Teacher Mortgages

Written by Damon Pike – Principle Mortgage and Protection Advisor, Lupo Mortgage Services

Last updated: 22nd Novemeber 2024

Whether you are a first-time buyer, moving home, or looking for a new mortgage on your current home as a teacher there may be mortgage products available to you that aren’t available to everyone else.​

Think carefully before securing debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it. Please note that some mortgages such as commercial BTLs are not regulated by the FCA.

Some lenders have more flexibility than others when it comes to assessing your mortgage application. If you are a teacher, including NQT’s (newly qualified teacher’s), supply teachers, teaching assistants and agency or part time teachers, there are various ways a mortgage lender could assess your affordability, especially for those with a short-term contract or overtime. For example, some lenders will accept 100% of TLR (teaching and learning responsibility) payments or other uplifts, while others may only accept a lower percentage or none at all. If the payment uplift is substantial this could have a considerable influence on affordability. Applying to the right lender could make a big difference in the amount you could borrow. There are also some mortgage products that offer lower rates for teachers, or others that are exclusively teacher’s mortgages.

We have access to specialist providers and mainstream lenders and will only recommend the specialist if it’s right for you. Using our knowledge and experience we will compare mortgage products that are available to you based on your needs and that fit the mortgage providers lending criteria.

Low credit scores, bad credit history or adverse credit won’t always affect a mortgage application, and if it does, there are normally still options available. The details behind the score will usually have a higher impact than the score itself. So, whether you have missed payments, defaults, or arrangements to pay reduced amounts to creditors there are likely still multiple options available to you. There are even mortgages for people with previous bankruptcy or repossessions.

There are a number of government backed schemes that could help to improve your chances to get onto or up the property ladder. The eligibility criteria and conditions for the schemes vary, so get in touch to find out if any are right for you.

• Lifetime ISA – A government backed savings account which if used for the purpose of buying your first home utilises a 25% bonus.
• Help to buy – An equity loan to help with the deposit on a new build property for a first time buyer. This scheme is no longer available to new applicants in England and Scotland but is still available in Wales.
• Right to buy – Council tenants and some housing association tenants can purchase the home they are renting at a discount to market value.
• First homes – 30% to 50% discount on a new home for first-time buyers with priority given to key workers and people with local connections, as determined by local authorities. The discount will be passed on to new applicants when the home is sold. The scheme launched in June 2021 and has limited availability but is being extended across England.
• Shared ownership – Buy a share of a home and pay rent on the rest until you can afford further shares. A new model launched in 2021 with some changes to criteria that differs from the previous model. The old model is still being offered by many providers so check before you apply. (Priority given specific groups depending on local housing needs.)

Eligibility criteria for each scheme may apply.

Damon Pike is the owner and founder of Lupo Mortgage services, which offers complete mortgage advice with no broker fees and access to the whole of market (except deals which are only available direct). Damon will take the time to get to know what you want out of your mortgage and make a recommendation accordingly. He prides himself on excellent service standards and great communication. He also understands the individual needs of Teachers and can arrange appointments remotely or face to face, outside of normal working hours to suit you. Damon also understands how important your family is and can help arrange or review your life insurance and other related policies to make sure they are protected.

Lupo Mortgage Services is based in Wolverhampton, but we operate throughout the whole of England and Wales.

Think carefully before securing debts against your home. Your home maybe repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it. Please note that some mortgages such as commercial BTLs are not regulated by the FCA. The guidance and/or advice contained within this website is subject to the UK regulatory regime, and is therefore targeted at consumers based in the UK

Lupo Mortgage Services (FCA No. 941171) is an appointed representative of Julian Harris Mortgages Ltd (FCA No. 304155) which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an agency for arbitrating on unresolved complaints between regulated firms and their clients. Full details of the FOS can be found on its website at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk