What you'll find
Georgian and Victorian houses on the hill around the cathedral and the old streets of the town centre, estates on the edges of the town, and a large share of rural houses and farms across Lecale, with coastal villages at Ardglass, Killough and Strangford.
Who buys here
Families wanting more house and garden for their money, people working locally in health, education and public services, people moving down from Belfast for a quieter life, and buyers looking for a home near the coast.
Getting about
There's no mainline railway, so it's car or bus to Belfast, which takes around 40 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.
Mortgage points to note
- Rural homes. Septic tanks, private water supplies and agricultural occupancy conditions are common outside the town. All lendable, but a shorter list of lenders and sometimes a specialist valuer.
- Period town houses. Parts of the town centre are a conservation area and some homes are listed. Expect older fabric to show up in the valuation, and get a full survey.
- Holiday lets and second homes. A cottage on the coast that you plan to let to holidaymakers needs a holiday-let mortgage, which is assessed differently from an ordinary buy-to-let. A second home for your own use is different again.
- Farm and self-employed income. Lenders read farm accounts in different ways. A broker who arranges these regularly will know which lenders understand them.
Nearby
See also Comber, Newtownards and Banbridge.
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