A Bedford family which thought they would have to leave the home they loved when their landlord decided to sell-up, were able to stay put thanks to the help of affordable home ownership.

Santosh Bechoo, a teacher at Abbey Mill School in Bedford, wife Harsha and their three children, had been living in rented accommodation for four years when they heard about the Open Market HomeBuy scheme offered by housing association, bpha.

The scheme is designed to help priority groups, such as key workers, buy a share in a home available on the open market.

Under Open Market HomeBuy, buyers are typically offered an equity loan to purchase around 75 per cent of the total value of the property, with the remaining 25 per cent also funded through the loan but with no interest to pay.

Santosh, of Hartington Street, Bedford, said: ”Without the scheme we simply would not have been able to afford the property that we are now living in.

“When I saw the information about Open Market HomeBuy, I knew that it was something worth looking into. The help and advice that we received was exceptional from day one, and we are very happy to be able to stay in the home we love.

“The scheme has provided me with a great peace-of mind. It has allowed me to provide my family with a brilliant home, somewhere to set down roots within the local community. It’s a very nice feeling knowing that my children have a roof over their head and that it’s secure - somewhere to really call home.”

Open Market HomeBuy is available to qualifying key workers (public sector staff such as teachers, nurses and police officers), as well as to housing association tenants, those on the waiting list and some first time buyers.

The equity loans, awarded by bpha in conjunction with participating high street lenders, are repayable at market value when the property is resold.

bpha also operates a similar scheme, known as New Build HomeBuy, to help applicants buy a share in a new home.