In the past 18 months, students’ parents have been hit by the triple whammy of a complex lending picture, bureaucratic red tape and a depressed property market.

But for Wendy Nichols and her daughter, Samantha, who is studying medicine at Glasgow University, the decision to buy was easy. “If you add in two years as a junior doctor, Samantha could easily need a base there for nine years,” says Nichols.

In the boom, parents typically bought a two- or three-bedroom home. They could let out two rooms and almost cover the mortgage, providing a leg-up for their child. They also enjoyed annual capital growth as mortgage guarantors. They then had no capital-gains tax liability on a sale if the property was in their child’s name.

The Royal Bank of Scotland in particular specialised in 100% advances on an interest-only mortgage. As mortgages were approved on the guarantee of blood relatives, there was no deposit required on an interest-only loan and charges were minimal.

That has changed, as Craig Scott, of Regents Estates, explains. “Lenders offer only 85% maximum of the purchase price,” he says. “You need a minimum 15% deposit. Guarantor mortgages are scarce and even if the parent buys as a second home, on their own or with a child, it is still 85% maximum and a high interest rate. This may incur capital-gains tax, as the parent is a non-occupying borrower.

“The fact that I haven’t had a student purchase on my books for months says it all really,” says Scott. “The market is flat, there is no buffer of near-guaranteed capital growth and the loans require a serious investment as a deposit.”

So that’s the bad news.

Like an increasing number of buyers, who believe there are bargains to be had in the beleaguered new-build sector, Nichols, from Northamptonshire, targeted small, west-end developments, and bought in Hughenden, from the builder John Dickie.

She was also reassured by the advantages of buying a new home: security, easily maintained apartments and off-road parking. Her luxury two-bedroom flat was first offered at £340,000 at peak market prices last year, but a year later Nichols was able to buy it for £260,000. In a survey, the property was valued at £290,000.

She says that with little or no immediate capital growth available, parents must prioritise their objectives. “In my case,” she says, “Samantha’s wellbeing was paramount.”

Without the guaranteed profits of the boom years, she says, parents should remain clear-eyed. “I wanted the peace of mind of Samantha having a safe, quiet base for studying. If at the end of her course the flat merely returns our investment, I will still see it as a success.”

Like Nichols, Kirsty Hunter, from Dundee, a trainee primary school teacher, also targeted new-home builders — in her case Alba Homes’ Merchant City Lofts development. Hunter estimates the builder shaved off 20% to conclude the deal, at just under £200,000.

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