Dental technician Carlos Shams has managed to find the ideal first-time buyer flat, round the corner from his workplace so he can pop home to walk the dog.

Carlos works as a dental technician in his father's practice in Aberdeen, as does his partner Roxanne McGurk, and the couple lived with his parents for 18 months while they saved for a deposit. They then took less than a week to identify their dream home, went to Clydesdale Bank and were offered an 87per cent loan to value mortgage for £166,500 with at a rate of 3.59per cent fixed for three years, leaving them with a £23,500 deposit to pay. They also benefited from the bank's no arrangement fee offer, as well as having their first month's mortgage payment paid for them.

"We just saved money every month, and were quite fortunate that the market slowed down just before Christmas," Mr Shams said. "We were amazed at the speed of the process, from the pre-appointment phone call to the approval of the mortgage."