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Melanie Buckingham, head of sales for The One Account, said: "It is only when you use it yourself that you get to really fully appreciate its benefits."

Cammy Amaira, director of sales for Intelligent Finance, said offset deals were ideally suited to mortgage advisers.

He said: "Many of them are self-employed and are likely to have a lumpy cashflow. Flexibility is a key factor of an offset mortgage. Advisers have fluctuating income streams that are likely to change on a monthly basis.

"Offsetting enables lower mortgage payments to be made some months and then overpayments in others, accommodating those months where there may be more revenue available."

Ian Broadrick, appointed representative of London-based Hamptons International, is an example of an adviser who is not just recommending offset to his clients but is also making the most of what these deals offer to manage his own money.

Mr Broadrick said his first experience of this sort of deal was when he had a Northern Rock flexible mortgage, which he took out as a method of improving his tax efficiency and to allow him to make overpayments.

He said: "I am not a huge fan of the term offset as it implies the product is something that it is not. Essentially it is a flexible mortgage in the way that the Northern Rock flexible fixed rate was, may it rest in peace.

"That was a cracking product. If you wanted to pay a lump sum off you just picked up the telephone, got your debit card out and paid a sum off. If you wanted the money back you picked the telephone up and they put the money back into your account straight away.

"To all intents and purposes that set up is exactly the same as having a savings account with a nominal amount of money in it. To me, the benefits of offsetting are more related to that and the associated interest savings that can come from that.

"I am using it for tax planning and each month I am putting money aside, that benefits me as I am getting a better rate of return than I would in a bank and I can get my hands on it as and when I need it."

Intelligent Finance's Mr Amaira agreed that offset should be a key consideration for clients and advisers who wish to lower their tax bills.

He said: "One of the key selling points of offset mortgages is their tax-saving potential. Higher rate tax payers would normally see 40 per cent of any interest on their savings accounts swallowed up in tax. But because they receive no interest on savings linked to offset mortgages, they have no tax to pay."

Based in the City of London, Hamptons International's Mr Broadrick said another reason he became sold on the idea of offset was because he found a number of his clients had the potential to achieve significant bonuses.

It quickly became clear to him that offset mortgages should be an obvious consideration for those working in the City.

Mr Broadrick said: "This style of business is unlikely to be suitable for a first-time buyer as they are likely to be putting their savings into a deposit, stamp duty and everything else.

"The benefit of offset is really for people whose income fluctuates, specifically the self-employed. Someone like a barrister, for example, who might get a large lump sum every six months when they finish a case.

"I spoke to a person who wants £1m on two-and-a-half times income and he wants the ability to overpay potentially 20 per cent to 30 per cent a year. At the moment, offset products are going to come into the radar even in that situation.

"I believe in the benefits of that style of mortgage. So long as the rates are competitive then offset is a very valuable tool, especially when it comes to tax planning and for general money management."

While some claim offset deals can be difficult to get to grips with, Mr Broadrick said many of his clients could work out the benefit these mortgages could have on their overall finances almost by hand.

He said: "The benefit of offset is there for them to see. It acts much like a large overdraft.

"They can figure out that if their money was just sat in a bank they could earn X per cent net whereas if it is in an offset account it is not getting taxed and they can see the benefits of that.

"A lot of clients like the option to overpay and ultimately offset is just an overpay facility. The fact is the majority of clients I see say they would like to repay lump sums. The people who make use of offset facilities are those who have savings that they are not putting into the property and that are more sophisticated."

The One Account's Ms Buckingham said the other key benefit of offset was the ongoing financial management the mortgage allowed.

She said: "Everything is in one place that they can access online. It allows them to set up their own virtual pots to make management easier. For example, they can set up a pot for school fees where you pay in £300 a month or set up one for your income tax bill."