A shared equity scheme has helped one West Midlands woman to move out of her parents' house and into an affordable home of her own.

Sarah Meredith, 29, had been saving to put together a deposit in the hope of one day owning her own property, but the economic climate seemed determined to put a damper on her plans.

Finally, Sarah discovered the apartments at Miller Homes' B91 development in Solihull, which are available under the recently-launched government shared equity scheme HomeBuy Direct.

"The need to pull together a large deposit disappeared and I was able to move into my own home much sooner than I thought possible," she commented.

Sarah is just one of a number of people who have been helped by the scheme, which makes properties affordable by providing a 30 per cent equity loan towards the purchasing price which is interest-free for the first five years.

The initiative is available for first-time buyers, housing association or council tenants and key public sector workers such as nurses and teachers.

Source:Direct News 24/07/09