Repayment period:

The repayment period is usually long (25-30 years). Monthly repayments are then kept relatively low.

Advantages:

It's often cheaper to buy a house than to rent one. For example, taking out a repayment mortgage of £100000 on a 25 year basis at 5.25% would mean monthly repayments of around £600.

Mortgages of 95% are widely available and first-time buyers get discounts.