First Direct typically offers two product fee options: a fee-free product at a slightly higher rate, or a lower rate with a £490–£999 arrangement fee. For larger mortgages, paying the fee and taking the lower rate is usually the more cost-effective choice. For smaller mortgages, the fee-free option may work out cheaper overall.

Before applying to First Direct, it is worth having a whole-of-market broker check the full market — First Direct is not always the best rate available for your specific LTV, loan size, and credit profile, and you cannot know that without a full market comparison.

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Who Does First Direct Lend To? Eligibility Criteria

First Direct is not a specialist lender. Their criteria is broadly mainstream, and they work best for borrowers with clean credit histories and straightforward income. Here is what they typically require:

Income and Employment

• Employed applicants: Minimum income requirements apply (typically £25,000+ per annum for a sole application, though this varies by product). Standard income documentation: recent payslips and P60.
• Self-employed applicants: First Direct will consider self-employed borrowers, requiring at least two years of accounts or SA302 tax calculations. They accept business bank statements and financial accounts as supporting evidence. However, their criteria for self-employed is less flexible than some specialist lenders — complex income structures (director dividends, retained profit, variable contractor income) can be challenging.
• Minimum age: 18 at the time of application. Maximum age at end of term: typically 70–75, though this is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Credit History

• First Direct conduct thorough credit checks with all three UK credit reference agencies.
• They are a mainstream lender — applicants with CCJs, defaults, missed mortgage payments, or recent debt management plans are very unlikely to be accepted.
• Minor historical issues (a single late payment several years ago on a utility bill, for example) may be assessed more favourably than more serious adverse credit events.
• If you have any adverse credit history, speaking to a specialist bad credit mortgage broker before approaching First Direct will save you a hard search and a likely decline.

Deposit and LTV

• First Direct typically lends up to 90% LTV on residential mortgages, meaning a minimum 10% deposit is required for most products.
• Their most competitive rates are available at 60% and 75% LTV.
• They accept gifted deposits from immediate family members, provided the standard gifted deposit letter conditions are met.

Property Type

• Standard construction residential property: accepted without restriction.
• New build: accepted, subject to standard new build LTV restrictions (typically 85% LTV maximum).
• Flats above commercial premises, studio flats under a certain size, non-standard construction: may be declined or subject to lower LTV caps. Specialist lenders handle these more reliably.
• Buy-to-let: First Direct does not currently offer buy-to-let mortgage products.

Account Requirement

First Direct has historically preferred applicants who hold a First Direct or HSBC current account, though this is not always an absolute requirement for mortgage applications. Having an existing banking relationship does, however, improve your application profile with them.

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What Mortgage Products Does First Direct Offer?

• Fixed-rate mortgages: 2-year and 5-year fixed rates are their most popular products. The rate is locked for the agreed term, giving payment certainty. An early repayment charge (ERC) applies if you redeem or switch during the fixed period.
• Tracker mortgages: Rate tracks the Bank of England base rate plus a set margin. Payments rise and fall with the base rate. Some tracker products come with no ERC, giving flexibility to switch if rates change.
• Offset mortgage: A distinctive product where your savings are held in an offset account linked to your mortgage. You only pay interest on the difference between your mortgage balance and your savings balance. Can be very cost-effective for borrowers with significant savings. Available up to 75% LTV.
• Remortgage: First Direct accepts remortgage applications from borrowers moving from another lender. The same eligibility criteria apply as for purchase mortgages.
• First-time buyer mortgages: First Direct lends to first-time buyers with a minimum 10% deposit. They accept gifted deposits and some shared equity arrangements.

What First Direct does not offer: buy-to-let mortgages, Help to Buy (scheme now closed), shared ownership mortgages, or mortgages for non-standard construction properties in most cases.

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First Direct Mortgage Pros and Cons

Pros

• Consistently competitive rates: Particularly strong on fixed-rate products at lower LTV tiers (60–75%). Frequently appears in best-buy tables for borrowers with larger deposits.
• Award-winning customer service: First Direct regularly tops customer satisfaction surveys for banking. Their mortgage team is telephone and online based, and wait times are generally shorter than high-street branch lenders.
• Offset mortgage product: One of a shrinking number of lenders still offering a genuinely competitive offset mortgage. Excellent for borrowers who maintain significant savings balances — the interest saving can be substantial over a 25-year term.
• No overpayment penalty on many products: First Direct allows overpayments of up to 10% of the outstanding balance per year on fixed-rate products without an ERC. Unlimited overpayments on tracker products.
• Digital-first experience: Clean, well-regarded online account management. Application tracking and mortgage account management are handled entirely online or via the app.

Cons

• No brokers — direct only: You cannot use a mortgage broker to apply for a First Direct mortgage. This means you cannot access their products as part of a whole-of-market comparison through a broker — you have to apply separately and directly.
• No buy-to-let: First Direct has no buy-to-let range. Landlords and portfolio investors need to look elsewhere.
• Strict on adverse credit: Not suitable for applicants with CCJs, defaults, missed payments, or any meaningful credit history issues in recent years.
• Limited property type flexibility: Non-standard construction, unusual property types, and some flats above commercial premises may be declined where specialist lenders would accept them.
• No physical branches: All services are online and telephone-based. If you prefer face-to-face mortgage advice or support, First Direct is not the right choice.
• Self-employed criteria can be restrictive: While they do lend to self-employed borrowers, their income assessment is less flexible than specialist lenders for complex income structures.

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First Direct vs HSBC Mortgage — What’s the Difference?

Both brands are owned by HSBC UK, but they are not the same mortgage product. Here are the key differences:

	First Direct	HSBC
Application method	Online / telephone only	Branch, online, or telephone
Broker access	No — direct only	Yes — available via brokers
Offset mortgage	Yes — a key product	No offset product
Buy-to-let	No	Yes
Rates	Often fractionally more competitive on residential fixed rates	Competitive, particularly at lower LTV tiers
Customer service model	Digital-first, consistently high-rated	Branch network + digital
Best for	Digital-first borrowers wanting competitive rates and strong service	Borrowers wanting branch access or broker-placed applications

In practice, if you want broker assistance — including access to the whole market, advice, and application support — HSBC’s mortgage range can be accessed through a broker, whereas First Direct cannot. If you are comfortable applying directly and want to check whether First Direct’s rates beat the market for your profile, comparing both brands makes sense.

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Can a Broker Get You a First Direct Mortgage?

No. First Direct does not operate via the intermediary (broker) channel. There is no way for a mortgage broker to submit an application to First Direct on your behalf — all applications must be made directly by the borrower through the First Direct website or by telephone.

This is an important distinction for buyers who are using a broker. A whole-of-market broker will show you the best rates across all lenders who accept broker applications — which covers the vast majority of the market. First Direct sits outside this. If a broker’s recommendation is that First Direct is the best product for you, they will signpost you to apply directly, but they cannot handle the application on your behalf.

The practical implication: if you want to consider First Direct alongside a broker-researched market comparison, you need to do two things:

1. Use a whole-of-market broker to identify the best available rates across the broker-accessible market
2. Check First Direct’s current rates directly at firstdirect.com and compare manually

In many cases, broker-exclusive lender rates (which are not available to the public at all) will outperform First Direct — which is why starting with a whole-of-market broker comparison is always the right first step, even if you end up applying to First Direct directly.

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