I am a first time buyer and I don't recommend using John Charcol - it was a very stressful experience. Things were great at the beginning and they offered me a really good deal with a high lending amount and little interest rate, which suited my needs. As I was house hunting at the time, I based my price range on this quote, and as it took me a few months to find somewhere, they kept updating the same quote but in line with the current interest rates. When I finally found somewhere within that price range, they said they could no longer give me that quote, despite it being the same for months, and were offering me a lending amount far lower than the original, with a higher interest rate. When trying to resolve the situation in order to save the property I had offered, my broker ghosted me for 3 days, and then never came back to me on the situation. I think with first time buyers they offer a great quote originally in the hopes that it will get cleared once an offer has been accepted, however you are left in the lurch if this doesn't go to plan and then they just drop you. Save yourself the time and stress and use somewhere else.