Mortgage Advice

Lucious Sweet

Hi all,
With house prices falling and an imminent change in my family circumstances, I am thinking about applying for a mortgage and looking for a small house to buy. I am currently a council tenant with a fairly safe and solid job and would be a first time buyer. I would also have some savings for a deposit.

Thing is though I don't have a clue about this kind of thing, so I was just wondering:

a) am I mad to be thinking of buying in this climate?
b) will anyone give me a mortgage?
c) what type of mortgage would you recommend? i.e. fixed, tracker, etc.
d) which institutions offer the best rates/terms?
e) how much will I get? i.e. Is it still 2 1/2 times annual salary?
f) should I go to a mortgage broker?
g) anything else I should consider?

Thanks in advance.

Ogham

Your'e going to need a deposit of at least 8% - maybe 10% or more. So it might limit the price of the house you can afford. That will be the first hurdle to overcome. If you already have enough for a deposit - I would suggest going first of all to the lenders with the best rates out there - AIB,BOI, Halifax, EBS and apply to them and see how you get on.
Regarding the type of mortgage - you are looking at variable or fixed (no such thing as a tracker for new customers anymore). It's a bit of a gamble which to go for. Variables will be a bit lower but fixed will give you peace of mind for 3 or 5 years.

liger

I'd say go to a broker. I tried going to the banks and although they all seemed happy enough to take and application and tell me i was well within the limit for the amount i was looking for they declined me. I went to a broker, he knew the in's and outs of the underwriting criteria for each bank and made it a lot easier. Oh yeah, he got me the aprroval too.

Lucious Sweet

Thanks for the info. I think I'll go and see a mortgage broker.
There's a broker in Limerick called John Mullane on O'Connell Street.
Anyone have any experiences with him?

Drumpot

moz wrote: »

Hi all,
With house prices falling and an imminent change in my family circumstances, I am thinking about applying for a mortgage and looking for a small house to buy. I am currently a council tenant with a fairly safe and solid job and would be a first time buyer. I would also have some savings for a deposit.

Thing is though I don't have a clue about this kind of thing, so I was just wondering:

a) am I mad to be thinking of buying in this climate?
b) will anyone give me a mortgage?
c) what type of mortgage would you recommend? i.e. fixed, tracker, etc.
d) which institutions offer the best rates/terms?
e) how much will I get? i.e. Is it still 2 1/2 times annual salary?
f) should I go to a mortgage broker?
g) anything else I should consider?

Thanks in advance.

I agree with alot of the advice here.

Before you see a broker ask them what Mortgage companies they deal with. Most Mortgage brokers will deal with most (if not all of the Mortgage companies available).

I have see people still get up to 6 times salary on applications (though you are better working off an assumption you could get 5 so you arent dissapointed).

Most mortgage companies work off the criteria:

• Deposit minimum 8% of purchase price of property
• Little or no other loans and liabilities
• Salary no less then 6 x what you are looking for

I would advise going through a mortgage broker. Unless they charge a fee, anything you pay will be included in the mortgage (ie you wont pay anymore then if you goto the mortgage company off the street). The mortgage broker can find who will offer you a mortgage and who will give you the best rates.
As for if you should buy or not, thats something you need to decide for yourself. Odds are that house prices will go down again (how much is anybodys guess) but if you are buying the house for the long term, the odds are that by the time you go to sell it (if you ever do) it will of returned to near or better then your purchase price.

Either way if you can afford to pay your mortgage and are happy that you will keep a job, you have little to fear. Thats my opinion, others may feel differantly so take what you want out of this post.

Ogham

liger wrote: »

I'd say go to a broker. I tried going to the banks and although they all seemed happy enough to take and application and tell me i was well within the limit for the amount i was looking for they declined me. I went to a broker, he knew the in's and outs of the underwriting criteria for each bank and made it a lot easier. Oh yeah, he got me the aprroval too.

Are you saying that with the exact same income information etc that a bank you applied direct to declined you but then accepted you when you applied through a broker?

Lucious Sweet

Thanks for that Drumpot.
I have an appointment to see http://www.johnmullane.net/ tomorrow morning, so we'll see what he has to offer.

Drumpot wrote: »

I agree with alot of the advice here.

Before you see a broker ask them what Mortgage companies they deal with. Most Mortgage brokers will deal with most (if not all of the Mortgage companies available).

I have see people still get up to 6 times salary on applications (though you are better working off an assumption you could get 5 so you arent dissapointed).

Most mortgage companies work off the criteria:

• Deposit minimum 8% of purchase price of property
• Little or no other loans and liabilities
• Salary no less then 6 x what you are looking for

I would advise going through a mortgage broker. Unless they charge a fee, anything you pay will be included in the mortgage (ie you wont pay anymore then if you goto the mortgage company off the street). The mortgage broker can find who will offer you a mortgage and who will give you the best rates.
As for if you should buy or not, thats something you need to decide for yourself. Odds are that house prices will go down again (how much is anybodys guess) but if you are buying the house for the long term, the odds are that by the time you go to sell it (if you ever do) it will of returned to near or better then your purchase price.

Either way if you can afford to pay your mortgage and are happy that you will keep a job, you have little to fear. Thats my opinion, others may feel differantly so take what you want out of this post.

Drumpot

moz wrote: »

Thanks for that Drumpot.
I have an appointment to see http://www.johnmullane.net/ tomorrow morning, so we'll see what he has to offer.

One more think I wanted to add was that your job criteria (ie strength of your job) is vital. They will also want to see you have been in that job over 1 year continuously.


good luck

liger

Ogham wrote: »

Are you saying that with the exact same income information etc that a bank you applied direct to declined you but then accepted you when you applied through a broker?

One of the banks declined me directly but gave approval to broker, I went with the other option the broker got me. crazy aint it, but what else should we expect from the banking system?