The first-time buyer these days is looking at a property ladder with a much higher first rung than ever before.

Due to the global credit crunch, getting a mortgage has become harder and the types of mortgages available have become less generous.

As a result, many first-time buyers are being warned against attempting to buy a house without readily available funds.

Using unsecured debt as a push-up onto an already-unstable property ladder is a pretty dangerous move.

Banks and building societies provide unsecured debt to individuals who can provide no security for the amount of money they are taking out.

On the plus side, this means that should you be unable to make repayments on an unsecured loan it is much more difficult for the bank to repossess your house or take your car.

However, these loans are also more difficult to obtain and, although it may be harder, the creditor can still apply to the courts for an Order of Sale to be taken out against the debtor's property.

Peter Beckett, business development director for online change of address service iammoving.com, commented on the fact last week that three in ten first-time buyers are now using unsecured debt to buy a home.

He said: "The whole housing market is at quite a turning point I think, whereby the prices are coming down and first-time buyers are looking for ways to be able to manage to get on to the ladder.

"But it's a very dangerous thing to do it on the back of unsecured debt unless you are extremely confident about your job security."

However, with house prices falling many first-time buyers may see the current situation as a rare way into the property market.

Mr Beckett explained: "If you rush into something now, you could find yourself in a negative equity position, having borrowed in order to be able to afford to secure the property in the first place.

"The mid-term implications of it are that things will slow down for first-time buyers until the market stabilises."

He advised financing buying a property with either savings, inheritance or by taking out a loan from a family member, rather than with unsecured debt.

The option of taking out unsecured debt may not be one that is readily available to first-time buyers in coming months, however.

Last month, the Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed that gross lending has slowed by eight per cent in the first quarter of 2008.

The council warned that this situation may worsen, making it increasingly difficult for those trying to get on the property ladder to obtain a mortgage that would allow them to do so.

Reinforcing this opinion is the news, reported by the Financial Times in April this year, that 90 per cent of loan-to-value buy-to-let mortgages have disappeared from the market.

This means that all prospective landlords will need to have at least 15 per cent of the property's value in the bank, as it is now recommended that all those looking to buy a property do.