An example of a water tank. - Ricardo Makyn

When Samantha finally got the keys to her own home, a two-bedroom townhouse, recently, she was a very happy 38-year-old woman.

However, the spending that has been required just to make it safe and comfortable to live in has been a real eye-opener.

"I thought I was finished, done, done done, apart from the costs to move in, like paying a mover. But then I was advised to check electricity, because the building is about 20 years old, and since the person who did it does plumbing as well, I asked him to look after that too," she said.

The result has been a total bill of $23,000 and climbing. That does not include the purchase and installation of a water tank in a community where the pressure is notoriously low.

Neither does it take in the price of a set of kitchen cupboards, which right now is not a must but would be, as Samantha puts it, "very nice".

"I thought I was finished with spending because I had it painted over and all that. It was really a lot of money at a very bad time because by the time you are finished getting a mortgage you tired, you bruck, you just want to lie down in the bed and sleep. But if you want to live in that place in comfort and safety it has to be right. And as a single woman, I just can't take any chances," Samantha said.

"It is my first home and my last home and I just have to take care of it."