Helen Jones
Billericay, EssexHelen has walked hundreds of first-time buyers through their first purchase around Billericay, and still gets photos of the keys on completion day.
Meet Helen →
A real person, start to finish
You’ll know your adviser by name
Every first-time buyer we help works with one adviser, someone local who answers their own phone, replies in the evening when you’re actually free, and remembers your case without looking it up. Here are two of the people you might speak to.
Lisa Lee
Great Dunmow, EssexLisa looks after buyers across Great Dunmow’s new developments, where builder deadlines and deposit schemes need someone keeping everything on track.
Meet Lisa →
How it works
From “can we even do this?” to keys in hand
STEP 1
A proper conversation
Not a form. We talk about what you earn, what you’ve saved and what you’re hoping for, then tell you honestly what’s possible.
STEP 2
Your budget, in writing
We arrange an agreement in principle, often within a day, so estate agents take your offers seriously from the start.
STEP 3
We carry it from there
Application, valuation, solicitors, chasing, all handled by your adviser, who keeps you posted so you’re never left wondering.
Client story
The buyers their bank turned away
“Our own bank said no because Sam had only been in his job three months. Helen knew exactly which lender wouldn’t mind, and we picked up the keys eleven weeks later.”
A couple renting in Essex, 10% deposit, part of it gifted by parents, and a brand-new job between them. The high street scored them as a risk; Helen presented them to a lender that welcomes new employment with a signed contract, secured the agreement in principle within 24 hours, and managed the chain through to an eleven-week completion.
An illustrative example based on the cases our advisers handle every week; names and details changed. Your terms will depend on your circumstances.
24 hrsfrom first call to agreement in principle
10%deposit, part gifted by family
11 weeksfrom offer accepted to keys
More than the mortgage
Everything around the mortgage, handled too
Getting the mortgage agreed is only part of it. This is one of the biggest purchases you’ll ever make, so your adviser stays involved with everything around it, before, during and long after completion.
Appointing your solicitor
Conveyancing is where purchases slow down. We’ll introduce you to solicitors we work with day in, day out, people who pick up the phone to us, so your case keeps moving and you’re never left chasing.
Arranging the right survey
A valuation protects the lender; a survey protects you. We’ll help you choose the right level of survey for the property, so you know exactly what you’re buying before you’re committed to it.
Life & home insurance
Before you complete, we’ll talk through protecting what you’ve just taken on, life cover sized to the mortgage, and buildings and contents insurance in place from the day you exchange.
After completion
We don’t disappear when you get the keys. Your adviser diarises your deal end date, reviews your cover when life changes, and is on the end of the phone for whatever comes next.
Straight answers
First-time buyer questions, answered straight
Many lenders accept 5%, and a bigger deposit unlocks better rates, with meaningful improvements at 10% and 15%. Gifted deposits from family are widely accepted, and schemes like shared ownership can reduce what you need up front. Your adviser will show you exactly what’s realistic for you.
Most lenders offer between 4 and 4.5 times your income, though affordability rules, credit commitments and deposit size all play a part. Your adviser gives you an accurate figure and an agreement in principle before you start viewing.
Your initial consultation is free and without obligation. If a fee applies to your case, your adviser explains it clearly and in writing before you commit to anything.
Yes. Gifted deposits are common and most lenders accept them with a simple signed letter confirming the money is a gift. Some lenders also offer family-assist mortgages using a relative’s savings or property as security.
It’s a lender’s confirmation of what they’d lend you, usually based on a soft credit check. Estate agents take offers far more seriously with one in place, and we can usually arrange it within a day.
A mortgage offer typically takes two to four weeks from a complete application, and the whole purchase usually runs eight to sixteen weeks. Talking to an adviser before you view homes keeps you ahead of other buyers.
Speak to a person
Not sure where to start? Start with a chat.
Leave your name and number and a local adviser, a real person, not a call centre, will ring you back for a free, no-obligation chat about your first purchase.
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