{"id":175436,"date":"2019-03-07T11:46:10","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T11:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/?p=175436"},"modified":"2026-05-11T18:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:19:10","slug":"the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not","title":{"rendered":"First-time buyer definition: Who qualifies and who doesn&#8217;t?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Under government relief first announced in 2017, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\">first-time buyers<\/a> pay no stamp duty on purchases up to \u00a3300,000 and a rate of 5% on portions between \u00a3300,001 and \u00a3500,000.<\/p><p>This relief makes it important to understand who the UK government defines as a first-time buyer.<\/p><p>In laymans terms, the definition of a first-time buyer is an individual who has never owned a property before. To put it another way someone getting a mortgage who isn&#8217;t a homeowner, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/moving-home-mortgages\">homemover<\/a>, buy-to-let investor or just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/remortgaging\">remortgaging<\/a> is classed as a first-time buyer. However, there are a few nuances which make it a bit more complicated than that.<\/p><h3 id=\"accepted_as_a_first_time_buyer\">Instances where you&#8217;ll commonly be accepted as a first-time buyer<\/h3><ul class=\"list-4\"><li><strong>If you&#8217;ve never owned a property before and you&#8217;re applying for a mortgage alone.<\/strong> You&#8217;re a bonafide first-time buyer in this situation. There are no sneaky rules or loopholes to worry about.<\/li><li><strong>If you&#8217;ve owned a commercial property, but never owned a residential property.<\/strong> First-time buyer status only applies to residential properties, so if you&#8217;ve owned a shop or a pub, you could still qualify for stamp duty relief. However, if your commercial property had a residential element (and was therefore defined as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/commercial-mortgage-rates\">a semi-commercial property<\/a>), you won&#8217;t qualify.<\/li><li><strong>If you apply for a joint mortgage and none of you has previously owned residential property.<\/strong> Your stamp duty bill will be reduced in this situation too.<\/li><\/ul><h3 id=\"not_accepted_as_a_first_time_buyer\">Instances where you&#8217;ll commonly not be accepted as a first-time buyer<\/h3><ul class=\"list-13\"><li><strong>If you&#8217;ve previously owned a property and sold it.<\/strong> To qualify, you need to have <em>never<\/em> owned a property.<\/li><li><strong>If you inherited a property or were added to the deeds.<\/strong> First-time buyer status is based on <em>ownership<\/em> of residential property, not whether you bought it.<\/li><li><strong>If you&#8217;ve previously owned a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/buy-to-let-mortgages\">buy-to-let property<\/a>.<\/strong> If you&#8217;ve previously owned a buy-to-let property, you no longer qualify as a first-time buyer.<\/li><li><strong>If you part-owned a property in the past.<\/strong> If you previously had a shared ownership mortgage or a joint mortgage, you&#8217;ll no longer qualify as a first-time buyer.<\/li><li><strong>If you owned a residential property overseas.<\/strong> Overseas properties still count when it comes to first-time buyer status. <strong> <\/strong><\/li><li><strong>If your co-owner has owned a residential property.<\/strong> With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/joint-mortgages\">joint mortgages<\/a>, <em>all<\/em> applicants have to be first-time buyers in order to qualify for stamp duty relief.<\/li><li><strong>If your spouse has owned a residential property.<\/strong> Spouses count as a single buyer in property law. If your spouse isn&#8217;t a first-time buyer, you&#8217;re not either, even if you&#8217;re applying to buy a property in your own name.<\/li><\/ul><h3>What to do if you qualify as a first-time buyer<\/h3><p>You can find <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/help-and-advice\">free expert support from brokers\/advisers online<\/a>. Services like Habito or L&#038;C can help you estimate your budget, find the best rates available to you from across the market, and generally navigate the whole process!<\/p><p>As a first-time buyer, you may also be able to leverage government schemes (like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/first-homes-scheme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First Homes Scheme<\/a>). Again, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/mortgage-brokers\">a good broker<\/a> can help you explore these options.<\/p><style type=\"text\/css\">\n    .survey-response {\n        overflow-x: auto;\n        max-width: 800px;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .luna-table th,\n    .survey-response .luna-table td {\n        padding: 0.3rem 1rem calc(0.20rem + 1px);\n        font-size: 12px;\n        color: rgb(117, 117, 117);\n        text-align: left;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .luna-table {\n        border: none;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .row-color-icon {\n        width: 10px;\n        height: 10px;\n        display: inline-block;\n        margin-right: 4px;\n        border-radius: 2px;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .source-container {\n        top: -12px !important;\n        position: relative;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .source {\n        color: rgb(108, 120, 129);\n        font-size: 