Help to Buy mortgage brokers in London
8 independent, FCA-authorised advisers covering London and the wider Greater London area who handle Help to Buy mortgage cases. Contact them directly — we never sell your details.
Home Mortgage Brokers
London
KDW Financial Planning
St Albans
London Mutual Credit Union
London
Mortgage Chain London
London
Mortgage Lolly - SW London
Croydon
Olympia Finance Ltd.
Slough
Richmond Financial Solutions | Mortgage Advisor in London
St Albans
Steve Davies Independent Mortgage Services Ltd
London
Help to Buy mortgages in London: what to know
The Help to Buy equity loan scheme closed to new applications in England in 2023, but a large number of households in London still hold one and need advice on remortgaging, staircasing or repaying it. Shared ownership and the mortgage guarantee scheme continue to serve a similar purpose for buyers with smaller deposits. Advice here is mostly about managing an existing equity loan rather than obtaining a new one.
- Help to Buy equity loans were interest-free for the first five years. After that, interest begins and rises annually, which catches out households who have not planned for it.
- You repay a percentage of the property's value, not the original cash amount, so a rise in value increases what you owe.
- Not every lender offers remortgage products that sit alongside a Help to Buy equity loan, which narrows your options at the point you most want to switch.
- Repaying the loan requires a RICS valuation, and there is a fee, so plan the timing rather than being forced into it.
What matters locally in London
The capital is really dozens of separate markets. Zone 1 and the prime central boroughs are dominated by flats and cash-heavy buyers; the inner ring — Hackney, Peckham, Walthamstow, Brixton — mixes Victorian terraces with converted flats and heavy first-time-buyer demand; the outer boroughs from Croydon and Bromley to Barnet and Bexley are where family houses and school catchments drive moves. Ex-local-authority flats are everywhere and are perfectly mortgageable, but a minority of lenders restrict them by block height, balcony access or the percentage of privately owned flats in the block. New-build towers along the river and in regeneration zones bring their own issues: service charges that affect affordability, and cladding and building-safety documentation that a lender will want to see before offering.
- Leasehold flats. Lease length, ground rent structure, service charges and building-safety paperwork can all restrict lender choice, and a short lease is a mortgage problem long before it becomes a legal one.
- Shared ownership and other part-buy routes. London has more shared-ownership stock than anywhere else in the UK, and only a subset of lenders offer mortgages on it, with their own rules on maximum share and rent-plus-mortgage affordability.
England
Buying here follows the England and Wales process: you pay Stamp Duty Land Tax on the purchase, with a surcharge on second homes and buy-to-let, and neither side is committed until contracts are exchanged. Most flats are leasehold, so the length of the lease, the ground rent and service charge, and any outstanding cladding or fire-safety paperwork all affect which lenders will accept the property as security. A broker will usually ask about the tenure before anything else when you are buying a flat.
Does my bonus or commission count towards how much I can borrow in London?
Usually yes, but partially. Lenders commonly use 50% of a regular bonus, some use 100% where there is a consistent two-year history, and a few will not count it at all. The same applies to commission, overtime and shift allowances. Because London incomes lean heavily on variable pay, the choice of lender can change your maximum borrowing significantly for the same salary.
Questions worth asking a help to buy broker
- Can I still apply for Help to Buy in London?
- The Help to Buy equity loan scheme closed to new applications in England in 2023. Shared ownership and lender products aimed at 5% deposits are the closest equivalents now available.
- How do I remortgage with a Help to Buy equity loan in place?
- You can remortgage while keeping the equity loan, but the pool of lenders is smaller than for a standard remortgage. You will need consent from the equity loan administrator, which takes time and should be started early.
- When do I start paying interest on the equity loan?
- Interest starts in year six at 1.75% of the outstanding loan, rising each year thereafter. It is charged on the loan, and paying it does not reduce the amount you owe.
- Can I repay part of the equity loan?
- Yes — this is called staircasing, and you can usually repay in tranches of 10% or more. You will need a RICS valuation, because you repay a share of the current value rather than the original sum.