Like many families, Shona Sibary and her husband blithely took money out of their beloved Hampshire home, smug in the belief that burgeoning house prices would protect them. Now, in their early 40s, they find themselves back at square one, in rented accommodation, and with little or no hope of ever getting back on the property ladder.

There's a house we drive past every day on the way to school. It's a solid Edwardian home on three floors with a slightly imposing presence and bags of kerb appeal.

A large hedge and trees shield it from view but this doesn't stop the children from urging me to slow down so they can get a proper look.

I, on the other hand, stare fixedly ahead. It's not that I don't appreciate the double-fronted windows and the lovely Camellia bush framing the porch. But the truth is, I am beside myself with envy.

Locked out: Shona and Keith with Annie, Dolly, Flo and Monty and their former home

Three years ago this was our family home. We all remember how it felt to live there and it still seems like a cruel joke that someone else's car is parked in the drive. And why did they have to paint the front door that horrible colour?

You might ask why, if I love this house so much, isn't it still mine? I ask myself the same question every day. But the 2008 property crash happened. And through a combination of bad financial planning and events beyond our control we were forced to sell.

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