Heron Financial arranged a £320,000 mortgage at 83% LTV for joint first-time buyers, both Nigerian nationals with Indefinite Leave to Remain, purchasing a £385,000 new-build home with a £65,000 deposit made up of £50,000 in savings and a £15,000 builder gifted contribution. The clients had been advised elsewhere to take a 5-year fixed rate, but their own plans pointed to a 2-year fix. Heron Financial placed the case with Pepper Money on a 2-year fixed rate at 6.79%, and the mortgage completed in December 2025.
The clients
The clients were a couple buying their first home together. Both are Nigerian nationals who now hold Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, with one of them working as an engineer in the power and infrastructure sector. They had saved £50,000 between them and were buying a new-build property where the housebuilder was contributing a £15,000 gifted deposit as part of the purchase incentive.
They came to Heron Financial with a clear preference: they wanted a 2-year fixed rate, not a 5-year one. Another adviser had pushed them towards the longer fix. The clients had their reasons for wanting flexibility in two years’ time, and they wanted a broker who would listen to that brief and find a lender who could deliver on it.
The case at a glance
- Buyers: Joint first-time buyers, employed
- Nationality and visa status: Nigerian nationals, Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
- Occupation (lead applicant): Engineer
- Property type: New-build house
- Purchase price: £385,000
- Deposit: £65,000 total, £50,000 personal savings plus £15,000 builder gifted deposit (approx. 17%)
- Loan amount: £320,000
- LTV: 83%
- Lender: Pepper Money
- Product: 2-Year Fixed Rate at 6.79%
- Repayment method: Capital and interest
- Scheme / incentive: Builder gifted deposit (new-build incentive)
- Completion: December 2025
The challenge
On the surface, ILR holders are treated very similarly to UK nationals by most mainstream lenders, so visa status alone wasn’t the obstacle. What made this case worth getting right was the combination of three things:
Client preference for a 2-year fix. The clients had been advised elsewhere to take a 5-year fixed rate. That can be sensible advice for some borrowers, but it wasn’t what these clients wanted.
A good recommendation starts with the client’s plan, not the adviser’s default.
Builder gifted deposit on a new-build. Builder incentives are treated inconsistently across lenders. Some count the gifted portion towards the deposit at face value. Others deduct it from the purchase price and recalculate LTV, which can quietly push a case above a lender’s cap. The right lender choice depends on how the incentive is treated.
Affordability and credit profile at 83% LTV. The case landed at Pepper Money rather than a high-street lender, which suggests a specialist underwriting approach was the right fit for the overall financial picture.
Pepper Money’s product range is designed for cases where high-street criteria don’t quite line up, and they were willing to support the clients’ chosen 2-year fix.
How Heron Financial approached the recommendation
The Heron adviser started where it should always start: with the clients’ own brief. They wanted a 2-year fix. The job was to test that against their circumstances, confirm it was a reasonable choice, and then find a lender who could deliver it on workable terms.
From there, Heron Financial:
Mapped the lender market for ILR holders at 83% LTV with a builder gifted deposit. Most mainstream lenders treat ILR borrowers as they would UK nationals, but criteria around new-build incentives and overall affordability varied enough that the panel narrowed quickly.
Confirmed the builder gifted deposit structure. The £15,000 builder contribution was disclosed and treated correctly, with LTV calculated cleanly at 83% against the full £385,000 purchase price.
Recommended Pepper Money on a 2-year fixed rate at 6.79%. Pepper’s criteria fit the case, and crucially they were comfortable offering a 2-year fix rather than steering the clients into a longer commitment.
The 2-year fix carries a higher headline rate than the 5-year alternative they’d been offered elsewhere, and Heron Financial talked the clients through that trade-off explicitly: a higher rate now, in exchange for the ability to remortgage in two years onto whatever the market and their circumstances look like then. That was the right trade for these clients.
The outcome
The mortgage completed in December 2025. The clients moved into their first home with:
A £320,000 mortgage at 83% LTV
A 2-year fixed rate at 6.79% on capital and interest repayment
The product structure they had asked for in the first place
A clear plan to review and remortgage at the end of the fixed period
What this means for buyers in a similar position
If you hold Indefinite Leave to Remain and you’re buying your first home, you have access to most of the same lenders as a UK national, but the right lender choice still depends on the rest of the picture, deposit source, builder incentives, affordability and credit profile. And if your adviser is pushing you towards a 5-year fix when your plans point to something shorter, it’s worth a second opinion. A good broker recommends the product that fits your timeline, then finds the lender who’ll back it.
FAQs
Can Nigerian nationals with Indefinite Leave to Remain get a UK mortgage?
Yes. Borrowers with ILR are treated by most UK lenders very similarly to UK nationals, with access to mainstream and specialist mortgage products. Heron Financial recently arranged a Pepper Money mortgage at 83% LTV for joint Nigerian first-time buyers with ILR. income that runs into retirement, so lender choice is the key part of the job.
Should I take a 2-year or 5-year fixed rate mortgage?
It depends on your plans. A 5-year fix gives longer payment certainty, usually at a lower rate. A 2-year fix typically costs more up front but gives you flexibility to remortgage sooner if your circumstances, income or the wider rate environment change. The right answer is the one that matches your timeline, not the broker’s default.
What is a builder gifted deposit and does it count towards your deposit?
A builder gifted deposit is a contribution from the housebuilder, usually on new-build purchases, that goes towards the buyer’s deposit. Some lenders accept it at face value as part of the deposit. Others deduct it from the purchase price and recalculate LTV, which can push the case above a lender’s cap. Lender choice and case structuring matter.
Why would a first-time buyer end up with a specialist lender like Pepper Money?
Specialist lenders like Pepper Money manually underwrite cases that don’t quite fit high-street criteria, for example, where there are nuances around credit, income, deposit source, or visa status. Going specialist isn’t a sign something is wrong; often it’s the route that produces the right product on the right terms.
Can I get a mortgage with a builder gifted deposit and 17% of my own savings?
Yes. A combined deposit of personal savings plus a builder gifted contribution is common on new-build purchases. With around 17% deposit overall, you have access to a wide lender market, though the exact lender depends on how the incentive is treated and the rest of your profile.
