For everything you need to know about buying a home, follow our step-by-step guide and you’ll be a pro in no time.
Saving for a deposit
You’ll need a cash deposit to cover between 5% and 20% of the purchase price for your new home. So how do you start saving?
Before you take up a second job, flog all your worldly possessions on eBay and swear off takeaway lattes forever, here's how to get started.
Saving up to buy a new home? An ISA could be just the ticket. Here’s how you could use one to get onto the housing ladder - or move up it.
A Lifetime ISA is an ISA with benefits. You can save up to £4,000 a year with one and the government will chip in an extra 25%. That’s up to £1,000, for free.
Ready to step onto the property ladder? Saving for a deposit can feel like a huge task, but a bigger deposit can save you money in the long run. Here's what help you can get and how much you need for a house deposit in 2025.
Buying your first home is very exciting and a little bit scary. We're here to help you every step of the way.
You’ve met ‘the one’, or you may be best pals, and you’re buying a place together. What could possibly go wrong?
Calculating costs
From mortgage and solicitor fees to surveys and stamp duty, the fees involved in buying a home quickly add up. We’ll take you through what to expect along the way.
From choosing less fashionable styles, to taking advantage of government schemes, here's how you can find the right home at the right price.
Legal fees, mortgage fees, stamp duty and other costs can add up when buying a home. We take a look at all the fees involved in a house or flat purchase.
Ready to take the leap and buy a £1m property? Before you do, here's what it's likely to cost you in stamp duty, fees and running costs.
Working out stamp duty
Stamp duty is a tax you pay when buying a property in England or Northern Ireland and it changes depending on the property price. Here’s how it’s calculated.
If you're buying another home which you won't be living in, you may well be liable to pay the 5% stamp duty on second homes. We break down the complex rules in our dedicated Q&A.
First-time buyers can claim a stamp duty discount when buying a home. But the threshold at which you start paying is set to change from £425,000 to £300,000 on April 1.
What is stamp duty, how much is it, and how will it change in 2025? Get the lowdown and use our stamp duty calculator to work out how much you'll pay.
Buying schemes
There are several government schemes out there to help you step onto the property ladder. From Help to Buy Equity Loans to Shared Ownership, we’ve got the lowdown.
From how to buy a Shared Ownership property to increasing your share and then selling it, everything you need to know about Shared Ownership.
Keen to buy a new build home but struggling to get a deposit together? Deposit Unlock could be the scheme for you. Here’s everything you need to know.
Not all Grand Designs have to blow an average homebuyer's budget. The Help to Build scheme aims to make it more affordable and easier to get a mortgage if you’re building a home yourself.
A Lifetime ISA is an ISA with benefits. You can save up to £4,000 a year with one and the government will chip in an extra 25%. That’s up to £1,000, for free.
Affordable housing offers a subsidised route to home ownership through government schemes, or subsidised rents for people on low incomes.
There are lots of schemes available to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder. Let's take a look at what's available.
Ready for a brand new home? Alongside developer incentives, there are buying schemes available to help you along the way. Let's take a look.
If you're a local key worker who's struggling to step onto the property ladder, the government's First Homes scheme might just be the helping hand you've been waiting for.
Right to Buy is a government scheme that offers council and housing association tenants help to buy the home they are renting.
Not sure when you have to start repaying your Help to Buy loan? Here’s what you have to pay after five years, 25 years or when you sell up.
Help to Save is a government-backed savings account with benefits: you can earn a bonus of 50p for every £1 you save over four years.
95% mortgages are now widely available from major banks and building societies, meaning you don’t have to save up such a big deposit to buy your own home.
Understanding mortgages
Fixed rate or flexible? There’s a lot of jargon out there around mortgages. We’ll take you through what it all means so you can choose the best type of deal for you.
A good rule of thumb is that you can borrow between 4 and 4.5 times your total household income. Let's work out how much you can borrow for a mortgage.
From sorting an agreement in principle to arranging the mortgage offer, how do you apply for a mortgage when you're a first-time buyer? Let's take a look.
Want to give buy-to-let a go? Here’s our complete guide to becoming a landlord, from getting a mortgage and choosing a property to finding the right tenant.
Buying a home to rent out? Here's our easy-to-understand guide to rental mortgages and where to find the best buy-to-let mortgage rates.
Despite speculation, the government did not confirm a new 99% LTV mortgage scheme in the Spring Budget. But there are still mortgages available for buyers with small deposits. Here’s what you need to know.
If you're thinking of buying a house and applying for a mortgage, you'll need to know all about loan-to-value. Here's our guide with the lowdown.
How do you decide which type of mortgage to go for and where can you find the best deals? Let's talk about loans.
Paying off your mortgage sooner could save you literally tens of thousands of pounds. Senior mortgage advisor for Natwest, Michael Gyapong, reveals the top five ways to do it.
Thinking of buying a new home? We've got the answers to the questions everyone asks about mortgages.
Need to work out your mortgage repayments? You can use our mortgage calculator - or challenge yourself to some mental maths with our mortgage calculation formulas.
Environmentally friendly mortgages: from how much they cost to who qualifies for one, here’s everything you need to know about green mortgages.
Making mortgage overpayments reduces the amount you owe on your mortgage, helping to offset some of the impact of higher borrowing costs.
Zoopla has joined forces with online brokers Mojo Mortgages to help you find a great remortgage deal for your home. We speak to Mojo's Co-founder and CEO Rich Hayes to find out more.
