Manchester broker says online research has made first-time buyers more engaged — but not necessarily better prepared
First-time buyers are arriving at broker appointments better researched than ever before, yet still confused about the fundamentals of the mortgage process — and the industry is partly to blame, according to Carl Barnes (pictured top), a mortgage and protection adviser at Manchester Money.
Barnes argues that the proliferation of online content, from TikTok explainer videos and Instagram posts to AI chatbots and comparison sites, has produced a generation of buyers who know enough to be anxious but not enough to be prepared.
"The majority of first-time buyers come to us with some knowledge and information gathered online," he said. "It's great that they do their research, but half the information they receive is incomplete and doesn't give them the full story or plan they need to make their purchase happen."
One of the most persistent misunderstandings Barnes encounters is around deposit requirements. Most first-time buyers believe they need a minimum of 10% or 15%, and many fail to account for the additional costs that sit alongside the deposit — solicitor fees, surveys, stamp duty, and removal costs. The result is that buyers who consider themselves close to purchase-ready are often months away from being so.
For Barnes, the remedy is to give clients a clear, structured explanation of how deposits interact with the rates, products, and monthly payments available to them.
"What I do with every client is give them a proper education on how this works, because mortgages can be complicated — but once broken down simply, clients genuinely appreciate having the full picture rather than generic answers from a video or a search result," he said. "Our job isn't just to confirm they're not ready; it's to map out exactly what ready looks like, and to build a plan to get them there."
Barnes also points to loan-to-value (LTV) as a concept that is routinely misunderstood, not because it is inherently complex, but because it is rarely explained in practical terms. Rather than stating that a client is at 90% LTV, the broker advocates translating the figure into something meaningful: what it means for the rate on offer, how reducing it changes the picture, and whether retaining some savings for buying costs might be more advantageous than maximising the deposit.
"These are the real conversations — the ones that explore the risks, pros, and cons for that specific person," he said. "That's the difference between a client who feels processed and a client who feels genuinely advised."
Overpayment facilities represent another gap between what first-time buyers think they understand and what they actually know. Many are aware that overpaying is broadly beneficial but do not know whether their chosen product permits it, to what limit, or what penalties apply if they exceed it.
Barnes notes that overpayment strategy has become increasingly relevant among younger buyers who anticipate income growth and want to reduce their mortgage term or build equity more quickly — a priority made more pressing by the trend towards extended mortgage terms taken out primarily for affordability reasons. Failing to address overpayments during product selection, he argues, risks exposing clients to early repayment charges they were never warned about.
But Barnes reserves his sharpest concern for the protection conversation, which he says still does not happen often enough. First-time buyers who have spent months saving and finally secured a mortgage will frequently leave an appointment with all the documentation they need to complete — and no protection in place for life, critical illness, or income loss.
"The mortgage is stress-tested by the lender, but the client's ability to sustain it through real life — illness, injury, bereavement — often isn't," Barnes pointed out. "We owe every client the conversation about what those scenarios actually look like, so they can make an informed choice rather than an uninformed one."
Barnes's broader argument is that the industry must resist the temptation to make the homebuying process sound more complicated than it is. The most valuable service a broker can provide, he believes, is not more information but greater clarity — building on what clients already know, correcting the gaps, and ensuring they leave the appointment genuinely prepared.
"They came to us half-informed," he said. "They should leave fully prepared."
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