Tembo Money Review – Family Help For Deposits

Tembo is a UK mortgage broker and savings app that specialises in helping first-time buyers borrow more or buy sooner, often with help from family: guarantor-style mortgages it calls Income Boost, Deposit Boost and Savings as Security. As of 29 October 2026, its fee for a purchase mortgage is typically £499 for a standard mortgage or £749 for a Boost mortgage, paid only when you get a mortgage offer. Standard remortgage advice has been free since 13 July 2026, and Tembo savers get fee-free advice. The catch: family-backed mortgages put your helper’s income, savings or home on the line.

I rated Tembo 4.9 out of 5. On safety: Tembo is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and its cash savings sit with partner banks covered by the FSCS (the UK’s compensation scheme if a bank fails) up to £120,000 per person, per bank.

Tembo review: my verdict at a glance

I think the concept is an excellent idea. I totally get how parents would want to help their children, and Tembo gives them a structured way to do that.

Is Tembo good for first-time buyers?

Tembo suits you if

• You’ve saved a deposit but your income alone won’t get the mortgage you need.
• You earn enough but haven’t saved enough for a deposit, and a family member owns their home.
• A family member has savings they’re happy to tie up for a few years as security.
• You’re saving for a first home and want a Lifetime ISA and a broker in the same app.

Look elsewhere if

• You’d rather not pay a broker fee. Some brokers are paid only by lender commission.
• The deal you want is only available direct from a lender (Tembo can’t arrange those).
• Your family can’t comfortably afford the risk of covering your payments.
• You already qualify for a standard mortgage and just want the cheapest rate.

How Tembo’s family mortgages work

Tembo calls these guarantor mortgages: a family member or friend (Tembo says “Booster”) uses their income, savings or home to support your mortgage. Each lender sets its own rules and both of you have to pass affordability checks.

Income Boost

For when you’ve saved a deposit but your income isn’t high enough for the lender. A family member’s income is added to your application so the mortgage becomes affordable in the lender’s eyes. This is usually set up as a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage: they’re named on the mortgage but not on the deeds, so they don’t own any of the home, but they are legally responsible for the payments if you can’t make them.

Deposit Boost

For when your income is fine but your deposit is too small. A homeowner in your family takes out a mortgage on their own home (often an interest-only retirement mortgage, or a remortgage) and gives you the money as a deposit. That’s two separate mortgages: they’re responsible for theirs, you for yours, and they don’t own any of your home. Tembo says Boosters need to own at least 50% of their home, and their home can be repossessed if they don’t keep up their own payments. Any arrangement for you to pay them back is a private agreement between you.

Savings as Security

A family member puts savings into an account held by the lender as security. You may not need a deposit at all, and they get their savings back after a set term as long as your payments are kept up.

Other schemes Tembo looks at

Tembo says it advises on more than 25 budget-boosting schemes, including Skipton’s Track Record mortgage (a 100% mortgage based on your rent history), new-build schemes with a 5% deposit, and higher income multiples of up to 5.5 times for some professions. Two government changes are worth knowing too:

• 95% mortgages: the mortgage guarantee scheme, which helps lenders offer 5% deposit mortgages, was made permanent in July 2025.
• Your First Home (England): announced in the 28 October 2026 Budget, a government equity loan of up to 20% for first-time buyers of new-build homes, with deposits as low as 2.5%. Applications open in February 2027 and the first loans complete from April 2027. Price and income caps apply.

The big risk with any family-backed mortgage is the relationship. Failing to make repayments affects the person who helped you and could cause long-term damage, so check the payments are affordable for the long term. Lenders also usually set age limits for helpers, which can shorten the mortgage term. Our guide on getting a mortgage on a low income covers other routes.

How much does Tembo charge for a mortgage?

These are Tembo’s own fees from its terms of business, checked on 29 October 2026. You’re never charged for advice alone: the fee is only due once a lender makes you a mortgage offer, and your broker tells you the fee before applying.

Tembo may also receive commission from the lender or insurer. Compared with the old fees in the first version of this review (£299, £499 and £749), the standard fee has gone up, but remortgages are now free.

Is the Tembo fee worth it?

For a straightforward mortgage, a fee-free broker or going direct may cost you less. For a Boost mortgage, the specialist work is what you’re paying for: £749 is small next to the extra borrowing a scheme can bring, but only you can judge whether that extra borrowing is wise. Our questions to ask a mortgage adviser help you compare brokers.

Tembo Lifetime ISA and savings accounts

Tembo also runs savings accounts through its app. These are Tembo’s rates on 29 October 2026; they’re variable unless stated and can change.

AER (annual equivalent rate) is what you’d earn over a year, including interest on interest. Bonus rates need reading carefully: the HomeSaver bonus is lost if you don’t get your mortgage through Tembo or close the account early, and the Lifetime ISA bonus rate drops away after 12 months.

