Saving For A Deposit

shuffles03

Im back in Ireland having travelled for the past year. I've just started work and I'm looking to get saving as soon as possible. Can anyone recommend a good account to start saving for a deposit? I'm currently with BOI. My partner and I will be looking to move out together so is it best that we setup a joint savings account or separate? I ask as she has not currently started work yet and I want to get the ball rolling.

Should I stick with BOI for my savings or go elsewhere?

Cheers in advance.

Scortho

shuffles03 wrote: »

Im back in Ireland having travelled for the past year. I've just started work and I'm looking to get saving as soon as possible. Can anyone recommend a good account to start saving for a deposit? I'm currently with BOI. My partner and I will be looking to move out together so is it best that we setup a joint savings account or separate? I ask as she has not currently started work yet and I want to get the ball rolling.

Should I stick with BOI for my savings or go elsewhere?

Cheers in advance.

Kbc instant access give the highest rate which is 3%. This is where I'd be putting my money.

I don't know about the joint account.
Aim to save at least 10% of purchase price. Best of luck to both of you.

shuffles03

With the smart access demand account, once I lodge the minimum of €3,000, can I just keep topping it up whenever I want. Are there no direct debits? In terms of saving for a deposit, is it better to have a direct debit setup or does it matter?

Scortho

shuffles03 wrote: »

With the smart access demand account, once I lodge the minimum of €3,000, can I just keep topping it up whenever I want. Are there no direct debits? In terms of saving for a deposit, is it better to have a direct debit setup or does it matter?

Yep you can keep adding money but it must contain at least 3k. I'd go with a set amount every month as a standing order. And then if I wanted to make extra transfers I can.
It shows the bank a capacity to save a set amount as opposed to fluctuating amounts.

shuffles03

Someone told me this morning that KBC might be leaving Ireland in the next few months. I'm not sure if that's true or not and know absolutely nothing about it but now I'm not sure if I'll open a savings account with them.

I have a direct debit question regarding Bank Of Ireland's savings accounts: If I setup a savings account with a weekly direct debit for 200, would I also be able to manually transfer in additonal funds each week on top of the direct debit or am I limited to the amount of the DD? I might be able to save more some weeks and don't want to be limited by a DD.

Scortho

I dont think KBC bank are leaving Ireland. An article from 3 days:http://www.irishexaminer.com/business/kbc-poised-to-expand-irish-operations-222732.html

on boi you should still be able to transfer more money out of your account into a savings account.
Is It a current account? If so they cant stop you doing what you want with your money. There may be transactions charges but these would be minimal.

The amount that you can move in and out of your savings account would be set out in the terms and contditions. KBC's instant access account allows access to cash at any time and has no restriction on adding deposits at any time.

shuffles03

KBC seems like the best opion. Just worried about what I was told this morning.

PCros

As far as I know you are covered up to €100K with the Irish Deposit Guarantee Scheme if they were to leave Ireland or go insolvent etc.

Liam D Ferguson

I was at a conference only last week where a couple of fairly senior KBC Ireland staff were mentioning the fact that since 2012 KBC Ireland had been promoted to being one of the core businesses in the KBC group and how this was good for the future of the Irish operation. They were also talking about products they have in the plans for the future. I think they plan to expand their business here, not pull out.

okiss

I would set up seperate savings accounts for saving for a mortgage.
You could end up putting a lot of money into an account which you could lose some of if you split up.
I had a friend a few years ago who was saving with her boyfriend, they brought a house and they split up. He ended up with the house and never paid her back all of the money she spent on the house.
I would also seek legal advice before buying a place together as you both need to protect yourselves if your relationships ends.
There are of lot of people out there now who can't move due to the downturn.
Also you need to get rid of any debit you have, don't borrow money for a new car ect as this will effect how much you can borrow when you apply for a loan.
Get rid of credit cards and save a set amount of money every week or month when you get paid. Most of the banks have regular saving accounts where you put €100 to €1000 in each month.
You need to show savings of a mortgage payment each month and have a least 10% of the value of the home you want to buy. Remember you will need to have legal fees cost on top of this.
If you look up the nca website there is a good budget planner which will help you see were you can save money.

shuffles03

That's what I'll be doing. My g/f isn't working yet so I'm currently working towards a savings of €3,000 (should be there in 2 weeks or so) and then I'm going to open an account in KBC.

Does anyone know if I can set up a weekly standing order with them? I'd like to save €100 a week and then throw in what ever extra I have manually.

Cheers for all the replies. You've all been a great help.

Scortho

shuffles03 wrote: »

That's what I'll be doing. My g/f isn't working yet so I'm currently working towards a savings of €3,000 (should be there in 2 weeks or so) and then I'm going to open an account in KBC.

Does anyone know if I can set up a weekly standing order with them? I'd like to save €100 a week and then throw in what ever extra I have manually.

Cheers for all the replies. You've all been a great help.

I was able to set up a weekly standing order with aib into my credit union so if can do that with a credit union account, you can do it with kbc.
Banks have no problem taking your money through any transaction! they love it!:D