New Build Boost FAQs

New Build Boost is available through a limited panel of brokers.

If you are a broker and want to offer New Build Boost to your clients, register your interest and we'll be in touch.

No. The 15% interest-free boost is supported by house builders but entirely managed by Gen H and encompassed by our first charge. The buyer will only have a relationship with Gen H as their lender, and no one other than Gen H will be able to enforce any rights over the property.

New Build Boost isn’t considered an incentive, but house builders may not offer their usual incentives on properties bought with New Build Boost. Read our full incentives criteria.

If your client hasn’t repaid the boost in full, they’ll need to select another rate from the New Build Boost family of products.

Once the boost is repaid – either by ad hoc payments, at remortgage, or by a sale – they’ll be able to choose any standard mortgage rate.

We accept a maximum deposit of 15%. This is to make sure that New Build Boost is available for people who really need it. If the client can afford a bigger deposit, they’ll have access to a wide range of standard mortgage options.

We may be able to make exceptions for deposits above 15% on a case-by-case basis, but a strong rationale must be provided. We may revise this policy down the line.

They’ll need to repay the 15% boost and their mortgage. They can do this with ad hoc payments, or they may be able to repay the boost with additional borrowing when they remortgage. If they want to remortgage away mid-fix, early repayment charges will be payable as usual.

We pay our standard procuration fee of 0.40% on the main mortgage. We don’t earn interest on the boost so are unable to pay a fee on this element.

The application process is just like normal. You’ll just have to indicate which builder, site and plot the client is buying from.

No – clients are assessed against our standard 80% LTV lending criteria. As with all criteria, we will keep this under review depending on demand for the scheme.

New Build Boost is its own specific product family and clients need to choose one of these while their boost is outstanding. Currently we only offer 5-year fixed rate products with New Build Boost.

New Build Boost is a mortgage scheme created by Gen H to help buyers with small deposits purchase the new build home they want. It’s for first-time buyers and home movers.

There are 3 parts:

• The buyer brings a 5% deposit
• They get an 80% LTV mortgage with Gen H
• They get a 15% interest-free boost to close the gap

The 15% boost is an equity loan which is frozen for 5 years, but it stays interest-free forever.

At the 5-year mark, it steps up or down to reflect any change in the property’s value, and will continue to track up or down with quarterly valuations until it’s paid off.

We ignore any increase in house price values above 2x, so even if the property price goes through the roof, clients will never pay back more than twice what they borrowed for the boost.

All applicants will be assessed against our 80% LTV lending criteria.

New Build Boost has its own dedicated mortgage rates. You need to be on panel with our builder partners to sell New Build Boost.

Gen H is a mission-driven residential mortgage lender working to build a fairer housing market.

So far, its income booster product has helped thousands of aspiring homeowners find their place on the ladder.

With New Build Boost, Gen H is working to support more aspiring buyers who don’t have access to family support.

Read more about us.

Builders support the 15% interest-free boost that we give in New Build Boost, but they have no rights over the property. They cannot force a sale. The boost is administered exclusively by Gen H, so your clients will not have a relationship with the builder as it regards the boost or the mortgage.

No, the builders cannot influence the valuation in any way.

New Build Boost is a distinct product family which has its own rates. These headline rates will typically be higher than other 80% LTV mortgage rates. However, it’s important to compare the blended cost of a New Build Boost mortgage, as clients don’t pay any interest on the 15% interest-free boost.

The boost is an interest-free equity loan which is frozen for 5 years. If a client has not cleared their boost in the first 5 years of their ownership of the property via regular repayments or at remortgage or sale, the repayment value of their boost will step up or down in line with any changes to the property value over the last 5 years.

If it has gone down, the client will repay less than they initially borrowed. If the value has gone up, the client will need to repay more than they initially borrowed in proportion to the growth of the value of their home.

As with any mortgage, it is best to look beyond the headline rate and compare monthly payments and total cost. The headline rate on New Build Boost may appear quite high, but remember the customer is getting 15% interest-free, so when considered across the total amount it becomes quite competitive.

While New Build Boost is not designed to be a price-driven product, usually it will be comparable in cost to a standard 95% new build mortgage. If your clients are not affordability- or criteria-constrained, and have other mortgage options, you may find one of those works out cheaper for them.

