Let’s clear a few things up about co-ownership.

In order to qualify for co-ownership, you need to be a New Zealand Citizen or Permanent Resident, have a 5% deposit from savings or Kiwisaver, be less than $15k in debt, have a household income above the median in your location.

The deposit of 5% is lower than the standard deposit requirement of 20%, which opens up home ownership to many more financially capable buyers. There is no income cap, YouOwn partners with specific lenders who have systems in place for YouOwn's home ownership products.

There is no minimum income but to buy a house, you generally need household income of more than $130,000 to borrow enough with 5% deposit.

If your financial or situational circumstances change, yes, you may rent the property.

After five years you will have paid off some of your home loan. You can redraw this amount to repay YouOwn.

The deposit requirement on a property is only 5%, which is much less than the standard 20% required by banks due to the loan-to-value ratio restrictions.

Co-ownership of a property means owning a home with a third party. So, instead of you paying a 20% deposit, you pay a smaller deposit for a share of the home and buy out the third party when you are able to, after the first five years.

To buy your own house you put a financial plan together to repay or reduce debt and have a deposit of 5%. It is a good idea to have an idea of how much houses cost in the location you want to live and how much you can borrow.

The programme is for new houses supplied by recognised building companies and well built existing houses and apartments.

We can put you in contact with one of our financial partners to talk about your home lending options.

The lender will require a market valuation from an independent registered valuer.

YouOwn plays a passive role. You are always the majority owner. When the property is sold, we get our share of the sale price.

At any time after the fifth anniversary.

No – YouOwn will own the house with you until you buy our share or sell the house.

There is an equity charge on the amount of YouOwn’s share. This is fixed and is payable monthly. When you buy your home at the outset, there is a fee of $1,100. You pay the costs of obtaining a home loan, such as legal, valuation and any loan application fees.

The usual costs of home ownership including rates, insurance and maintenance.

‘Co-ownership’ means you are buying your house with someone else. So, instead of owning 100% of your home, you own 75% to 85% of the property depending on how much you can afford. You pay a monthly equity fee to the third party, and after five years you can buy their share of the house, and become the complete owner.

There are many benefits to co-ownership such as; security of tenure, being on the property ladder, a smaller deposit, no time pressure to buy the entire property, lenders who specialise in lending for co-ownership, payments are less than having a mortgage over the whole house.

Co-ownership of a property means owning a home with a third party. So, instead of you paying a 20% deposit, you pay a smaller deposit for a share of the home and buy out the third party when you are able to, after the first five years.