Should every first-time buyer in Britain be required to take professional mortgage advice before purchasing a home? A discussion paper from Paradigm, one of the UK’s largest mortgage networks, says yes. The proposal has been endorsed by lenders including April Mortgages and OSB Group, and the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has backed it, with AMI chief executive Stephanie Charman calling advice for first-time buyers “a necessity.”
Not everyone agrees. A number of prominent advice firms and lender trade bodies have pushed back, arguing that compulsion would remove consumer choice and add unnecessary cost to an already expensive process.
The case for mandatory advice rests on a simple problem: most first-time buyers don’t know what they don’t know.
A survey by Mortgage Advice Bureau found that 73% of first-time buyers were unaware that 95% mortgages existed. Seven in ten had never heard of track record mortgages. These aren’t obscure products. They’re mainstream lending options that could make the difference between buying this year and waiting another five.
Helen Pierson, director of MAB New Homes, argues that misconceptions about deposits, credit history, and age are causing prospective buyers to put their plans on hold unnecessarily. “Advice isn’t about trying to get everyone a mortgage today,” she says. “It’s about providing a realistic framework for achieving eventual goals, with help and guidance from qualified experts.”
Richard Dana, chief executive of Tembo Mortgages, isn’t convinced. He points out that the current system is working: there’s no mis-selling scandal on the horizon, and straightforward rate comparisons are freely available online.
“A blanket requirement would feel disproportionate and could add unnecessary time, cost and friction to what is already a complex journey,” Dana says.
Michelle Niziol, chief executive of IMS Property Group, agrees. “Provided they fully understand what they’re giving up by not receiving regulated advice, I don’t believe they should be forced into it.” First-time buyers aren’t a homogeneous group. Some are navigating complex financial situations. Others have family support, larger deposits, and relatively simple borrowing needs.
Kate Davies, chief executive of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association, occupies middle ground. First-time buyers should “almost always” take advice, she says, but questions whether compulsion is the right mechanism.
“Proportionate safeguards already exist: lenders require advice where products carry particular complexity, and the Consumer Duty obliges every firm to ensure good outcomes whichever route a borrower takes,” Davies argues.
The Consumer Duty, introduced by the FCA in 2023, already places significant obligations on lenders to demonstrate that customers are receiving fair value and good outcomes. Adding a mandatory advice layer on top could create duplication without materially improving protection.
John Fraser-Tucker, head of mortgages at Mojo Mortgages, offers a pragmatic alternative. The problem, he suggests, isn’t a lack of regulation. It’s that too many brokers charge fees that push first-time buyers toward going directly to lenders.
“By championing free, highly accessible, fee-free brokering, we can give first-time buyers guided access to the full range of mortgage options without stripping away their autonomy,” Fraser-Tucker says. “Forced mandates should be a last resort.”
That logic has some appeal. If the advice proposition is good enough, and accessible enough, buyers will choose it. The 73% knowledge gap that Paradigm identifies might be better addressed through better marketing of advisory services than through regulatory compulsion.
In Norfolk, the stakes are particularly high. Average house prices in Norwich and across the county’s market towns remain a stretch for many first-time buyers, and the gap between what buyers think they need and what’s actually available could be costing some their chance to get on the ladder.
The 95% mortgage products that 73% of first-time buyers don’t know about could make a significant difference in markets like Wymondham, Attleborough, and Thetford, where a 5% deposit rather than 10% could cut years off the saving timeline. The Ivybridge Collection’s property market reports show how entry-level pricing varies significantly across Norfolk’s 324 tracked locations, making local knowledge essential.
Whether advice becomes compulsory or not, the underlying message from all sides of this debate is the same: too many first-time buyers are making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives without understanding their full range of options. The argument isn’t really about whether advice is valuable. It’s about who should decide whether you take it.
