Buying a house 2012

djmcr · 28-05-2012 10:48pm

irbx wrote: »

we were thinking of buying a house this year. but with current Greece issue (part 10).

it's making me rethink this in case the crisis will get much worst . any one have the same idea as me?

Million dollar question. Even if you wait and see how Greece plays out you needn't worry about house prices rising in the near future due to the illiquidity of our banks.

newgirljess · 30-05-2012 9:36pm

Hi Everyone,

This is my first first boards post! It's just so useful to have a resource like this. I don't have any friends or older siblings going through this process atm so it's good to be able to get the wisdom of the crowd!

This week a mortgage broker submitted an application to 3 banks on behalf of my boyfriend and I. He said it should be 3 weeks before we hear back.

Provided one of the banks (i think ideally aib) agree to give us the mortgage, and everything runs relatively smoothly, does anyone know on average how long the process takes before we can get keys to our first home?

And is there anything we should be doing right now? We have a solicitor lined up. But should we be putting in offers on house or doing anything else?

Thanks

dirtyden · 30-05-2012 10:59pm

newgirljess wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

This is my first first boards post! It's just so useful to have a resource like this. I don't have any friends or older siblings going through this process atm so it's good to be able to get the wisdom of the crowd!

This week a mortgage broker submitted an application to 3 banks on behalf of my boyfriend and I. He said it should be 3 weeks before we hear back.

Provided one of the banks (i think ideally aib) agree to give us the mortgage, and everything runs relatively smoothly, does anyone know on average how long the process takes before we can get keys to our first home?

And is there anything we should be doing right now? We have a solicitor lined up. But should we be putting in offers on house or doing anything else?

Thanks

I was in the same position about 2 months ago and should have everything sorted (keys in hand) by mid june. The mortgage application process was quite straight forward took about 2 weeks from application to an offer letter. After that some toing and froing with the seller's solicitor as they had not provided certain things (nothing major, BER cert, clearance cert for any council fees etc.).

You can do a number of things now that may speed things up slightly, have an engineer/surveyor lined up to for a survey, get the ball rolling on insurance etc but it all falls into place quickly enough.

I guess every sale is different but 10-12 weeks would be reasonable.

Kay_80 · 31-05-2012 9:01am

Great thread & Killers you really are a fountain of all wisdom so thanks for all the tips!

I'd like to join in on this thread I'm hoping to buy a house this year & am also a FTB. Got a major kick in the teeth yesterday though

which has put a major delay in my plans

I bank with AiB always have done I got all the bits together called my branch & made an appointment with a Mortgage advisor last week. Meeting went well & she said based on my Salary, Job & age I should qualify for about 226k which was perfect for me as I was looking for 200-210 & that was giving me a bit of a buffer she said seeing as I had everything with me (p60, payslips, salary cert etc) I could fill in the application there & then & she'd call me in a week to let me know the lay of the land in terms of AIP & the letter should be with me 2 days or so after that so happy days! .... Or so I Thought

FYI I'm Female, Single 31, no dependents, an accountant in my current job 8 yrs which is permanent & full time & with no loans/overdrafts or credit card balances o/s with 20k saved for my deposit & on Gross €46.8 gross per year which is Nett 2,802 per month. With prob an additional 3-4k per year nett at the end of the year when all my overtime is calculated & paid.

She rang me yesterday & said the loan team have come back & are only offering me at this time 120k!!! Like WTF can I get in Dublin for that bar a major do er upper which is not what I want at all.

I spoke to her for a bit longer & to be fair she felt really awkward as she had told me 226k last Thursday - her reccomendation to me was to continue to save in excess of 1k per month & reapply in 4 months time as I'll likely be in a stronger position? Essentially they want to see if I can save & have outgoings of approx 2k every month ( save 1,500 & 500 I have for rent ATM ) & live on the remainder - this seems weird to me as my Mortgage repayment + Life Cover + house Ins etc would be max 1,000 per month based on what I want to borrow) she also said not to spend excessively in the next 4 mths & not to take anything from my Savings??!

