I feel very lucky to be a tenant with the Trust as our family has never stayed in a house longer than a year. It’s difficult raising a child who needs constant care in houses that are just not suitable.
The last 10 years have been a big struggle and I've always wondered about the future, now family life is just better. At my last place the electricity bill was $500 [a month] and now it's $130.

“The flat I was renting was cold and damp but as a first-time buyer there was no way I could afford something as good as this house.

I’d never heard of shared ownership and it seemed too good to be true. I found out more about the Marlborough Sustainable Housing Trust and couldn’t find any pitfalls. They’re a not-for-profit charity that wants to help people buy warm, comfortable and affordable homes.

On my own I could only have afforded a lower quality house that was probably cold and damp and needed a lot of work. This house is brand new. It’s much warmer than my old flat, sun streams through the north-facing windows, it’s got really good insulation and solar water heating, so that brings down my power bills.

With my deposit and mortgage I own a 50 per cent share of the house and aim to eventually buy out the other 50 per cent from the Trust. It’s a great scheme - I could never have afforded this house on my own, but I can afford half.

I’d always dreamed of living in a new home and now I am. I’d definitely recommend shared ownership to my friends.”

“It’s a totally different environment for me now. I feel more secure. I know I’m not going to have to leave. When you’re renting, you can’t say ‘I’m going to be here for the rest of my life’, because the flat might be sold. That’s what happened to me.

It’s warm, so much warmer than my old flat, and everything’s brand new! I have friends around now, because it’s warm. And my mortgage is cheaper than what my rent was.

The Trust has been so supportive, they’re not judgemental and they treat people with respect.”

The Marlborough Sustainable Housing Trust have done more than build a house for my mother and me. They helped us find a way for Mum to down-size and me to stop worrying about whether she was warm, eating well and not feeling lonely. We are now living together in a beautiful new home, thanks to shared ownership with the Trust. As well as being a comfortable and optimistic place to live, it makes financial sense for Mum and me to pool resources and have one good house.

This is a fine morning to compliment the house on its performance as a cosy winter home. There has been a heavy frost overnight but we are sitting pretty in the warm sun-filled rooms. I am feeling the house has a personality of its own and it is a very friendly one. In the year since we moved in, it has coped wonderfully with earth tremors, strong gales and heavy rain. The house is extremely well designed and works with the least effort. We both have our territories and can be together and apart quite naturally. The reality of my new home is even better than the dream for me.