Barclays has announced that it is offering a three-year fixed rate deal at 2.99% for buyers with no deposit but who earn more than £50,000.

The lender said it has made changes to its Family Springboard Mortgage in celebration of the third anniversary since it was first launched.

The mortgage, which became available in 2013, previously required borrowers to put down a deposit of at least 5%.

Sound too good to be true? As part of the deal, family or friends of the borrower will have to deposit the equivalent of 10% of the property’s purchase price in a savings account and keep it there for three years. They will receive the money back at the end of the three-year period with interest equivalent to the base rate plus 1.5%.

Jody Baker, Head of Money, comparethemarket.com, had this to say: “The government’s commitment to building new starter homes,‎ the introduction of the Help to Buy ISA and changes to stamp duty, has shown its’ efforts to make housing more affordable to first time buyers and it is encouraging to see the industry getting in on the act too. Whilst Barclays’ move adds a viable option for those looking to buy a home, there is, of course, a note of caution. Loans of this sort require prudence on the part of the borrower, ensuring that they have not over-extended themselves. We would always recommend to anyone that is taking a mortgage works out a detailed budget of their monthly household expenses and assesses in some depth their incomings and outgoings. Equally, we would expect these products to remain few and far between at the fringes of the mortgage lending universe by necessity – after all, it was riskier lending which caused the financial crisis in the first place.”

Henry Pryor, a buying agent and housing market commentator referred to the new product as a “financial grenade”.