I was extremely frustrated by this but have calmed down somewhat since then but the only thing I can think of is that they're looking for any excuse not to lend but at the same time can mark down that they did offer me x amount all be it only about 60% of what I wanted.

I don't know whether to take her advice or just go through the whole process again with BOI

JoeyJJ · 31-05-2012 9:06am

No reason not to talk to BOI, they might say the same thing but better to get a 2nd opinion, I bank with AIB and have a mortgage with BOI.

Kay_80 · 31-05-2012 9:14am

Thanks Joey. I think I'll give myself the month of June to calm down & get my Sh!t together & maybe go to BOI first week of July

folan · 31-05-2012 1:39pm

still looking, the market in the area im looking has really slowed down. the only houses coming online are way below the standard for im willing to spend on and those that are coming out in our price region that are close to what we want, we have been out bid on. whats really annoying is that theres a massive gulf between the two! if only we could make some compromises!

heltipp · 31-05-2012 2:47pm

i got a call from bank two weeks ago to mortgage approved happys days....but no letter of offer yet. followed up with bank and they said head office didnt issue it yet. just sitting on a system somewhere. so annoyed as want to get things moving asap. have life insurance and home insurance sorted already. its so fustrating. have to sort a survey now but want to wait until my solicitor reads loan offer.

DavyD_83 · 31-05-2012 3:26pm

heltipp wrote: »

i got a call from bank two weeks ago to mortgage approved happys days....but no letter of offer yet. followed up with bank and they said head office didnt issue it yet. just sitting on a system somewhere. so annoyed as want to get things moving asap. have life insurance and home insurance sorted already. its so fustrating. have to sort a survey now but want to wait until my solicitor reads loan offer.

Hi Heltipp,
Out of curiosity which bank are you dealing with?
Cheers
DD

2rkehij30qtza5 · 31-05-2012 3:30pm

Can anyone tell me if such a thing as a 100% mortgage exists to non-first time buyers.
We can Definately afford to buy a house but have no savings! (nor any prospect in the short term of having any). We are renting a large house for a large sum of money and I'd rather just pay it into a house we own instead if possible!!!
(btw not an option to move to smaller house with smaller rent and save the difference.Long story but situation is what it is).
So wondering basically would the bank laugh at us if we went to them saying we'd like to put the same money into a mortgage that we are paying monthly on rent?..and having no deposit to our names?

heltipp · 31-05-2012 3:31pm

DavyD_83 wrote: »

heltipp wrote: »

i got a call from bank two weeks ago to mortgage approved happys days....but no letter of offer yet. followed up with bank and they said head office didnt issue it yet. just sitting on a system somewhere. so annoyed as want to get things moving asap. have life insurance and home insurance sorted already. its so fustrating. have to sort a survey now but want to wait until my solicitor reads loan offer.

Hi Heltipp,
Out of curiosity which bank are you dealing with?
Cheers
DD

ulster bank!!

Jammie01 · 31-05-2012 3:31pm

Does anyone know if you are buying a new house and it hasn't been built yet, when would your mortgage repayments start? I'm considering buying on a new development in the next couple of months and would need to pay a booking deposit and provide proof of mortgage approval. The thing is the house wouldn't actually be built for approx 10-12 months so my mortgage approval could change or expire? Or would I be paying a mortgage from the moment the contracts are signed and have to pay rent and mortgage at same time while I wait for it to be built?

Mr. Loverman · 31-05-2012 3:42pm

Robert Delightful Locker wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if such a thing as a 100% mortgage exists to non-first time buyers.
We can Definately afford to buy a house but have no savings! (nor any prospect in the short term of having any). We are renting a large house for a large sum of money and I'd rather just pay it into a house we own instead if possible!!!
(btw not an option to move to smaller house with smaller rent and save the difference.Long story but situation is what it is).
So wondering basically would the bank laugh at us if we went to them saying we'd like to put the same money into a mortgage that we are paying monthly on rent?..and having no deposit to our names?

