The Mansfield Building Society has made its standard residential and specialist Versatility mortgage range available to borrowers looking to take advantage of the Scotland First Home Fund initiative.

The scheme allows first time buyers to obtain a loan from the Scottish Government of up to £25,000 (or a maximum of 49% of the property purchase price) to put towards the purchase of a residential property in Scotland.

The Government loan, which is secured by way of a second charge, is interest free and not repayable until the property is eventually sold.

The First Home Fund combines with the Society’s criteria meaning that borrowers only need to find an additional 5% deposit themselves to qualify for a Mansfield product.

Paul Lewis, the Mansfield’s national development manager, said the initiative seeks to address the single biggest challenge faced by many first time buyers trying to provide a meaningful deposit.

He added: “I have no doubt that the Scotland First Home Fund will prove incredibly popular with first time buyers, especially as the scheme appears generous and straightforward.

“The scheme provides access to mortgage product pricing that would ordinarily be more expensive for many first time buyers because they would have to borrow at much higher LTVs.

“We’re really excited because we can see how the scheme will complement our pragmatic underwriting approach and flexible criteria – this will provide real benefit to many aspiring homeowners and we expect the scheme to be well received.”