"It's only available to hard-pressed, hard-working would be first time buyers, who can't raise the full £120,000 deposit,"

confirms PM, dashing at a stroke the hopes of hard pressed, hard-working would be second steppers

It's a fair question, and deserves a quick answer - we don't want anyone missing the boat because of government dithering

BobMex •

I wonder if you can use the new government backed interest free mortgage.

A question posed in response to this article in the Independent ...

An Englishman's home is his chateau

A second home in the country is a luxury the French can no longer afford - cue an invasion of British bargain hunters?

If it is your dream to own a country house in Normandy or a cottage near the sea in Brittany, your moment may have come; the bottom has fallen out of the market for second homes in France, according to a study.

The price of property in some beautiful rural areas – such as Creuse and Périgord in the south west or Morvan in northern Burgundy – has fallen by up to half in the last five years.