Buying an apartment

- So are these apartments for us/me?
Our apartments are particularly suitable for single people or couples who want the convenience of apartment life with cinemas, the Millennium Stadium, great shopping and restaurants in the city centre - plus transport links - all on their doorstep.

They should allow young people starting out to get onto the property ladder.

- Could I/we buy one of these apartments?
There are certain criteria which every successful applicant has to meet to be able to buy these homes: availability is limited and we need to make sure they are sold fairly.

You'll need to have been living and/or working in Cardiff for at least the past six months. You'll probably be a first-time buyer; in some cases this will include people who may have already bought a home jointly with someone else, but due to a change in personal circumstances, can now become a first time buyer as an individual.

Importantly, as with any house sale, you will need to be in a position to meet the long term financial commitment of a mortgage to buy the homes.

- How much are these apartments?
The prices of apartments will vary dependant on the scheme - subject to final valuations. There will be an additional service charge and ground rent on top of your mortgage payments.

- What if I already have a part interest in another property?
If you already partly own another home you would not be eligible to buy one of these properties. As you would expect, these apartments are offered for sale solely on an owner occupier basis and are not available to investors.

- Do I/We have to earn a specific amount to be eligible?
You simply need to earn enough to finance your mortgage - this is to ensure that the apartments are bought by people who can afford the mortgage of between 55% to 70% - but not 100 percent - of the property.

- Will I need a deposit?
This will depend upon your income and will be determined by your mortgage lender.

- I've never heard of buying a home like this before: how does it all work?
We all know only too well the massive rises in house prices over the past several years have left people struggling to get onto the property ladder.

Purchasers will only have to fund up to70 per cent of the full sale prices, through either a mortgage or mortgage and deposit combined. They will recieve a loan for the remaining percentage with nothing to be paid until the property is sold.

The buyers will own their apartments outright and can pay off the loan after three years if they wish, but are not obliged to pay it back until they sell, when it is calculated as a percentage of the sale price.

(This is an illustration only)

(you are responsible for your own costs such as legal fees on the purchase and sale of your property - please also see Financial Information)

- Can I/we pay off the remaining percentage of my/our property before we sell it?
Yes - when it is payable as a single lump sum equivalent to the same percentage of the market value of the property at that time.

- What happens when I sell my home? Do we need to offer it to CCHA first?
If you haven't bought out the remaining percentage share, you will need to provide CCHA with a written valuation from a RICS qualified residential surveyor. Once we agree your proposed selling price, we'll try and identify someone else from our own database who is eligible to buy under the same terms to purchase your property. If we don't find anyone suitable you can sell your property on the open market repaying the remaining percentage of the final sale upon completion.