What you'll find
Family estates and older terraces in Coleraine, larger homes on the roads out of town, apartments and townhouses along the seafronts at Portstewart and Portrush, and cottages and newer builds around Castlerock, Bushmills and the villages inland.
Who buys here
Local families and first-time buyers in Coleraine, staff at the Causeway Hospital and Ulster University's Coleraine campus, landlords letting to students, and buyers from elsewhere looking for a holiday home or a place to retire by the sea.
Getting about
Coleraine is on the Belfast to Derry railway, with a branch line out to Portrush. The A26 runs south to Ballymena and the M2.
Mortgage points to note
- Second homes and stamp duty. If you already own a home, buying another means the 5% additional-property surcharge on top of normal stamp duty. On a seafront apartment that adds up quickly. Work it out first.
- Holiday lets. Letting to holidaymakers needs a holiday-let mortgage, not an ordinary buy-to-let. Lenders base it on expected seasonal income, and many want you to have some experience or other income behind it.
- Student houses. Shared houses near the university campus usually need an HMO licence, and HMO lending is a specialist area.
- Coastal flats. Sea air is hard on older blocks. Lenders look at the lease, the service charge and the state of roofs and windows, and a building with a big repair bill coming may value lower.
Nearby
See also Ballymoney, Limavady, Ballymena and Derry/Londonderry.
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