This week Ron Kennor of Jackson Estate Agencies takes a look at Key Worker schemes and wonders if they are the way for more people to own their own homes.

For some years there have been schemes backed by the Government to assist key workers to buy their own homes.

These have been arranged by various housing associations, often working with developers who give priority to these worthy buyers on new developments.

Most work on a shared ownership basis with the buyer buying half and renting half from a housing association until he can afford to buy the whole property or it is sold.

With low levels of publicity and the inevitable high levels of bureaucracy, the take-up of these excellent schemes has been fairly limited. However, the credit crunch will now convince many first-time buyers to use them as the only route to home ownership.

On April 2 schemes were added to this confusing selection called Open Market Home Buy which are no longer restricted to key workers or new properties but are open to all first-time buyers with total earnings of less than £60,000 a and one of the schemes called ‘Own Home’ seems to be offering equity loans of up to 40 per cent of the purchase price interest free for five years as long as you share the increase in value with the provider.

All this sounds too good to be true and I have spotted some conditions. In particular they ask for a thorough survey of the property, which will probably stop people buying older properties, but if it is as good as it sounds then demand for this product will soon gobble up any funds allotted to it as the normal mortgage market is not helping any buyers needing anything like 100 per cent.

There is already a waiting list for the necessary interviews for this scheme so I have yet to speak to any successful applicants but I will keep you informed.

If you want further details contact Ownhome on www.ownhome.co.uk or you can ring them on 0845 607 0110... but don’t tell them I sent you!