Not a chance of getting a mortgage without a deposit and a history of saving.

Sorry.

But don't worry, you will save money by holding off and buying in a year or two. The economy is still slowly crashing.

Kay_80 · 31-05-2012 3:43pm

Robert Delightful Locker wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if such a thing as a 100% mortgage exists to non-first time buyers.
We can Definately afford to buy a house but have no savings! (nor any prospect in the short term of having any). We are renting a large house for a large sum of money and I'd rather just pay it into a house we own instead if possible!!!
(btw not an option to move to smaller house with smaller rent and save the difference.Long story but situation is what it is).
So wondering basically would the bank laugh at us if we went to them saying we'd like to put the same money into a mortgage that we are paying monthly on rent?..and having no deposit to our names?

AFAIK there are no longer any 100% mortgages whether a FTB or not. AIB are offering a max of 92% & BOI 90% not sure about UB etc.

Given your situation why don't you make an appointment & see someone in your local branch to discuss your options. From what I've read on this thread, & my own experience as well as friends of mine the banks are set on seeing you saving a regular amount for a certain length of time before they consider anything & they don't even really want you relying on family 'gifts' or loans for your deposit either.

I've saved 800 pm consistently over the last 2 yrs & am basically been told save 1 & a half times that much for the next 4 months & come back to us as per my post above.

2rkehij30qtza5 · 31-05-2012 3:46pm

Ok thanks people.

DavyD_83 · 31-05-2012 3:49pm

heltipp wrote: »

ulster bank!!

Feck, that's what i thought.

In same situation, well, just about to receive approval.
I told my solicitor that we were with Ulster the other day n his respose was: "Ulster are a disaster to deal with" - encouraging :pac:

Yeh, he said in his experience, there can be a lot of completely unnecessary delays.

Hope you get it sorted soon, and really hoping I don't hit the same problems.

killers1 · 31-05-2012 6:40pm

Kay_80 wrote: »

Great thread & Killers you really are a fountain of all wisdom so thanks for all the tips!

I'd like to join in on this thread I'm hoping to buy a house this year & am also a FTB. Got a major kick in the teeth yesterday though which has put a major delay in my plans

I bank with AiB always have done I got all the bits together called my branch & made an appointment with a Mortgage advisor last week. Meeting went well & she said based on my Salary, Job & age I should qualify for about 226k which was perfect for me as I was looking for 200-210 & that was giving me a bit of a buffer she said seeing as I had everything with me (p60, payslips, salary cert etc) I could fill in the application there & then & she'd call me in a week to let me know the lay of the land in terms of AIP & the letter should be with me 2 days or so after that so happy days! .... Or so I Thought

FYI I'm Female, Single 31, no dependents, an accountant in my current job 8 yrs which is permanent & full time & with no loans/overdrafts or credit card balances o/s with 20k saved for my deposit & on Gross €46.8 gross per year which is Nett 2,802 per month. With prob an additional 3-4k per year nett at the end of the year when all my overtime is calculated & paid.

She rang me yesterday & said the loan team have come back & are only offering me at this time 120k!!! Like WTF can I get in Dublin for that bar a major do er upper which is not what I want at all.

I spoke to her for a bit longer & to be fair she felt really awkward as she had told me 226k last Thursday - her reccomendation to me was to continue to save in excess of 1k per month & reapply in 4 months time as I'll likely be in a stronger position? Essentially they want to see if I can save & have outgoings of approx 2k every month ( save 1,500 & 500 I have for rent ATM ) & live on the remainder - this seems weird to me as my Mortgage repayment + Life Cover + house Ins etc would be max 1,000 per month based on what I want to borrow) she also said not to spend excessively in the next 4 mths & not to take anything from my Savings??!

