortgage lender, then you’ll pay off the loan by making monthly repayments. 

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5.5x Income Mortgage

If you meet the qualifying criteria, you could borrow up to 5.5 times your income, significantly increasing your buying budget by 20%.

Professional Mortgages

If you work in a qualifying profession, you could borrow up to 5.5 times your salary, significantly increasing your total buying budget.

Dynamic Ownership

Buy a property with up to five others and track your individual contributions through a home agreement. Together, you can boost your buying budget and buy sooner.

Deposit Unlock

Purchase a new-build property from a participating home builder with just a 5% house deposit.

Armed Forces Help To Buy

If you are a serving military personnel, borrow up to 50% of your annual salary to boost your house buying budget with the Forces Help To Buy scheme.

Private Shared Ownership

If you're struggling to build a deposit or get a big enough mortgage to buy a home, purchase a share of a property through a private Shared Ownership scheme.

Government Shared Ownership

Buy a share of a home with the government’s Shared Ownership scheme and pay rent on the rest. Over time, staircase your way up to full ownership.

Buy with help from loved ones

If you do have family who want to help you buy, there are various ways they could do this. From guarantor mortgages to co-buying together, explore some of the buying schemes and family assisted mortgages for first time buyers below. To see which you could qualify for, create a free Tembo plan

Create my Tembo plan

Income Boost

Add some or all of your loved one's earnings to your mortgage application as a guarantor. With a larger combined income, you can boost your borrowing power while still being the sole owner.

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Deposit Boost

If you have a loved one whose a homeowner and wants to help you buy, they can use a Deposit Boost to unlock money from their property. The proceeds will be added to your house deposit, or can be used as your entire down payment.

Savings as Security

If you have a relative with cash savings who'd like to help, they can deposit them into a special account held by the lender as security for the mortgage. This means you won't have to put down any deposit, and your loved one will get their savings back after a set term, as long as you make your mortgage repayments.

Dynamic Income Boost

Add some or all of your loved one's earnings to your mortgage application as a co-owner. They'll contribute to the mortgage repayments, in return for a share of your home. With a bigger combined income, you can borrow more.

Deposit Loan

Your loved ones can contribute to your house deposit to bolster your down payment, in return for equity in your home. With a bigger deposit, you can get access to lower mortgage rates or even afford a bigger property.

Check out today's best mortgage rates

We've selected the best possible mortgage rates from our panel of over 100 lenders.

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Why choose Tembo?

Our team of mortgage brokers are first time home buyer specialists. So whether you're looking at Shared Ownership, a 95% mortgage or your dream home is just out of reach, we'll be able to advise on the best route forward.

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Access to lenders across the market

We'll analyse over 20,000 products from over 100 lenders to find the best mortgage & rate for you

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Your own dedicated advisor

We know continuity is important, so you'll have one broker by your side from hello to move in day.

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Option to Boost your mortgage

If you're struggling to save a deposit, your income is too low, our range of Boosts could help.

The application process

4 simple steps to getting the keys to your new home

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Make a Tembo plan

Check your eligibility for a range of buying schemes, and get a personalised recommendation with interest rates and repayments in under 10-minutes.

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Talk to an expert

Book a call with our experts to complete the qualification process, and we’ll cover off any questions you might have about any of the budget boosting schemes we advise on.

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Find a property

Once you’ve found a property, your dedicated advisor will undertake full affordability checks to prepare the mortgage application. Then we’ll submit it on your behalf!

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Make home happen

During conveyancing, we’ll liaise with the seller and your solicitors to ensure a smooth purchase. We’ll also provide a free protection review for your insurance needs.

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