One in five buyers stayed in a toxic job to protect their application, but the bigger risk may be how they spend
More than one in five first-time buyers across the UK have stayed in jobs they describe as toxic to protect their mortgage eligibility – but according to one of the country's leading online brokers, that sacrifice may be based on a fundamental misreading of what lenders actually want.
New research from Mojo Mortgages' First-Time Buyer Sentiment Survey 2026, which polled 1,000 prospective buyers, found 22% of respondents had remained in unwanted roles to preserve their employment record and savings. A further 19% had delayed starting a family, while 37% had rented for longer than originally planned. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) mortgage lending statistics for Q1 2026 show first-time buyer advances fell to 27.4% of all owner-occupier lending, down 3.9 percentage points year-on-year.
But Kayleigh Jackson, mortgages sales manager at Mojo Mortgages, told Mortgage Introducer buyers are making the wrong sacrifices because they are misreading what lenders actually look for.
"The single biggest misconception we see is that saving a large deposit is the only hurdle that matters," she said. "Lenders aren't just looking at what you save; they are looking at how you spend."
The hidden dangers of the modern spending lifestyle
Jackson described buyers who aggressively cut their lifestyle to maximise their deposit, only to accumulate high-utilisation credit card debt or rely on buy now, pay later services for emergencies – spending patterns that can raise red flags with underwriters before a formal application is even submitted.
"An active 'Buy Now, Pay Later' habit or minor, regular gambling transactions on their bank statements can spook an underwriter just as much as a missed payment," she said. "Buyers often focus entirely on the size of the pot, when they should be focused on the cleanliness of their bank accounts in the three to six months leading up to the application."
Premium car finance, furniture on store credit, and stacked subscription services are all treated by lenders as regular committed expenditure, and that committed expenditure directly reduces borrowing power.
"They assume that if they can afford the monthly payments, the lender won't mind," Jackson said. "But to an underwriter, they could see this as a regular commitment debt that directly eats away at how much mortgage you can secure."
Job changes, probationary periods, and what buyers are not being told
Jackson is clear staying in a toxic role is, in many cases, an unnecessary sacrifice.
"There is a massive disparity in how lenders view career changes, and it's a real shame that 22% of buyers in our survey felt trapped in toxic jobs just to keep their application alive," she said. "On one end of the spectrum, traditional lenders want to see 12 months of continuous employment. On the other end, more progressive lenders are perfectly happy to accept a job move if it's a natural progression within the same industry."
Her advice for buyers considering a career move is practical: map out your track record, check that any new role does not rely on unproven bonus or commission structures, and speak to a broker before making the change. Some lenders will lend on the basis of a signed employment contract before a buyer has started the new role.
An emotional journey that has fundamentally changed
Research on how homebuying takes a significant mental toll on UK buyers has grown increasingly difficult to ignore. The Mojo survey reinforces that picture, with 19% of respondents delaying starting a family, while more than 16% reported increased arguments with their partner. A further 13% said they had remained in a relationship longer than they wanted to because they could not afford to live alone.
"The emotional landscape has fundamentally shifted from one of excitement and milestone planning to endurance and compromise," Jackson said. "Buying a home used to be a natural next step in a relationship – now, the financial pressure is actively straining the relationship itself."
For buyers locked in the rental cycle, Jackson said the adviser's role is to broaden the conversation. Understanding how long it realistically takes first-time buyers to save for a deposit is often the first step in resetting expectations. Track Record Mortgages, Shared Ownership, Deposit Unlock, and joint-borrower-sole-proprietor (JBSP) arrangements are all routes worth exploring.
"Our job is to show them that a straight line isn't the only way to reach the destination," Jackson said.
What would actually change the market
Jackson's answer is twofold – reform of affordability stress testing paired with long-term policy stability. The wider context supports her concern. Mojo's study into the personal cost of saving for a first home showed 15% of respondents had moved back in with their parents to save.
"A major structural shift toward mandatory, practical financial education in early adulthood about how lifestyle debt impacts future homeownership would completely change the game," she said.
Policy consistency matters equally. Jackson pointed to the repeated cycle of housing schemes opening, changing, and closing – each creating artificial market spikes that ultimately price out the very buyers they were designed to help.
"First-time buyers need a stable, long-term regulatory environment so they can plan a two or three-year savings timeline without the goalposts moving halfway through."
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