Own your own at St Paul's Square

The government's HomeBuy Direct scheme to help first time buyers is a thing of the past, but aspiring home owners shouldn't give up on getting onto the property ladder.

English Cities Fund (ECF) has stepped forward to help first time buyers and people who don't currently have a mortgage to buy a city centre pad at the St Paul's Square development in Liverpool city centre.

With ECF's Own Your Own shared equity scheme, you need a minimum deposit of just 5%, and your monthly mortgage payments are less than what you're probably paying in rent. The good news is it's not shared ownership – you own 100% of your apartment so there's no rent or interest to pay on the outstanding 20 per cent.

It means that buying is suddenly looking a lot more possible – and a lot more attractive than renting.

But what about the development itself – is it somewhere you'd actually want to live?

St Paul's Square is located five minutes from Moorfield Station so if you want city living, it's ideal. Says Ian, 45, who has already bought there:

“I think the city centre has shifted a bit with the development of Liverpool ONE and I wanted to be at the heart of things. I also wanted to be more in the commercial area because, although we're only three minutes from Liverpool ONE and all the bars on Matthew Street and Victoria Street, it's never noisy around here at night. 

“We've got Tesco and Sainsbury’s too, which are open really early in the morning and late at night, so you're not cut off like a lot of developments if you run out of anything."

Others choose it because of the big difference it makes to commuting times – imagine being within a short walking distance of work and not having to worry about getting stuck in traffic.

The apartments themselves are spacious, stylish and well designed. They all have balconies, open plan living areas, and high specification kitchen and bathrooms. There's car parking available at an additional cost, and the two bed apartments have an ensuite bathroom to the master bedroom.

In other words, it's pretty swish – yet affordable. With the Own Your Own scheme you can buy a two-bed apartment at St Paul's Square from £149,950 with a deposit of just £7,498* and monthly mortgage payments of £653**.

If you're a first time buyer, or have had a break from the property market, you're likely to be eligible for the scheme – so it's well worth checking out.

Find out more about St Paul's Square and Own Your Own.