Saffron Building Society has cut the rate on its 95% first time buyer mortgage to 5.79% from 6.49%.

The reduced rate is fixed until 30/04/15 and it comes with a £195 fee.

The ‘Rent to Buy’ Mortgage is for first time buyers who have been renting for 12 months or more. It uses the prospective buyer’s rental payment history as evidence of their ability to afford an equivalent monthly mortgage payment and combines this assessment with the standard credit history checks.

The repayment only mortgage is available direct from Saffron’s branches and a selected range of introducers including John Charcol, Brightstar, Mortgage Talk and Complete.

John Eastgate, Saffron’s sales and marketing director, said: “We reduced the rate following a general reduction in rates in the mainstream market.