11px;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .source-link {\n        color: rgb(2, 113, 225);\n        font-size: 11px;\n        text-decoration: underline;\n    }\n\n    @media (min-width: 600px) {\n        .survey-response .border-fix {\n            border-radius: 12px;\n            border: 1px solid var(--light-divider-normal, #E5E7EB);\n            background: var(--light-background-main, #FFF);\n            padding: 0px\n        }\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .chart-container {\n        min-height: 250px;\n        border-radius: 12px;\n        border: 1px solid var(--light-divider-normal, #E5E7EB);\n        background: var(--light-background-main, #FFF);\n        padding: 15px;\n    }\n\n    .google-visualization-tooltip {\n        pointer-events: none;\n    }\n\n    @media screen and (min-width: 960px) {\n        .survey-response.u-grid {\n            margin-left: auto;\n            display: flex;\n            justify-content: space-between;\n            margin-right: auto;\n        }\n\n        .u-grid__col.chart-container {\n            margin-left: 0 !important;\n            margin-right: 0 !important;\n        }\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .table-container {\n        overflow-x: auto;\n        max-width: 800px;\n        display: block;\n    }\n\n    @media screen and (max-width: 959px) {\n        .survey-response .table-container {\n            display: block;\n        }\n\n        .source-container {\n            margin-left: 2rem;\n            margin-right: 2rem;\n        }\n    }\n\n<\/style><h4>Who is most likely to be researching first-time buyer definitions?<\/h4><p>Finder data suggests that men aged 25-34 are most likely to be researching this topic.<\/p><div id=\"scale-surveys-10024-137\" class=\"survey-response u-grid u-grid--gutterLarge\"><div id=\"view-who-is-most-likely-to-be-researching-first-time-buyer-definitions\" class=\"u-grid__col u-1\/2@s u-1\/1 aligncenter size-full chart-container\" style=\"max-width: 330px;\"><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t\t\t\t(function() {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tvar packageToLoad = 'bar';\n\t\t\t\t\tvar eventName = 'GoogleChartsLoaded-' + packageToLoad;\n\t\t\t\t\tvar event = new Event(eventName);\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(eventName, function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log('called event!', eventName);\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tfunction drawChart() {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tvar chartType = 'bar';\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\tvar data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t[' ', 'Male (%)', 'Female (%)', ],\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t['65+', 3.81, 2.57, ],\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t['55-64', 5.99, 4.67, ],\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t['45-54', 9.47, 6.65, ],\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t['35-44', 13.79, 10.19, ],\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t['25-34', 15.74, 11.83, ],\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t['18-24', 8.33, 6.96, ],\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t]);\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tvar options = {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlegend: { \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tposition: 'none'\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcolors: ['#1a69e8', '#3178ea', '#4887ed', '#5f96ef', '#76a5f1', '#8db4f4', '#a3c3f6', '#bad2f8', '#1a69e8', '#3178ea', '#4887ed', '#5f96ef', '#76a5f1', '#8db4f4', '#a3c3f6', '#bad2f8']\n\t\t\t\t\t\t};\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tvar chart;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tchart = new google.charts.Bar(document.getElementById('view-who-is-most-likely-to-be-researching-first-time-buyer-definitions'));\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Bar chart specific options can go here\n\t\t\t\t\t\toptions.bars = 'vertical';\n\t\t\t\t\t\toptions.hAxis = {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tviewWindowMode: 'maximize',\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tformat: '#,###\\'%\\'',\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle: ''\n\t\t\t\t\t\t};\n\t\t\t\t\t\toptions.vAxis = {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tformat: '#,###\\'%\\'',\n\t\t\t\t\t\t};\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tchart.draw(data, (chartType == 'pie') ? options : google.charts.Bar.convertOptions(options));\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdrawChart();\n\t\t\t\t\t});\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tfunction init() {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log('calling init', eventName);\n\t\t\t\t\t\tif (typeof google !