I was extremely frustrated by this but have calmed down somewhat since then but the only thing I can think of is that they're looking for any excuse not to lend but at the same time can mark down that they did offer me x amount all be it only about 60% of what I wanted.

I don't know whether to take her advice or just go through the whole process again with BOI

Hi Kay,

The problem you're having with AIB is that the mortgage advisor you spoke to doesn't understand the bank's credit policy. Based on your age & income €225k is the amount your salary qualifies you to borrow with AIB. That though is just the first part of the calculation. The second is that the look at the stressed repayments on that amount @ 6% over the max term available. This figure is the amount you need to prove you can afford on a monthly basis and you need to have outgoings such as rent (evidenced in bank statements), savings contributions and loan repayments not continuing after drawdown that when added to together amount to a greater figure than the stressed repayment amount on the proposed repayment. The fact that they have offered you only €120k means that you are only showing a repayment capacity for approx €700pm. When you add you rent to the average amount you have saved on a monthly basis (total lodgements - less withdrawals from savings /6) is the figure coming out at around €700pm? That's why they are telling you to save consistently whatever amount is need that when added to your rent figure is equal to or greater than the proposed new mortgage repayment. Do this for 4+ months and you should get the €225k. If you go to another bank now the repayment capacity will still be the stumbling block...

killers1 · 31-05-2012 6:43pm

Jammie01 wrote: »

Does anyone know if you are buying a new house and it hasn't been built yet, when would your mortgage repayments start? I'm considering buying on a new development in the next couple of months and would need to pay a booking deposit and provide proof of mortgage approval. The thing is the house wouldn't actually be built for approx 10-12 months so my mortgage approval could change or expire? Or would I be paying a mortgage from the moment the contracts are signed and have to pay rent and mortgage at same time while I wait for it to be built?

The fact that you have no savings is not always a deal breaker. For example you pay €2kpm in rent for the past 5 yrs and want a mortgage that costs €1,200pm. Because you have more than proven that you can afford the new repayment the bank may be willing to allow the deposit be gifted from a family member. You will not get higher than 92% of the purchase though so the remainder + stamp duty & legal fees would need to be gifted...

killers1 · 31-05-2012 6:46pm

newgirljess wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

This is my first first boards post! It's just so useful to have a resource like this. I don't have any friends or older siblings going through this process atm so it's good to be able to get the wisdom of the crowd!

This week a mortgage broker submitted an application to 3 banks on behalf of my boyfriend and I. He said it should be 3 weeks before we hear back.

Provided one of the banks (i think ideally aib) agree to give us the mortgage, and everything runs relatively smoothly, does anyone know on average how long the process takes before we can get keys to our first home?

And is there anything we should be doing right now? We have a solicitor lined up. But should we be putting in offers on house or doing anything else?

Thanks

It's a bit of an how long is a piece of string question... There are so many variables to the process that dictate how long it can take. If the mortgage application goes smoothly and you have a willing buyer, seller, 2 efficient solicitors & an efficient broker it can be done in 2 weeks... The norm would be 8-10 weeks but there are cases that can take an awful lot longer... Once your solicitor receives the contracts they'll be in a better position to give you an idea of the timeframe involved.

Kay_80 · 31-05-2012 8:03pm

Killers thanks a million for coming back to me I really appreciate it!

I think the problem for me is I withdrew 10k from my savings in Nov & gave it to my parents who were in financial difficulties at the time & they needed it to put towards their preliminary tax - they'll repay this in time but I didn't get into this with her in the bank. I'm not expecting it back for a year or two.

The second issue would have been in March when I paid out approx €1k for some medical & Dental bills ( typical everything happened at the same time!) so my Expenditure for the 6 month period looks significantly higher than it actually usually would be both of these withdrawals are from my savings & she specifically brought them up of having being flagged by the lending team.

