It is with some surprise that, in the current climate, with the government's grand intentions over new house building and affordable housing, it is so difficult to obtain a mortgage for a shared ownership property.

So few of the mortgage providers that are still lending are willing to lend against a property on a shared ownership basis that individuals are more and more frequently finding it nearly impossible to purchase such a property in these troubling times.

This is especially surprising when you consider the government's involvement with banks, currently owning a large amount of shares in several mainstream lenders and of course having completely nationalised Northern Rock. Yet still it is increasingly difficult to obtain finance for these types of property. Hopefully with the continued involvement of the government, banks can be pressurised into increasing the availability of loans for these schemes.

If you are considering purchasing a property through an affordable housing scheme, a good independent mortgage brokerwho specialises in that area should be your first point of call so they can see if the property you are considering will be mortgageable before you invest too much time in it.