== 'undefined' && google.charts) {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log('found charts', google, packageToLoad);\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tgoogle.charts.load('current', {'packages':[packageToLoad]});\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tgoogle.charts.setOnLoadCallback(function() {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.dispatchEvent(event);\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t});\n\t\t\t\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log('retrying');\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsetTimeout(init, 100);\n\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\tinit();\n\t\t\t\t})()\n\t\t\t<\/script><div class=\"u-grid__col u-1\/2@s  u-1\/1 aligncenter size-full border-fix table-container\"><table class=\"luna-table js-tablesorter tablesorter tablesorter-default\" role=\"grid\"><thead class=\"luna-table__header\"><tr><th>Response<\/th><th>Male (%)<\/th><th>Female (%)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody class=\"luna-table__body\" aria-live=\"polite\" aria-relevant=\"all\"><tr><td><span class=\"row-color-icon\" style=\"background-color: #1a69e8;\"><\/span>65+<\/td><td>3.81%<\/td><td>2.57%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span class=\"row-color-icon\" style=\"background-color: #3178ea;\"><\/span>55-64<\/td><td>5.99%<\/td><td>4.67%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span class=\"row-color-icon\" style=\"background-color: #4887ed;\"><\/span>45-54<\/td><td>9.47%<\/td><td>6.65%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span class=\"row-color-icon\" style=\"background-color: #5f96ef;\"><\/span>35-44<\/td><td>13.79%<\/td><td>10.19%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span class=\"row-color-icon\" style=\"background-color: #76a5f1;\"><\/span>25-34<\/td><td>15.74%<\/td><td>11.83%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><span class=\"row-color-icon\" style=\"background-color: #8db4f4;\"><\/span>18-24<\/td><td>8.33%<\/td><td>6.96%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><div class=\"source-container\"><span class=\"source\">Source: Finder sample of 8,117 visitors using demographics data from Google Analytics    \t\t<\/div><\/div><article class=\"luna-card luna-card--alt\"><div class=\"luna-card__block has-padding-small\">Think carefully before securing debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.<\/div><\/article><article class=\"luna-card luna-card--alt\"><div class=\"luna-card__block has-padding-small\">We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms \"best\", \"top\", \"cheap\" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/terms-of-use\" class=\"fin-text-navy\">terms of use<\/a>. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables is provided by Defaqto. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.<\/div><\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The definition according to the UK government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":645,"featured_media":173561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22879],"tags":[],"asset_tag":[],"class_list":["post-175436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first-time-buyer-mortgages"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.9 (Yoast SEO v24.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>First-time buyer definition: Who qualifies and who doesn&#039;t? | Finder UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The definition of a &quot;first-time buyer&quot; is a person buying property for the first time who has not previously owned property before.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First-time buyer definition: Who qualifies and who doesn&#039;t?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The definition of a &quot;first-time buyer&quot; is a person buying property for the first time who has not previously owned property before.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Finder UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/findercomuk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-07T11:46:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.finder.com.au\/finder-us\/wp-uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_2122104791.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"249\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matthew Boyle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/Matthew08411738\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@findercomUK\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matthew Boyle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matthew Boyle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/52bc07212c35752f0a3345e22921fe37\"},\"headline\":\"First-time buyer definition: Who qualifies and who doesn&#8217;t?\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-07T11:46:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-11T18:19:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not\"},\"wordCount\":619,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.finder.com.au\/finder-us\/wp-uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_2122104791.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"First-time buyer mortgages\"],\"inLanguage\":{\"@type\":\"Language\",\"name\":\"English\",\"alternateName\":\"en\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#respond\"]}],\"comment\":[{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#comment-128975\"},{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#comment-27342\"}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2019\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not\",\"name\":\"First-time buyer definition: Who qualifies and who doesn't? 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I had a mortgage with a friend many years ago but we sold it so I\u2019ve not had a mortgage for a few years now , I still have no mortgage am I a first time buyer then ? It\u2019s very confusing , some places say I am and others say I\u2019m not , my partner is defo a first time buyer she has never had any mortgage\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-02 11:37:30\"},{\"@type\":\"Comment\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#comment-27342\",\"author\":{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Bobby\"},\"text\":\"I have owned property before, but was declared bankrupt in 2009. \\r\\nChanged surname in 2013.