A wedding, a honeymoon, and a house move: how Delayed Start is built for moments like this
A young couple had a lot going on. They’d had an offer on a property fall through and with their wedding approaching quickly, decided to delay their home ownership journey. But as so often happens, life had other plans: the perfect property came onto the market in the same estate they wanted.
Their broker was trying to determine the best next step. It was clear the couple would need to place an offer higher than the home report value to secure the property. This was an issue given the current timeline, as it would mean a wedding, honeymoon, and house move in the span of two months. In short, things were tight.
It was at this point an email landed in the broker’s inbox, from Skipton Building Society. It included details about the lender’s Delayed Start mortgage, a product that, as the name suggests, allows the borrower to defer initial payments for up to 3 months. It gave the broker an option that suited the couple’s predicament. The couple went on to secure the property, while Delayed Start gave them some additional breathing room during an unusually expensive period of their lives.
This is exactly the kind of scenario Skipton was made for, says Derek Adams, Senior National Account Lead.
“We’ve been known for a bit of innovation over the last couple of years, particularly to help first-time buyers,” Adams says. “We want to be their go-to lender.”
Delayed Start to get ahead
Like many of Skipton’s products, Delayed Start was a result of feedback from brokers who reported many first-time buyers were carrying costs into their new home. Whether from furnishing the new house or renting until the last minute to ensure they kept a roof over their head, there were common overlaps brokers saw again and again.
Skipton took that insight and rolled out Delayed Start in May 2025, a mortgage product designed to provide a bit of a cushion. It allowed eligible borrowers to delay their first mortgage payments for three months, although interest continued to accrue from day one, and gave eligible borrowers some breathing room immediately after completing on their first home. It was in short, a gamechanger.
“There wasn’t anything quite like it in the market at the time” Adams says. “It allowed new homeowners to delay their first mortgage payment to the fourth month after putting their key through the door and it went down well. Immediately on launch, there were a few brokers who already had a normal fixed rate in the pipeline who requested a switch for their client.”
Skipton’s own research underpinned the need: first-time buyers spend more than £30,000 in the first three months after moving in, with 63 per cent reporting feeling financially strained. A further 71 per cent said the process cost more than they expected and 61 per cent said the financial hit took the shine off getting on the property ladder.
Skipton has seen many first-time buyers take advantage of Delayed Start which “proves there was a bit of a gap in the market,” Adams says.
Because Delayed Start involves fewer scheduled repayments during the initial fixed-rate period, brokers should take care when comparing it with other products through sourcing systems. The delayed repayments don't mean the borrowing is cost-free during that period: interest accrues from day one. Brokers should therefore consider the overall cost alongside the benefit of delaying the client's initial repayments.
Because of the way the product is constructed, Delayed Start tends to surface near the top of sourcing engines — 21 payments over a two-year fix will always cost less in total than 24. Adams says brokers must be transparent and deliberate in how they present it, ensuring the total cost is clearly explained. The broker and client should then weigh the benefit of not paying against the additional interest accrued. In the right circumstances it provides welcome flexibility.
Version 3.0: opening the door to home movers
It wasn’t long before Skipton began to refine the product, The delayed start feature can also be used alongside Income Booster, New Build and Shared Ownership applications, as well as Track Record where at least one applicant is a first-time buyer. The next innovation for Delayed Start was allowing a first-time buyer to choose whether they wanted a one-, two-, or three-month delay, depending on the product selected.
Importantly, a client doesn’t have to stick with the original time frame, Adams notes: if they chose three months, for example, but got on their feet more quickly than they thought, they could start making payments sooner.
Next, it was brought to the lender’s attention that the pressures that gave rise to Delayed Start weren’t exclusive to those stepping onto the property ladder for the first time; they also come down on those looking to climb up a rung or two. In a third iteration of the product, the appeal of Delayed Start for first-time buyers prompted Skipton to expand it to home movers.
A recent study found that moving costs rose 27 per cent between 2024 and 2025, driven largely by stamp duty changes and rising conveyancing and estate agency fees. These costs fall on home movers just as heavily as first-time buyers, spurring Skipton to open the door that much wider to allow people moving house to access the cushion as well, if needed.
“We’ve shown innovation but more recently, rather than more innovation we’re focused on enhancing the innovation we have in place,” Adams says.
For example, this announcement comes alongside other refinements this year, including the Track Record mortgage — another popular option — allowing for a mortgage up to 150 per cent of the borrower’s rental payment, up from 120 per cent (dependent on the client’s circumstances and calculated as a mean average over the last six months). It’s all part of a push to enhance affordability for first-time buyers, while being open to assisting other cohorts too.
Skipton keeps pushing forward
Adams spends a lot of time with brokers at various events and knows they appreciate the outside-the-box moves Skipton makes. That willingness to keep pushing its products forward for the good of the borrower is something the lender has built its reputation on.
It’s about providing options, whether a client receives a survey report that requires more work than anticipated, is carrying a final month’s rent into their first mortgage payment or is managing a house move, wedding, and honeymoon all at once. It’s a tangible relief valve that fits real life. The borrowers who benefit from it really appreciate it, and it allows brokers to step up at a stressful time and say, “I’ve got something that might work,” Adams notes.
“Even if they don’t have a need for a certain product then and there, it’s something else in the tool bag to pull out for the right customer.”
Products subject to eligibility and lending criteria
For Intermediary Use Only
Derek Adams
Senior National Accounts Lead
Skipton Building Society
