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May 14, 2025
Skipton Building Society has launched a new mortgage that allows first time buyers to delay their first three mortgage payments.
A survey from the lender found first time buyers faced high costs when buying their homes, including an average of nearly £3,500 on furniture and £2,600 on kitchen appliances, causing 63% to feel financially strained.
And so the Delayed Start Mortgage was designed to soften the blow.
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The main advantage of delaying making your mortgage payments is the fact it makes buying your first place more affordable. All the extra costs of buying a house can come as a shock to first time buyers. So not having to pay your mortgage for the first three months is the main benefit.
Also, if you take out this mortgage with Skipton Building Society, the lender allows you to combine it with its Income Booster mortgage, which is a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) mortgage.
If you’re a first time buyer, the appeal of not having to pay your mortgage for the first three months of homeownership is obvious. But you need to consider the downsides of these mortgages before taking one out.
Even though you’re delaying making your first mortgage payments, the interest will start accumulating from day one. This means you’ll pay more in interest over the term of your mortgage and your mortgage payments will be slightly higher once you do start paying.
Mortgage lenders have been cutting mortgage rates on fixed deals across the board in recent months so it’s important to investigate the best first time buyer mortgage rate available to you from across all lenders – instead of simply being drawn to this mortgage.
Delayed Start Mortgage rates vs other mortgage rates on the market:
So make sure you shop around. The easiest way to do this is by speaking to a fee-free mortgage broker. And keep up to date on the latest with mortgage rates with our guide First time buyer mortgage rates.
Noone doubts how difficult it is for first time buyers to get on the property ladder and we welcome lenders coming up with new ways to support borrowers.
But if you’re considering this mortgage because you’re worried about how you will afford to cover your mortgage costs in the first few months, you should consider carefully whether or not you can afford to buy at the moment.
For more information on first time buyer mortgages and how to apply, read our guide on First Time Buyer Mortgages.
Get fee free mortgage advice from our partners at L&C. Use the online mortgage finder or speak to an advisor today.
Paula Higgins, CEO of HomeOwners Alliance, said:
“Moving costs, broadband set up, furnishing your new home… we know the costs really mount up when you buy a new home and the first few months can be tricky. So it’s good to see Skipton have done it again in being so innovative in finding solutions for first time buyers. A Buy Now, Pay Later deal but for mortgages is a clever concept that gives new home owners some breathing space.
“But we’d advise first time buyers to shop around first and check how rates on this mortgage compare to other mortgage deals they can qualify for because the short term gain may not be worth the longer term pain from paying a worse rate for the entire length of your mortgage. So make sure you get fee-free expert mortgage advice so you’re fully informed about your options.”
Get fee free mortgage advice from our partners at L&C. Use the online mortgage finder or speak to an advisor today.
No. With the Delayed Start Mortgage, you don’t pay your mortgage for the first three months. Then your outstanding mortgage balance (including the interest you’ve accumulated in the first 3 months) will be spread across the rest of the term. This means your mortgage payments will be a bit higher each month than if you hadn’t delayed your mortgage payments.
No, you can’t get this mortgage with a 0% deposit, you’ll need a minimum deposit of 5%. However, Skipton does offer a 0% deposit mortgage for people with a proven track record of paying rent. Find out more in our guide on 100% mortgages.
Yes, you will pay more overall if you get a Delayed Start Mortgage. This is because you’ll accrue interest on your mortgage during the months when you are not making repayments. For example, if you take out a £200,000 mortgage at 5% over 30 years, you’ll accrue interest of around £834 each month you’re not paying your mortgage. Over three months this will add up to around £2,500 which will be added to the mortgage balance.
No. Skipton says that ‘at least one applicant needs to be a first-time buyer’, which it says means they can’t ever have owned an interest in a residential property in the UK or abroad, including Buy to Let properties and any property that has been inherited, even if they’ve never lived there.
According to Halifax, the average deposit first time buyers paid in 2024 was over £61,000.
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