Mortgages...what's the deal there then?

[WhyAyeButterPie]

I've seen a local shared ownership scheme, but we would need to get a mortgage of around £50,000 to £70,000 to afford our 50%.

We have no savings and a household income of around £16,000 pa, plus tax credits etc (but I don't think you can rely on them in this day and age)

Is this even worth looking into?

I just want a house where we won't be evicted for mending the heating :(

On mortgages, most lenders would be asking for a 10% deposit for you to get a reasonable interest rate. It would be a smart move to set up a savings account, even if you can only put a relatively small amount in each month at this stage - it soon builds up into something useful. In the meantime, as I've said on the other thread, life might be less dicey if you looked at alternative rented accommodation. And CAB could be a good place to go to find out what your landlord's legal obligations are and how to get them to make your current place habitable.