When Dawn Beckett’s job relocated to Portsmouth, she found herself in an area she didn’t know and unable to afford a home she could afford.

She rented a house while she found her feet, but it was miles from her work and her daughter Ellie’s school.

Her earnings meant that she could raise a mortgage for just over £116,000, but after looking in estate agents’ windows, Dawn realised this wouldn’t enough to buy the kind of home she needed.

Then she heard about the Open Market HomeBuy scheme. The government scheme allowed her to get equity loans from her mortgage lender and Swaythling Housing Society, which gave her an extra £39,000.

With this help, she was able to buy a house in the Farlington area of the city for £155,000.

“The location is perfect,” Dawn says. “I’m close to work, the school run is easy and Ellie loves the garden.”