\\r\\nAm I a first time buyer now or not ?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-04 15:49:37\"}]}<\/script>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-11T18:19:21+00:00\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First-time buyer definition: Who qualifies and who doesn't? | Finder UK","description":"The definition of a \"first-time buyer\" is a person buying property for the first time who has not previously owned property before.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"First-time buyer definition: Who qualifies and who doesn't?","og_description":"The definition of a \"first-time buyer\" is a person buying property for the first time who has not previously owned property before.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not","og_site_name":"Finder UK","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/findercomuk","article_published_time":"2019-03-07T11:46:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":250,"height":249,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.finder.com.au\/finder-us\/wp-uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_2122104791.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Matthew Boyle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/Matthew08411738","twitter_site":"@findercomUK","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matthew Boyle","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not"},"author":{"name":"Matthew Boyle","@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/52bc07212c35752f0a3345e22921fe37"},"headline":"First-time buyer definition: Who qualifies and who doesn&#8217;t?","datePublished":"2019-03-07T11:46:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-11T18:19:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not"},"wordCount":619,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.finder.com.au\/finder-us\/wp-uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_2122104791.jpg","articleSection":["First-time buyer mortgages"],"inLanguage":{"@type":"Language","name":"English","alternateName":"en"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#respond"]}],"comment":[{"@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#comment-128975"},{"@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#comment-27342"}],"copyrightYear":"2019","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not","url":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not","name":"First-time buyer definition: Who qualifies and who doesn't? 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In his spare time, you will find him walking in the Norfolk countryside admiring the local wildlife.","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/Matthew08411738","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/mattboyle3\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/author\/mattboyle","jobTitle":"Publisher","knowsAbout":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Helping first-time buyers apply for a mortgage"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Comparing bank accounts and highlighting useful features"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Publishing easy-to-understand guides"}],"worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/#organization","name":"Finder"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#comment-128975","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Tucker"},"text":"Hi , me and my girlfriend are looking at buy a house , I\u2019m just wondering if I\u2019m a first time buyer or not ? I had a mortgage with a friend many years ago but we sold it so I\u2019ve not had a mortgage for a few years now , I still have no mortgage am I a first time buyer then ? It\u2019s very confusing , some places say I am and others say I\u2019m not , my partner is defo a first time buyer she has never had any mortgage","datePublished":"2023-03-02 11:37:30"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/mortgages\/first-time-buyer-mortgages\/the-definition-a-first-time-buyer-who-qualifies-and-who-does-not#comment-27342","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Bobby"},"text":"I have owned property before, but was declared bankrupt in 2009. \r\nChanged surname in 2013.\r\nAm I a first time buyer now or not ?","datePublished":"2020-03-04 15:49:37"}]},"article_modified_time":"2026-05-11T18:19:21+00:00"},"custom_fields":{"show_author_box":["yes"],"_masthead_subheading":["{\"text\":\"The definition of a first-time buyer is a person buying property for the first time who has not previously owned property before.\"}"],"_content_type":["niche-content\/information\/what-is"],"_masthead_variant":["{\"id\":\"standard-blue\",\"showFeaturedImage\":false,\"presetId\":\"\",\"shouldUsePrimaryCTAFieldName\":false,\"shouldUseSecondaryCTAFieldName\":false,\"primaryCTA\":null,\"secondaryCTA\":null,\"widgetShortcode\":\"\",\"widgetHeading\":\"\",\"widgetStats\":\"\",\"hasPrioritizedWidget\":false,\"hasMaximizedWidget\":false,\"shouldUseOverrideCTALabel\":false,\"overrideCTA\":null,\"cleanTopPicks\":\"\",\"tilesMenuId\":\"\"}"],"custom_post_template":["single-masthead-two-column.php"]},"amp_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175436"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":576889,"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175436\/revisions\/576889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175436"},{"taxonomy":"asset_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_tag?post=175436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}