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Help for homeowners

Journalist: Jake Carter, Mortgage Introducer

ended 18. August 2023

One in every two current homeowners with a mortgage had support in getting onto the property ladder, according to the latest research by The Mortgage Lender (TML).

More than one in 10, or 11%, said they had help from the Bank of Mum and Dad, 6% mentioned they used a Help to Buy individual savings account, and 5% revealed they used a lifetime individual savings account.

What more could lenders do to help support people onto the housing ladder?

What further government support would you like to see?

Is there anything customers can do themselves to help get onto the housing ladder?

9 responses from the Newspage community

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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
There are already a variety of options for assisting people onto the housing ladder. Controversially, I think that some borrowers need to also start taking some responsibility of their own finances rather than relying on others. When I review bank statements I see hundreds, sometimes thousands of pounds monthly, being spent on expensive cars, expensive holidays, gambling, buying lunches instead of packed lunches and takeaway drinks meals and more however they seem less willing to forego or compromise these on the basis that 'someone else will help' or it is their right. There are shared ownership and shared equity schemes as well as joint borrower sole proprietor and parental support mortgages etc however this should only be viewed as a 'step up' rather than a permanent solution to a problem. We do need a long term Housing Minister to seriously take the challenge on and provide a more stable environment.
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Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
One of the biggest supports used was the Help to Buy scheme, which helped many people buy a new home. Both that and the Help to Buy ISA are now closed, so it is mostly down to the Lifetime ISA and the bank of Mum and Dad to help secure that first rung on the property ladder.

Living at home to save a deposit and avoid the rental trap is one of the only viable options for those with home-ownership aspirations unless the bank of Mum and Dad is feeling particularly generous. For those without such options, given the rising rents, and costs of living skyrocketing beyond wage growth, the LISA alone is not enough incentive or support to make their dreams a reality. Many parents have their own financial and mortgage challenges

The government can certainly do more, the most obvious is to build more genuinely affordable houses only available to first-time buyers.
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Mike Staton
Director at Staton Mortgages
We have seen what outcomes come to fruition when the government gets involved, we need to send John McLane down to London with a sandwich board telling this completely incompetent Government to stay clear of the housing market. It's like watching a cartoon where the character is staring at a big red button that says "do not touch" but they are just too weak to resist it!
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Joe Stallard
Director and Advisor at House and Holiday Home Mortgages
I'd love to see the government get serious about housing. We need to be building more quality, affordable housing rather than just allowing developers to stockpile land and do nothing with it. This would need some big changes to the planning system, but the facts are that we need to build more.

All developments should have a proportion of properties only available for local and/or first-time buyers.

We also need to help encourage downsizing, perhaps through reduced stamp duty taxation for those doing so, to keep the housing market moving. The knock-on effects of this will have benefits all the way down the ladder to those looking for their first-homes.
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Graham Cox
Director at Bridging Hub
The whole premise that people need 'help' to get on the housing ladder is wrong in my opinion. It's a meek, unquestioning acceptance that house prices inexorably rise, that would-be homeowners have no choice, and that the only solution is to increase 'affordability' with government schemes and interventions, which only serve to exacerbate the very problem they purport to solve. Namely that house prices are too high.

To help people get onto the housing ladder, to make it truly affordable for the next generation, house prices need to be controlled. That means a huge ramp up of housing, particularly social housing developments. It means preventing foreign ownership, especially for properties that lie vacant. And it means including house prices in the 2 percent inflation target. That's the solution. Not cheaper monthly mortgage payments by extending and pretending to the grave.




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Scott Taylor-Barr
Principal Adviser at Barnsdale Financial Management
The key is trying to find ways to support first-time buyers and some move movers, but without that support then driving up house prices. There are a couple of options that already exist but are generally under utilised in the market - Shared Ownership and Section 106's. Shared ownership allows buyers to purchase part of their home with a mortgage, with no deposit in some cases, with controlled rent then payable on the remainder; some argue that "you don't own your home", but if you buy with a 95% mortgage do you really own your home then? Section 106 allows planners to restrict the ownership and resale of property, creating a more affordable secondary market. So for example in Cornwall, Devon and the Lake District it has been used to only allow the property to be owned by people who work locally. There is nothing to say it couldn't be used in a similar way elsewhere, to restrict sales to first-time buyers only for example.
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James Bull
Mortgage Broker at JB Mortgages
There is no doubt that saving for a deposit is one of the biggest challenges that need to be overcome before you can buy a house. Family helping in the form of gifted deposits is certainly a big help for some that are fortunate enough to receive this. The ISA scheme giving a bonus if used towards a house deposit is an excellent scheme for first-time buyers. But how about opening this scheme up to everybody, maybe homeowners are looking to move up the ladder that could also benefit from something like this.
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Rhys Schofield
Brand Director at Peak Mortgages and Protection
As ever it all comes down to education and shifting the narrative. Skipton for example made waves when they announced their 100% offering but one of the biggest winners from that was Santander for example who have allowed the use of a personal loan as a deposit for years now, in essence meaning that for many clients, getting on the ladder doesn't actually require a big savings pot or help from the bank of mum and dad. Yet despite all of that, no one has been talking about it.
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Clive Read
Owner at Goldmanread
Despite falling house prices, affordability concerns are restricting access to the housing market for many. Given the government's ongoing battle with inflation it's unlikely we are going to see them step in to prop up the Housing Market unless things become too unstable. The kind of action we'll see from the government will probably be of the same kind used already, in other words reminding lenders about the importance of competition, flexibility and forbearance when it comes to helping borrowers. Lenders can consider improving their affordability calculations, opening up interest only lending to a wider range of borrowers and increasing the Loan to Values, though these actions will no doubt be criticised as helping to stoke house price inflation. In order to help themselves customers need to have a lazer focus on the type and location of the property they wish to buy, ensure their credit rating is as high as possible and trying to scrape together the maximum deposit available.