Read nextNutmeg Review 2026: Now J.P. Morgan Personal Investing

Lifetime ISA after the October 2026 Budget

The Lifetime ISA (LISA) is still open and still the main reason many first-time buyers use Tembo. The rules today: open it aged 18 to 39, pay in up to £4,000 a year until you’re 50, and the government adds 25% (up to £1,000 a year). To use it for a first home, the home must cost £450,000 or less, be bought at least 12 months after your first payment, with a mortgage and through a conveyancer.

• New: 20% charge on first homes over £450,000. From 29 October 2026, if you use your LISA to buy a first home costing more than £450,000, the withdrawal charge drops from 25% to 20%. GOV.UK hadn’t updated its page when we checked, but Tembo’s own page already shows the 20% charge.
• All other early withdrawals are still charged 25%, which takes back the bonus and a bit of your own money.
• First Time Buyer ISA from 6 April 2029. It replaces the LISA for new savers, with a 25% government bonus paid when you withdraw to buy a first home worth up to £450,000. Press reports say up to £4,000 a year, no upper age limit and no withdrawal charge, but the final rules aren’t out yet. If you already have a LISA you can keep paying in under the current rules.

Here’s how the two charges compare if you’ve paid in £4,000 and had a £1,000 bonus (a £5,000 pot). A 25% charge takes £1,250, leaving £3,750: you lose the bonus and £250 of your own money. The 20% charge for a first home over £450,000 takes £1,000, leaving £4,000: in effect you just lose the bonus. Tembo’s own article on the LISA replacement (August 2026) gives April 2028; the Budget has since set April 2029.

Our guide to how a Lifetime ISA works covers the rules in full, and the best ways to save for a house deposit compares it with other options.

Is Tembo safe and legit?

Yes, Tembo is legit. It’s two FCA-regulated companies:

• Tembo Money Limited (mortgages and insurance) is authorised and regulated by the FCA, registration number 952652.
• Tembo Savings Limited (savings and Lifetime ISAs, including the Nude brand) is authorised by the FCA, FRN 928010.
• Cash savings are held with partner banks in ring-fenced accounts, separate from Tembo’s own money, so they’re protected if Tembo stops trading. The FSCS covers up to £120,000 per person, per bank, and that limit is shared with anything else you hold at the same bank.
• The Stocks and Shares LISA is an investment, so its value can fall. FSCS investment protection (up to £85,000) only applies if a firm fails, not if markets fall.

Your home may be repossessed if you don’t keep up repayments on your mortgage. With a Deposit Boost, the same applies to your Booster’s home and their mortgage.

How Tembo works

You start by creating a free Tembo plan online: you enter your income, deposit and the price you’re aiming for, and Tembo checks your eligibility across its lenders and schemes, with indicative rates and monthly payments. You can then book a call with an adviser (seven days a week) and get a dedicated adviser and case manager. Tembo says its average time to a mortgage offer is 10 days, based on applications in October 2024. If you’re remortgaging, it applies up to six months before your deal ends and can re-apply if rates fall before you complete.

Tembo reviews: what customers say

On Trustpilot, Tembo scores 4.8 out of 5 from 8,101 reviews, with 93% giving five stars and 4% one star (checked 29 October 2026). That’s up from 467 reviews when I first wrote this review. Tembo has won Best Mortgage Broker at the British Bank Awards every year from 2022 to 2026, and Best Newcomer in 2022.

When it comes to mortgages and money, two touchy subjects for many people, results like that are impressive. The complaints that do come up are communication delays at busy moments, frustration with identity and admin checks, and problems on the property side of a purchase.

Tembo vs other ways to get a mortgage

Tembo stands out for its family-boost focus. If you don’t need that, a whole-of-market broker without a fee may suit you. Our guide on how to find a mortgage adviser explains what to look for, and the mortgage calculator shows monthly payments.

How I reviewed Tembo

I researched Tembo’s products, fees and customer feedback and scored it with our six pillar method, which rates useful features, user experience, price and fees, suitability for first-time buyers, customer feedback and customer service. Tembo scored 4.9 out of 5. Every fee, rate and rule on this page was re-checked on Tembo’s own website and terms of business, GOV.UK and the Budget documents on 29 October 2026.

Tembo review: final thoughts

I really like Tembo’s approach to getting more people onto the property ladder. It’s an innovative offering, it has grown well beyond family loans into a full broker and savings app, and its customer reviews are excellent.

My only caveat: if you’re a parent who has already paid off your mortgage, you may be in a position to simply give your children the money rather than take on new borrowing. And whoever helps, make sure everyone understands what happens if payments are missed before anyone signs.

FAQs