Co-Own property criteria

Property criteria as at 25th March 2024

Before you apply to Co-Own we recommend that you read our property criteria listed below. If you have any specific questions about a property you are interested in, please contact us.

Area	Criteria
Property price	Maximum property value of £195,000.
Location	We will purchase existing and new build properties anywhere in Northern Ireland.
Warranties	New properties must have a suitable 10-year structural warranty. Existing properties under 10 years old must have the balance of their original 10-year structural warranty.
Incentives	You must declare any incentives you are offered. We may not agree to them.
Energy Performance Certificates	We require an Energy Performance Certificate for the property.
Service charges	A service charge is the amount you pay towards the upkeep of any common or shared areas relating to a house or an apartment. It should be reasonable for the services provided. All service charges must be affordable for you. We would expect that a service charge for a house would be usually no more than £200 per year and an apartment would not usually be more than £1,000 per year. If the proposed service charge will be more than this please contact us.
New builds	In addition for new builds: Basic ‘turnkey’ packages are acceptable. You must declare any incentives you are offered. We may not agree to them. Properties with PC sums are generally not acceptable. We will generally not pay for extras in new build property, or for furnishings/moveable fittings in existing property. The price must include all connection fees for utilities. All roads and sewers serving the property must be bonded or adopted. If not please contact us.
Types of properties	Sorry, but we are unable to accept: Architect certified properties. Properties that require more than £6,000 of work to resolve before purchase issues and/or more than £6,000 of work to resolve after purchase issues. Properties with no central heating. Properties with non-standard or unconventional construction.
Unsuitable properties	We are also unable to accept: Mobile homes or temporary structures. HMOs (houses in multiple occupation). Properties with annexes (hint: a granny flat). Properties with Japanese Knotweed. Properties that are not complete (hint: sold “as is”). Properties that are underpinned or stated to be defective. Properties with agricultural use restrictions. Properties which are used for purposes other than as a residence. Properties with a private water supply. Properties with renewable energy systems such as solar panels or wind turbines which are leased (hint: if owned by the seller this will be acceptable).

Remember as this will be your home, you are responsible for ensuring you have building insurance and any other insurance you think necessary, e.g. contents insurance

Properties requiring further investigation

Examples of where further investigation would be needed before a decision could be taken on the suitability of the property.’

If work has been done on the property, this may have needed planning permission, building control or other approvals (hint: these must be in place before we will purchase)
Structural movement (hint: not acceptable if significant or ongoing)
Roads, sewers and septic tanks (hint: the situation may be complex and vary with the individual property; we must establish what will be in place on completion of the purchase and this may not be clear at first sight)
Renewable energy systems such as solar panels or wind turbines (hint: these must be owned by the seller, not leased)
Listed buildings (hint: depends on situation – listed building consent must be in place before any alteration or extension work is done)
If the property is in a building which contains or is close to a commercial unit please contact us.
Whether the property is acceptable will depend on whether the commercial unit affects the value of the property or your enjoyment of it.
If there is a retaining wall at the property, whether it will be acceptable to us will depend on who owns the wall and its state and condition.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.