AN Englishman’s home is his castle – or at least it is when he has paid off the mortgage.

For most of us buying a home is relatively straightforward. We see the house or apartment we like, arrange a mortgage and arrange a date to move in.

But what happens if the firm building your dream home goes into administration?

Pinnacle (Bradford) Ltd collapsed in April leaving dozens of would-be tenants out of pocket after they paid as much as 80 per cent up front for a chance to live in the former Arndale House.

The tower in the heart of the city centre was earmarked for 126 one and two-bedroom apartments before Pinnacle (Bradford) ran out of money.

Yesterday investors were given some good news: administrators have agreed a deal with a new builder to finish the development.

But hope of a solution came with a sting in the tale: buyers will have to stump up more cash to ensure the plan can go ahead.

Once the administrator has agreement from the secured creditor, the plan will be submitted to buyers. We can understand why some may be wary of paying even more money after what happened but, right now, the proposal looks like the least worst option.

We applaud the administrator for working up a solution to this problem – negotiations with the various parties cannot have been easy – and we hope the situation is resolved to everyone’s satisfaction as soon as possible.

For the rest of us this sorry story should be something of a salutary lesson. As the old saying goes: caveat emptor.