First Key Home | firstkeyhome.co.uk/partners/councils | hello@firstkeyhome.co.uk
Partner overviewFirst Key Home is a plain-English guide to buying a first home in England and Wales, including the schemes residents ask housing teams about most, with links back to GOV.UK.
For local councils, housing teams and housing associations
The problem
Housing teams are often the first place residents turn to when they want to own a home, and many arrive not knowing where to begin. That uncertainty shows up throughout the process.
Where do I start?
Residents ask housing officers how buying works, what they might be able to afford and who they need to speak to first. Those conversations take time, and the answers are rarely in one place.
Confusion about schemes
First Homes, Shared Ownership, the Lifetime ISA and Right to Buy each have their own rules. Residents often mix them up, or assume they qualify for something they do not.
Affordable home sales held up
Discounted and shared ownership sales depend on buyers who are ready to move. A buyer who has not arranged a mortgage in principle or instructed a solicitor can slow a sale that others are waiting on.
Sales going abortive
When a buyer does not understand the process, a survey finding or a missed deadline can cause the purchase to go abortive, and the home has to be offered again.
Officers explaining the whole process
Housing officers are often asked about conveyancing, mortgage offers and completion, which sit well outside their role. A trusted resource to point to saves repeating the same explanations.
Unreliable information online
Residents searching on their own can find advice that is out of date, written for another part of the UK, or trying to sell them something.
What First Key Home is
First Key Home explains how buying a home in England and Wales works, from saving a deposit and getting a mortgage in principle through to exchange, completion and moving in. It is written for people who have never done this before, and it is designed to be read before they need it, not after something has gone wrong.
Plain English
Every stage is explained without jargon, with a glossary for the words buyers will hear from their broker, lender and solicitor.
Independent
First Key Home is not tied to any lender, broker or law firm, and it does not recommend products or providers.
Education, not advice
It does not give financial, mortgage or legal advice. Throughout the guide, buyers are pointed back to their broker, their lender and their solicitor for anything specific to them.
Schemes explained properly
The Lifetime ISA, Shared Ownership, First Homes and other schemes are explained in plain English, with links to GOV.UK so buyers can check the official rules for themselves.
Written from experience
Written by someone who has worked in residential property for nine years and has seen where first-time buyers tend to get stuck.
Official scheme information on GOV.UK
Where we explain a government scheme, we link to the official GOV.UK page so buyers can check eligibility and the latest rules.
What buyers learn
First Key Home covers the whole journey across 15 modules. These are the ones most useful for residents thinking about ownership for the first time, including those buying through a scheme.
Module 1
How Buying a Home Works
The whole journey, from looking for a property to completion, in the order it actually happens.
Module 2
Getting Your Finances Ready
Saving a deposit, affordability, credit files and getting financially ready to buy.
Module 15
Government Schemes for First-Time Buyers
Shared Ownership, First Homes, the Lifetime ISA and the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, explained in plain English.
Module 10
New Builds
How buying a new build differs from buying an existing home, and the practical steps buyers can take to protect themselves.
Module 13
The Lifetime ISA (LISA)
How the Lifetime ISA bonus works, and the timing rules that can catch buyers out.
Module 12
After Completion
What to do once the keys are handed over, so new homeowners know what comes next.
Ways to work together
Every council and housing provider works differently, so these are starting points rather than fixed packages. Some of them cost nothing at all.
01
Link to the free resources, at no cost
Add our free checklist, free module, stamp duty calculator and guides to your housing and home ownership pages. There is no charge and nothing to sign.
02
Access codes for residents
Codes that unlock the full guide for residents on your housing register, or in your shared ownership and First Homes pipelines, built on the same code system we already use for gifting.
03
Free talks for residents
Relaxed sessions at libraries, community centres or housing events, walking residents through how buying a home works and answering their questions in plain English. These are free.
04
Materials for housing officers
A short briefing and printable handouts that officers can use to answer common questions, or to point residents somewhere reliable.
Pricing on request. Linking to the free resources and the talks for residents are free. For access codes, get in touch and we can agree something that fits your budget and the number of residents you support.
Free resources
These are free for anyone to use and to link to from your housing pages, newsletters or resident packs.
Free cost checklist
A printable list of every cost that usually comes up when buying a first home, and when each one is paid.
firstkeyhome.co.uk/free-checklist
Module 1, free to read
How buying a home works, from the first search to collecting the keys, with no sign-up needed to read it.
firstkeyhome.co.uk/free-module
Stamp duty calculator
An estimate of stamp duty for first-time buyers in England, band by band, with plain-English examples.
firstkeyhome.co.uk/stamp-duty-calculator
Free guides
Short plain-English articles on offers, costs, surveys, searches, exchange and completion.
firstkeyhome.co.uk/guides
About the founder
Summer Heal
Summer has worked in residential property for nine years. Over that time she has seen how often first-time buyers begin without anyone explaining how the process works, and how much smoother a purchase is when they do understand it.
She started First Key Home to give buyers the clear, honest explanation she wished every one of them had before they began, and to make life easier for the professionals who work with them.
Get in touch
Let us talk about your residents
If any of this could help the residents you support, Summer would be glad to talk it through. Send a short email and she will get back to you personally.
First Key Home provides general information about buying a home in England and Wales. It is not legal, financial or mortgage advice and should not be relied on as such. First Key Home Limited, registered in England and Wales, company number 17245025.