First-time buyer Stacey Shaw says she will never buy a house again

First-time buyer Stacey Shaw says she will never try again to buy a property after her dream of owning her own home turned into a nightmare.

The 29-year-old could not believe her luck when she and her partner, James Price, 28, were offered the chance to own the council house they had been renting for �32,000 in 2003.

The couple, from Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, wanted to pay back a �1,000 bank loan and their car payments so they initially asked for a �42,000 mortgage through a broker who had been recommended to them by a friend.

"We had to pay �300 per month for our three-bedroom house in Stapenhill and that was OK," explained Ms Shaw.

But within a year they found themselves struggling - her partner, now a forklift driver, lost his warehouse job at the end of 2003 and the credit cards took "a hammering over Christmas".

I could not believe how quickly the bills added up - it became a vicious cycle Stacey Shaw

Ms Shaw then became pregnant with her second child and had to leave her sales assistant post.

She said: "James had been on a basic wage - less than �12,000 a year - and through me not working the household bills just mounted up.

"We found we could not even pay the minimum statements for the credit card bills.

"I could not believe how quickly the bills added up".

By then they had missed two mortgage payments but had managed to come to an agreement to repay the arrears gradually.

Ms Shaw explained: "To pay off the arrears we had to ignore other bills because we were trying not to lose the house."

'Absolutely devastated'

In 2004, they remortgaged their home for �67,000 to try to pay off some of their debts but were forced to remortgage for the second time for �81,000 in March the following year.

"We had two major credit cards we had to pay off and a bank loan," Ms Shaw said.

"The �8,000 extra was supposed to cover the credit cards and the car but we only received �2,000 - the mortgage broker said this was due to a miscalculation."

The couple finally gave up struggling with their debts, putting their house on the market last January after contacting the CAB.

"We knew we could not pay, I was absolutely devastated. I will never buy a house again after everything I have been through - we are still left with debts."

Ms Shaw warned other prospective first-time buyers: "Don't rush into it, try a high street lender and try and imagine what you would do if you lost your job - it could happen to you."