First-time buyer guide: how to buy your first home in 2026

What does this first-time buyer guide cover?

This first-time buyer guide takes you through the nine steps of buying a house for the first time in England in 2026, from saving the deposit to collecting the keys, and links to the detailed page for each one. The legal part, from an accepted offer to moving in, takes about 12 weeks according to the government’s own guide (GOV.UK). Saving the deposit takes most people far longer.

The steps, in order: deposit, mortgage agreement in principle, schemes, finding a home, offer, conveyancing, survey, exchange of contracts, completion.

Step 1: How much deposit do you need?

Most first-time buyers need a deposit of at least 5% of the price, and MoneyHelper puts the usual range at 5% to 20% (MoneyHelper). On a £230,000 home (Rightmove’s average starter home price, the example used in reports of the Your First Home announcement), 5% is £11,500 and 10% is £23,000.

Two things can shrink that. The Lifetime ISA adds a 25% government bonus to up to £4,000 of savings a year, as long as you make your first payment before you are 40 (GOV.UK). And the Your First Home scheme, announced on 26 September 2026, is expected to let first-time buyers buy a new build with a 2.5% deposit, which is £5,750 on the same home (GOV.UK). The full rules come at the Budget on 28 October 2026. Set your own target on the deposit calculator and read how much deposit you need.

Step 2: What is a mortgage agreement in principle?

A mortgage agreement in principle is “a written statement from a lender giving an estimate of what you can borrow” (GOV.UK). It is not a mortgage offer. The lender runs a light check on your credit file and income and says roughly what it would lend. Estate agents and developers usually want to see one before they take your offer seriously.

Lenders usually cap borrowing at about four and a half times your annual income, though it is never guaranteed (MoneyHelper). Two incomes are added together, which is why buying with a partner or friend changes the sums so much. The mortgage required calculator shows the income you would need for a given price.

Step 3: Which first-time buyer schemes could help?

Five kinds of first-time buyer help are open or announced in England in 2026, and they suit different people.

• Your First Home: a 20% government equity loan on a new build with a 2.5% deposit, for first-time buyers only, with an income cap and local price caps still to be set (GOV.UK). Start with the scheme explained.
• Shared Ownership: buy a share of a home and pay rent on the rest, if your household income is £80,000 or less, or £90,000 in London (GOV.UK). Start with what Shared Ownership is.
• First Homes: new homes sold at 30% to 50% below market value to first-time buyers earning no more than £80,000, or £90,000 in London (GOV.UK). See First Homes vs Your First Home.
• The mortgage guarantee scheme: a permanent government guarantee behind 91% to 95% mortgages, so that a 5% deposit keeps working for first-time buyers and movers (GOV.UK). See a 5% deposit mortgage vs Your First Home.
• Lifetime ISA: the 25% savings bonus in step 1, usable on a first home costing £450,000 or less (GOV.UK). See Lifetime ISA and Your First Home.

The comparison page puts them side by side, with Deposit Unlock and the Own New Rate Reducer, and the first-time buyer benefits guide shows what each is worth in pounds.

Step 4: How do you find the right home?

Decide early between a new build and an older home, because the choice changes your mortgage, your costs and your timeline. A new build comes with a 10-year warranty and no chain, but lenders lend less on new-build flats and a mortgage offer can run out before the home is finished. Read buying a new build and new build mortgages before you visit a show home. Your First Home and First Homes are new build only.

Check whether a home is freehold or leasehold. Leasehold means you own the home for a fixed number of years under a lease and pay a service charge to whoever owns the building. Flats are almost always leasehold; houses are usually freehold. Ask about estate charges on any new development too.

Step 5: How do you make an offer?

On an existing home you make the offer through the estate agent, and it stays “subject to contract”, which means either side can walk away until contracts are exchanged. On a new build you pay a reservation fee instead, usually £500 to £2,000, which takes the home off the market and is normally deducted from the price. You then have about 28 days to exchange contracts (HomeOwners Alliance). If the developer is signed up to the New Homes Quality Code you get a 14-day cooling-off period after you reserve (New Homes Quality Board).

Step 6: What does conveyancing involve?

Conveyancing is the legal work of transferring a home into your name, done by a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer. They explain the process, check the contract and the title, raise enquiries with the seller’s side and the council, exchange contracts, move the money on completion, arrange your stamp duty payment to HMRC and register you as the owner at HM Land Registry (The Law Society). Budget about £2,000 including VAT, with local searches at £250 to £300 on top (MoneyHelper). The costs guide breaks down every fee and lists the questions to ask before you instruct anyone.

Step 7: Do you need a survey?

Yes, and the lender’s valuation does not count. The government’s guide is blunt: “a mortgage valuation is not the same thing as a home survey. A valuation does not protect you in the event that something goes wrong with the property” (GOV.UK).

RICS Home Surveys come in three levels. Level 1 suits conventional, newer homes; Level 2 suits conventional homes in reasonable condition; Level 3 is for large, older, unusual or altered buildings (RICS). MoneyHelper puts Level 1 at around £380, Level 2 at around £400 and Level 3 at £600 or more (MoneyHelper). On a new build the equivalent is a snagging inspection, from about £320 (HomeOwners Alliance).

Step 8: What happens at exchange of contracts?

Exchange is the moment “the buyer and seller exchange their signed agreements which legally bind them” (GOV.UK). After that you cannot pull out without losing your deposit, so you exchange only once your mortgage offer is in writing and your solicitor is satisfied with the searches and enquiries.

At exchange you pay the exchange deposit (the contract sets the figure; ask your solicitor what the developer will accept if you have less than 10%), and you arrange buildings insurance: MoneyHelper says to buy it once you have exchanged and to start the cover from completion day, unless your solicitor says the contract makes the home your risk from exchange (MoneyHelper). On a leasehold flat the freeholder usually insures the building through the service charge. On a new build bought off-plan, exchange can happen months before the home is finished, which is why your solicitor should insist on a long-stop completion date, a deadline after which you can walk away with your money back (HomeOwners Alliance).

Step 9: What happens on completion day?

Completion is when “your legal representative transfers the remaining funds to the seller’s legal representative and you take ownership of the property” (GOV.UK). Your solicitor sends the mortgage money and the rest of your deposit, the seller’s solicitor confirms it has arrived, and you collect the keys.

Within 14 days of completion your solicitor files your stamp duty return and pays any tax due. First-time buyers pay nothing on the first £300,000 and 5% on the part between £300,001 and £500,000, as long as the home costs no more than £500,000 (GOV.UK). On a £230,000 home that is £0. Your solicitor then registers you at HM Land Registry, and the home is yours.

How long does it all take?

What does it cost beyond the deposit?

In our worked example, a first-time buyer of a £230,000 new build pays about £4,550 in legal fees, mortgage fees, a snagging inspection, removals and a year of buildings insurance on top of the deposit, and no stamp duty. The full costs breakdown shows each item with its source and when you pay it.

What to do next

• Put your target price into the Your First Home scheme calculator to see the deposit, the equity loan and the monthly payment next to a normal 95% mortgage.
• Read first-time buyer costs and save for the fees as well as the deposit.
• If you are under 40 and at least a year from buying, look at the Lifetime ISA first.
• Compare the schemes on the comparison page, then check Your First Home eligibility once the Budget on 28 October 2026 sets the rules.