We have a comparison calculator on our website to help you compare New Build Boost with a core mortgage product.

No. The 15% boost becomes an equity loan after 5 years, but is interest-free forever.

No, there are no early repayment charges associated with repaying the interest-free boost. However, there are repayment terms that clients should be aware of.

Clients won’t be able to make part repayments in the first calendar year of the loan or if they’re in arrears. After the first loan anniversary (and assuming they’re in good standing), they’ll be able to repay parts of the interest-free boost once every 3 months in amounts of at least £100.

As long as they aren’t in arrears, clients can repay the boost in full any time.

Overpayments on the main mortgage will work as normal – clients can overpay by up to 10% of their opening main mortgage balance each year without paying early repayment charges. They can’t make overpayments if they’re in arrears, and overpayments are non-refundable.

Yes! Foreign nationals are welcome to use New Build Boost. Our foreign national policy is designed to support more people as they set down roots in the UK.

• There is no extra minimum income requirement for foreign nationals
• We can lend up to 90% where a foreign national’s income is used
• There is no minimum time required to be left of their visa; the visa only needs to be valid at the time of application
• They’ll need 2 years’ UK credit history

Read our full foreign national criteria here.

Yes, clients can add an income booster to their New Build Boost mortgage to help with affordability. This could make a loan affordable where it wasn’t before, and the income booster doesn’t need to contribute any money.

However, the income booster will be liable for the full value of the mortgage and the boost, just like the owners.

Yes, both owners and boosters are liable for the full amount of the main mortgage and boost.

If the homeowners stop making their contractual monthly mortgage repayments, we would make contact with income boosters to alert them that this could damage their credit score as soon as a payment is missed.

Conversely, the boost is only required to be repaid at sale, remortgage, or the end of term. This means we’d only ask the income boosters to make a payment toward the boost if it’s still outstanding in one of these instances.

Yes – they’ll need to complete Section 4a of the UK Finance disclosure form with the following information:

• Percentage any equity held by a third party: 15%
• Name of party or parties holding equity: Imagine Mortgages Limited t/a Gen H
• Scheme name: Gen H New Build Boost

Do not enter New Build Boost in the incentives section of the form.

All New Build Boost offers will be valid for 150 days.

We will extend offers without requiring a new full application. You will need to select a new product from those on sale at the time, and we will do a simple reassessment of the customer's circumstances.

Like all aspects of New Build Boost, this is an area that we will keep under review and intend to improve when we can.

We don’t include the 15% boost in our affordability assessment because it’s interest-free and there are no mandatory recurring repayments. In general, clients are assessed as normal for a standard 80% LTV mortgage.

You can see the list of available sites on our website. All plots at the listed sites are eligible to be bought with New Build Boost. Please bear in mind that site eligibility may change depending on demand for the scheme.

Both first-time buyers and home movers are welcome to use New Build Boost. It is designed to support buyers with smaller deposits – so if your clients have enough deposit and can afford a conventional mortgage, New Build Boost might not be right for them.

New Build Boost is not currently available in Scotland.

Until the 15% boost is repaid, clients will have to choose from a dedicated New Build Boost product family.

We expect many customers will be in a position to repay the boost at remortgage using additional borrowing, as their overall LTV will likely have reduced and their property will no longer be a new build.

As with all additional borrowing this will be subject to affordability and criteria assessment, and therefore will depend on a range of factors including changes in property price, household income, expenditure, and interest rates.

They also have the option of repaying part or all of the boost with cash, or to keep the boost.

Once the boost is repaid, the client can remortgage onto a standard mortgage with us or with another lender.

Builders decide which sites will be eligible to purchase with New Build Boost, but there are no general restrictions on property type or price. All unsold plots at eligible sites will be available to purchase with New Build Boost.

Clients can repay their boost in full any time. They can do so with cash or additional borrowing at remortgage, but if they do this within the fixed term of their main mortgage, early repayment charges will be payable.

They can make partial repayments after the first anniversary of their loan. Partial repayments can take place once every three months in amounts of at least £100.

They’ll make all repayments to us directly, and they can’t make boost repayments if the mortgage is in shortfall or arrears.

There are no extra costs associated with repayments, and the only mandatory repayment events are if they choose to redeem the main mortgage (i.e. sale of the property or remortgaging onto a standard mortgage), or at the end of their term.