CURRENT POSITION
Building momentum
You're over a quarter of the way there — the foundation is real, the pace just needs to hold.
Loading…
Loading…
We use essential cookies to run HomeReady. With your permission, we also use advertising cookies. Anonymous usage statistics help us improve our tools. You can manage these separately in Cookie preferences. More detail.
Deposit progress
25.0%
of £20,000 target — £15,000 to go
Time to target 6 yrs 3 mo at £200/month
DEPOSIT PROGRESS
of £20,000 target — £15,000 to go
Time to target
6 yrs 3 mo
at £200/month
YOUR PLAN
Saved so far
£5,000
Still to save
£15,000
Time to target
6 yrs 3 mo
Monthly pace
£200
HOW YOUR TIMELINE CHANGES
Monthly £200 · Months saved —
Monthly £300 · Months saved −25
Monthly £400 · Months saved −37
Monthly £700 · Months saved −53
| Scenario | Monthly | Time to target | Months saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current pace | £200 | 6 yrs 3 mo | — |
| +£100/mo | £300 | 4 yrs 2 mo | −25 |
| +£200/mo | £400 | 3 yrs 2 mo | −37 |
| +£500/mo | £700 | 1 yr 10 mo | −53 |
CURRENT POSITION
You're over a quarter of the way there — the foundation is real, the pace just needs to hold.
NEXT BEST MOVE
Try a lower property price or higher monthly contribution to bring the timeline closer.
Where to go next
You've covered the savings snapshot. The Buyer Planner turns it into a tracked plan you can return to.
Open Buyer PlannerModelling a longer projection? Open the compound interest calculator →
Tie this hub to your full plan
The Buyer Planner connects Deposit Strategy, Buying Timeline, and LISA Planner into one tracked plan — with affordability stress-testing and document readiness on top.
Most UK first-time buyers aim for 5-20% of the property price. The right percentage depends on what you’re trying to optimise:
See the deposit basics guide for the deeper version, including how deposit interacts with stamp duty, the LISA cap, and the buying costs that come on top.
The single most powerful deposit-saving tool available to UK first-time buyers under 40. Contribute up to £4,000 per tax year and the government adds a 25% bonus on top — up to £1,000 per tax year, paid into the account monthly.
The catch: money is locked in for a first home (up to £450,000) or withdrawal after age 60. Use it for anything else and you lose 25% of the withdrawal — which is actually worse than it sounds, because the penalty applies to the larger total (your contribution PLUS the bonus you received). £4,000 contributed becomes £5,000 with bonus; withdraw early and you get back £3,750 — net £250 worse than if you’d stuck with a regular savings account.
For serious UK first-time buyers, the bonus easily outweighs the lock-in risk. See the full LISA guide for eligibility, the £450K property cap, withdrawal rules, and how it stacks with other UK first-time buyer schemes.
Five strategies that meaningfully accelerate UK first-time buyer deposit building, in rough order of impact:
The LISA isn’t the only UK government scheme available to first-time buyers. Five schemes are active in 2026:
Help to Buy equity loans closed for new English applications in October 2022; Welsh Help to Buy continues until at least March 2026. See the UK first-time buyer schemes guide for the full comparison including which schemes stack.
Most UK first-time buyers aim for 5-20% of the property price. 5% is the minimum mainstream lenders accept (via the government's Mortgage Guarantee Scheme); 10% is a common sweet spot for better mortgage choice and rates; 15-20% unlocks the best rates and the widest product range. On a £250,000 home that's £12,500 (5%), £25,000 (10%), or £37,500-£50,000 (15-20%).
Depends heavily on income, region, and savings rate. As a working benchmark: saving 15% of a £35,000 income (£5,250/year) toward a 10% deposit on a £200,000 property (£20,000) takes about 4 years before interest and any LISA bonus. With a maxed LISA contributing £4,000/year plus the £1,000 bonus, the same target hits in about 3 years. Use the deposit calculator above for your specific scenario.
For most UK first-time buyers under 40, yes. The 25% government bonus on contributions up to £4,000/year is effectively a guaranteed 25% return — better than any cash savings account or low-risk investment. The catch: money is locked in for first-home or after age 60, and using it for anything else triggers a 25% withdrawal penalty (worse than it sounds — costs about 6.25% of what you put in). For serious first-time buyers, the bonus easily outweighs the lock-in risk.
Recent data puts the average UK first-time buyer deposit between £35,000 and £55,000, with London substantially higher. The average is skewed by London buyers and couples — in lower-priced regions, single buyers regularly succeed with deposits of £15,000-£25,000. The right deposit for you isn't the national average — it's whatever percentage hits your target property in your target area.
Yes, via the government's Mortgage Guarantee Scheme — several major UK lenders offer 95% LTV mortgages for first-time buyers (and others) buying their main residence on properties up to £600,000. Rates at 95% LTV are typically 0.5-1.0% higher than 75-90% LTV products, so monthly costs are higher. Compare against waiting 6-12 months to build a larger deposit.
No. Your deposit is what you put toward the property price — it reduces the mortgage you need. Stamp duty (where applicable), solicitor fees, survey, mortgage fees, removals, and basic furniture are all separate costs on top. Most UK first-time buyers spend £4,000-£10,000+ on these alongside the deposit. The buying-costs side is its own planning exercise.
If you're under 40 and serious about a first home, open a LISA first — the 25% bonus on £4,000/year is the highest-return option available. Above the £4,000 LISA cap, savings can go into a regular ISA (tax-free interest) or easy-access savings (more flexible). High-rate easy-access savings can sometimes match LISA returns net of penalty if you're not certain you'll use it for a home, but for committed first-time buyers the LISA wins.
Nothing immediately — your offer is just a proposal. Once the offer is accepted, your solicitor will hold the deposit (or part of it) in their client account from exchange of contracts onwards. At exchange, typically 5-10% of the property price transfers via your solicitor to the seller's solicitor as a legally binding commitment. The rest of the deposit completes alongside the mortgage funds on completion day.
Yes — most UK mortgage lenders accept gifted deposits from immediate family. The gifter signs a gifted deposit letter confirming the money is a gift, not a loan, with no claim on the property. Anti-money-laundering rules require evidence of the gifter's identity and the source of funds (typically bank statements showing the money's history). Don't leave the documentation until the week of completion.
The calculator is precise for the inputs you give it — bonus, interest and contribution math is exact. Real outcomes depend on three things the calculator can't perfectly predict: the actual interest rate you'll earn (rates change), whether you can maintain the contribution rate (life events), and the target property price at the moment you buy (market moves). Use the calculator as a planning baseline, then refresh inputs every 6 months as your situation evolves.
This calculator is for illustrative purposes only. Actual savings outcomes depend on the interest rate available at the time, any provider fees, your contribution maintenance, and tax rules in force. Speak to a regulated financial adviser for advice on your specific case.