I'll take her advice & continue to save over the next number of months & try again in Oct! This time ill go to a broker though.

I pretty much do everything via DD/ laser so they can see my rent going out & I pay all the household bills etc so hopefully that'll be okay at a minimum I've saved 800 pm but some months it's 1500 other months it's 1100 & then sometimes I take it out & spend it if theres an emergency situation re car/medical/ dental etc or as above lend it to my folks. I'll just have to ensure money goes into savings & none goes out for the next while & continue to keep my visa clear!

blueturnip · 01-06-2012 12:03pm

Went to see the solicitor this morning, we have a closing date of 29th June all going well!

Hit a small snag in that my partner is actually divorced so need to find the bits of paper etc for the mortgage. Solicitor didn't seem too worried, so I'll try to keep calm.

So far most other aspects seem fine, just need to clarify what is actually coming with the house. This wasn't in the original contract. Next step is remaining deposit and divorce papers

killers1 · 01-06-2012 3:03pm

blueturnip wrote: »

Went to see the solicitor this morning, we have a closing date of 29th June all going well!

Hit a small snag in that my partner is actually divorced so need to find the bits of paper etc for the mortgage. Solicitor didn't seem too worried, so I'll try to keep calm.

So far most other aspects seem fine, just need to clarify what is actually coming with the house. This wasn't in the original contract. Next step is remaining deposit and divorce papers

Congrats! The solicitor who looked after your partners divorce should have a copy of the papers on file if your partner can't find his copy...

heltipp · 01-06-2012 3:21pm

DavyD_83 wrote: »

heltipp wrote: »

ulster bank!!

Feck, that's what i thought.

In same situation, well, just about to receive approval.
I told my solicitor that we were with Ulster the other day n his respose was: "Ulster are a disaster to deal with" - encouraging :pac:

Yeh, he said in his experience, there can be a lot of completely unnecessary delays.

Hope you get it sorted soon, and really hoping I don't hit the same problems.

i cant understand what they delay is as when i rang head office they said its waiting to be issued...sitting in a work q. when i contacted the person i deal with it in the branch he was surprised it wasnt issued and was sending an email to hurry it up. to be fair he has been great so far. hopefully i will have it next week and we can move things along again. no doubt there will be plenty more hold ups along the way.

blueturnip · 01-06-2012 4:49pm

killers1 wrote: »

Congrats! The solicitor who looked after your partners divorce should have a copy of the papers on file if your partner can't find his copy...

Thanks! Getting excited now and contemplating a trip to ikea soon

Unfortunately this all happened in Poland so we will just have to hope the papers are around somewhere!

Im kind of hoping it's more of a formality than anything else?!

eurokev · 01-06-2012 8:16pm

Hi everyone, Im in the process myself and am delighted to have stumbled across this thread.

My gf and I are first time buyers with secure jobs. We have a contact in the bank who took our forms yesterday and told us that she would be pretty certain that we will be approved for a mortgage, however Im not too sure.

Im on 26k she's on about 37k. Our savings are pretty awful though. We spent the last 3-5 years going on about 4 or 5 holidays a year and eating out every other weekend. I have about 10k in my current account she has 3k. I also have about 5k in the credit union. She has little funds because she bought a car recently and paid back the loan for this in about 2 months, but under her mothers name.There was some sort of complication with her wages so she had zero income for a while
We have never taken out any loans bar 1 for her of 1k in college.

What would people generally rate our approval chances of being?

We had not been planning on buying house anytime soon but a great one came up for 200k thats genuinely too good to turn down, hence the poor finances.

Also whats the story with costs? The money listed is everything we have. So we will need at least 16k for a deposit, 2k for a solictor and surveyor.

Do we have to pay stamp duty as first time buyers? I cannot find any certain answers online. What other costs will we incur in the process?

I genuinely dont think we can afford this right now.

