1st Financial Foundations

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1st Financial Foundations We show you how to develop long-term financial security and wealth, no matter where you are in your

1st Financial Foundations Independent Financial Advisers provide an expert, flexible approach to managing our clients' wealth. We work with our clients to understand their requirements, and we bring these together with retirement, investment, protection and personal long-term financial solutions to enable them to achieve their life goals. You’ll find our refreshingly honest and down-to-earth approach is based on personal, practical experience. There’s nothing we recommend that we haven’t personally utilised ourselves. And, because we are independent, our advice and guidance is based on what we believe will generate the greatest wealth for our clients' circumstances, NOT what products we have to sell.

A lower mortgage rate can look great on paper, until you see what it actually costs upfront.Some of the lowest rates com...
18/10/2026

A lower mortgage rate can look great on paper, until you see what it actually costs upfront.

Some of the lowest rates come with a much higher product fee. You either pay it upfront or add it to your loan, and if you add it to the loan, you pay interest on it too.

So the cheapest-looking deal isn't always the cheapest deal. On a smaller mortgage, a slightly higher rate with little or no fee can work out better over the fixed term. On a larger mortgage, the lower rate may still come out on top. It depends on your numbers.

That's why we look at the total cost over the term, not just the rate.

Before you apply for the deal you've seen online, let's run the numbers together. Email me at [email protected] or call the office on 01908 523420. Happy to talk it through, whether you're a client of 1st Financial Foundations or not. Your 1st 45-minute consultation is free.

15/10/2026

The government wants to put up 20% of the price of your first new-build home. You put down 2.5%.

That is the Your First Home scheme, which Andy Burnham will likely confirm at the autumn budget. My view is that it is a good idea, as long as you go in with your eyes open.

When I bought my first property, I borrowed money from my uncle. He charged me no interest. The bank did. This is the same principle, except the interest-free money comes from the government.

It isn't completely free though and it will be made clear come 28th October. I expect that only an initial period will be interest free and if the property rises in value, it shares in the growth on its 20%. If property values go down, the losses will likely be fully absorbed on the buyer’s books.

A lot of details are still to be confirmed, so none of this is a recommendation for your situation. If you're thinking about your first home and want to see how it fits your wider plan, book a free 45-minute chat. Email me at [email protected] or call the office on 01908 523420.

14/10/2026

Many wealthy South Asians in the UK have built the wealth but don't go any further than that. So when they're faced with the reality of passing that wealth on, it becomes a last minute scramble. No one thought to plan for the future, simply because it was supposed to be in the future.

This is why financial education is so important. I usually teach financial planning like this. Any fruit you'd like to eat, you cannot have unless a seed has been planted to grow that fruit. Financial planning works the same way. It's work you do today for a benefit you get in the future, and the benefits go well beyond avoiding an expensive last minute scramble.

If you'd like further guidance with wealth, pension and retirement planning, I'm happy to chat. Email me at [email protected] or call the office on 01908 523420.

14/10/2026

Many UK adults don’t have protection because of a lack of information, so I’m sharing the real questions I get every day from real people.

When does your income protection cover begin?
When you take a policy out today and you're protected from today. If something happens tomorrow, you're immediately covered.

When does it pay out?
This is called the deferred period. That's the gap between you stopping work and the payments starting. Many providers offer 4 weeks. So if you’ve suffered an illness or injury, your income is replaced from the fifth week it has kept you off of work onwards.

Let me know if you’ve found this helpful and DM me if you have more questions on income protection.

My DM is always open, you can also email me at [email protected] or call the office on 01908 523420. Your 1st 45-minute consultation is free.

13/10/2026

John Healey and Andy Burnham's first budget is coming on the 28th of October. Mansion tax is one of the biggest topics everyone is talking about.

It's an ongoing annual charge on homes worth over £1,500,000 or £2,000,000. Nothing is confirmed until the announcement but it will cost £2,500 a year for those who meet the threshold.

Nobody likes paying an additional tax, but if you own a higher value home, or you're planning a purchase around this level, it's worth thinking now about how an extra annual cost fits your numbers.

Would a charge like this change how you think about buying, or are you staying put?

Email me at [email protected] or call the office on 01908 523420 if you need guidance in looking at your property portfolio and mortgage arrangements ahead of the budget announcement.

10/09/2026

Our founder, Yash Tosar, talks about the legacy of 1st Financial Foundations:

After 25 years I've stepped back from running 1st Financial Foundations day to day. I still love speaking to clients and finding solutions for them, that hasn't changed.

My daughter Tina sits on the board, managing and developing the business. One of our financial advisers, my nephew Dylan, has sat in client meetings for 15 years, so my clients know him and he knows how I work. My grandson Josh wants to go into finance and already talks about being CEO one day.

The reality is I won't be around forever, so I've made sure a succession plan is in place, one that keeps the company running even without me.

If you're building something and you want it to OUTLAST you, let's have a chat on legacy planning. Email [email protected] or call the office on 01908 523420.

In celebration of our 25th anniversary, we're giving £250 off mortgage broker fees and 50% off onboarding fees for wealth clients if you sign up this month.

14/08/2026

Why is it that when a mortgage question comes up, you ask everyone but a mortgage adviser?

For everything else, you would ring an expert.

Your neighbour, friend or even ChatGPT, can't see your cashflows, your credit profile, or what a lender will actually do with either. They are usually going to answer your questions in general or worse, based on someone else's situation.

A mortgage adviser does this all day, every day. That is the whole job, customised for you. So ask the group chat if you like, but speak to a professional to validate all your information BEFORE you make a move.

Email [email protected] or call the office on 01908 523420. A DM works too. Happy to talk through your situation on an individual basis, whether you're a client of 1st Financial Foundations or not.

13/08/2026

If you are planning to put your UK property into a trust to save on inheritance tax, you may not be getting the outcome you are looking for.

Whenever you give something away to your children or grandchildren but keep the benefit of it, the rules treat it as though you never gave it away at all. That is what a gift with reservation means. The house still sits inside your estate, and the tax you were planning to work around is still there waiting.

With residential property it does not matter which trust you put it into. If you are still living there and not paying commercial rent, it will not count as having left your estate.

If you want to look at what your gifting arrangement actually achieves, send an email to [email protected] or call the office on 01908 523420.

12/08/2026

You have a UK property. Should you go into buy to let, an HMO, or buy and flip? Which one is the right path?

My honest answer is that it is horses for courses. They are all possibilities.

Whether any one of them works has very little to do with the strategy itself and almost everything to do with the specifics. The particular property. The area. The market at the time.

The bigger thing people forget is that it is a long-term commitment, and over a long enough stretch the climate changes, the economy changes, and your own circumstances change too. Whatever plan you start with has to survive all of that, and many times you need to change strategies. That is why professional advice matters.

So I cannot say one is better than the other without knowing the specific situation. We have to consider your timeline, your cashflow, what you want to achieve and what is realistic for you.

Email me at [email protected] or call the office on 01908 523420 if you want to have this conversation with me.

11/08/2026

Most people go into property and think the work is done once the purchase completes. They fall into becoming a landlord almost by accident, then wonder why they are losing money. Some swear off property investment entirely after that.

It was rarely the asset class that was the problem. Property can work as part of a wider plan and it does for a lot of my clients. It is the work of being a good landlord that makes it successful.

It could also be that property is simply not the right investment for your goals and circumstances. Values can fall as well as rise, and nothing is guaranteed either way.

If you have ended up a landlord by accident and you are not sure whether it is the right investment for you, email me at [email protected] or call the office on 01908 523420.

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Milton Keynes

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