Family money is now part of the furniture in the London property market. Savills research published in June 2026 found that 53% of UK first-time buyers received financial help from family in 2025, and 16% of them received it as a loan rather than an outright gift. In London, where a 10% deposit on an average first home runs well into six figures, that share is almost certainly higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chipkie exists to make the family loan side of that equation clean: a written agreement, a repayment schedule and a shared record that both sides can trust. What Chipkie does not do is arrange your mortgage. That job belongs to a good broker, and if you are borrowing from family to buy in London, the choice of broker matters more than most people realise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why a family loan changes the mortgage conversation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Most UK lenders draw a sharp line between a gifted deposit and a loaned one. A gift has to be non-repayable, with the giver holding no interest in the property, and lenders typically ask for a signed gifted deposit letter confirming exactly that. A loan is different. Because it has to be paid back, a lender will generally treat the repayments as a financial commitment in its affordability assessment, and some lenders simply will not accept a repayable family loan as a deposit source at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n None of this makes a family loan a bad idea. It means two things. First, you must be upfront with your broker and lender about where the money is coming from; describing a loan as a gift on a mortgage application is mortgage fraud, full stop. Second, you need a broker who knows which lenders are comfortable with a documented family loan, how they assess it, and how to present your case so it lands well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is not a job for a comparison site or a single-lender adviser at a bank branch. It is a job for a whole-of-market broker who deals with non-standard cases every week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What to look for in a London mortgage broker<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are borrowing part of your deposit from family, screen brokers on four things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whole-of-market access.<\/strong> A broker tied to a panel of lenders can only place you where the panel allows. You want someone who can search the full market, including specialist lenders and private banks, because that is where the flexibility on deposit sources tends to sit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comfort with complex cases.<\/strong> Self-employed income, bonus-heavy pay, expat status, a family loan in the mix: each of these narrows the field of lenders. A broker who handles those cases routinely will know the criteria without having to look them up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local knowledge.<\/strong> London is not one market. Lender appetite for new-build flats in Battersea differs from period conversions in Clapham or houses in Putney. A broker who works those postcodes knows the valuation quirks and the lenders that are cautious about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Transparency on fees and process.<\/strong> Ask what they charge, when, and how they are paid by lenders. A good broker will tell you before you ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A broker we would point you towards in South West London<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are buying in South West London, Oakstead Finance<\/a> is a good place to start. The firm is an independent, whole-of-market broker based at Arding & Hobbs in Battersea, covering Clapham, Wandsworth, Fulham and Putney, and it is an appointed representative of Cornerstone Finance Group Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Managing Director James Blackler has 18 years’ experience in mortgages and property finance, and the firm’s mortgage advice<\/a> covers exactly the situations where a family loan tends to appear: first-time buyers, self-employed and complex-income borrowers, high-value purchases, buy-to-let restructuring, and expat or foreign-national lending. Oakstead’s own description of its approach is that it starts with a conversation about your goals and bigger picture, not a product pitch, and that most of its clients arrive by referral. That is usually a good sign in this industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get the family loan side right before you speak to the broker<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A broker can only work with what you bring them. Before you contact Oakstead<\/a> or any other broker, have your family loan documented properly so the lender sees a clear, credible arrangement rather than a vague promise. That means a signed agreement setting out the amount, the interest rate (which can be 0%), the repayment schedule and what happens if a payment is missed, plus a record of every repayment as it happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is what Chipkie is built for. You can set up the loan for free, agree the schedule with your family member, and upgrade to a signed PDF loan contract with a full amortisation schedule, quarterly statements and tax-ready annual summaries for a one-off \u00a33.95. If interest is being charged, remember that the lender in your family may need to report that interest to HMRC as savings income, so keep the records tidy from day one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get both halves right, the family loan and the mortgage, and the Bank of Mum and Dad becomes a real asset rather than a complication on your application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article is general information, not financial or mortgage advice. Mortgage lending criteria change; speak to an FCA-regulated adviser about your circumstances. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Family money is now part of the furniture in the London property market. Savills research published in June 2026 found that 53% of UK first-time buyers received financial help from family in 2025, and 16% of them received it as a loan rather than an outright gift. In London, where a 10% deposit on an … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_chipkie_hreflang":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Mortgage Broker in London","rank_math_description":"Mortgage Broker in London. Using a family loan towards a London deposit? 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