Any opinions will be warmly recieved

Verte11 · 01-06-2012 9:27pm

Hi there eurokev.I know there's people on this forum like Killers who know far more about this stuff and will advise you better. If you were to get an 8% mortgage on a 200K house you would need 18k deposit. Stamp duty would be 2k. My solicitors fees are around 1.7K. Survey around 250.Valuation 160. My bank wanted proof that we have money for repairs on house but if I'd had a family member who would write a letter saying they'd give a gift of say 5k that would have done. They don't actually need to give you the gift.
We do have to pay stamp duty as first time buyers.It's 1% of price.
Hope that helps. I know there's people on here who can offer better advice.

Roxee · 02-06-2012 1:34am

Mortgage approval came through today - yay! Offer in on house. And now we play the waiting game...... Wish me luck!

Snap1 · 03-06-2012 12:05am

Hi all,

Long-time follower of this thread but first time poster! Just recently went sale agreed on a property and I have received the building survey back.

As part of the conclusions & recommendations they have estimated a ballpark figure of 3-5K for the "essential repairs" to be undertaken (this figure does not include "desirable repairs"). I do not believe the majority of the essential repairs to be deal breakers however I am unsure as to how to approach this as I had a tough time negotiating the price that I have now agreed for the purchase.

What are the general steps to be taken i.e. do I send this report on to my solicitor and ask them to contact the EA or vendors solicitor looking for a reduction based on the content contained? Should I contact the surveyor asking if it is their advice that I should pull out if these repairs are not carried out?

Given that I have negotiated a small but suitably reduced price already, is it worth rocking the boat? I suppose they can only say no and a builder who has reviewed the report has said that the repairs won't prevent you from moving in - would just like to get people’s thoughts from similar experiences!

Also an appointed valuer from the bank's list recently carried out the valuation and the bank informed me that they had received the letter but all I received was an invoice! Is this normal to go straight to the bank and not to the buyer as well? As it stands I am unsure how much they valued the property at!

Thanks all for your help on this great thread!

nemo32 · 03-06-2012 10:02am

Roxee wrote: »

Mortgage approval came through today - yay! Offer in on house. And now we play the waiting game...... Wish me luck!

good luck :-)

killers1 · 03-06-2012 5:21pm

Snap1 wrote: »

Hi all,

Long-time follower of this thread but first time poster! Just recently went sale agreed on a property and I have received the building survey back.

As part of the conclusions & recommendations they have estimated a ballpark figure of 3-5K for the "essential repairs" to be undertaken (this figure does not include "desirable repairs"). I do not believe the majority of the essential repairs to be deal breakers however I am unsure as to how to approach this as I had a tough time negotiating the price that I have now agreed for the purchase.

What are the general steps to be taken i.e. do I send this report on to my solicitor and ask them to contact the EA or vendors solicitor looking for a reduction based on the content contained? Should I contact the surveyor asking if it is their advice that I should pull out if these repairs are not carried out?

Given that I have negotiated a small but suitably reduced price already, is it worth rocking the boat? I suppose they can only say no and a builder who has reviewed the report has said that the repairs won't prevent you from moving in - would just like to get people’s thoughts from similar experiences!

Also an appointed valuer from the bank's list recently carried out the valuation and the bank informed me that they had received the letter but all I received was an invoice! Is this normal to go straight to the bank and not to the buyer as well? As it stands I am unsure how much they valued the property at!

Thanks all for your help on this great thread!

Hi Snap,
I would suggest first sending a copy of the structural survey to the EA pointing out the items highlighted and costs involved. Ask them to give a copy to the owner to see if they would be willing to rectify the items listed or agree to a reduction of the purchase price based on the reports findings. They may agree to address part of the report or reduce the price or tell you that your buying the house 'as is' in which case it will be up to you whether you proceed or not. You should always send a copy of the structural survey to your solicitor in any case, just in case there are any issues of a legal nature that the engineer has highlighted that should be investigated.

Buying a house 2012

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