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Do's and don'ts for first time buyers
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Also, one bit of advice I heard is never to let the last bid stand. If you’ve bid 250k and the other bidder pulls out, don’t listen when the vendor says “good news, you can have it for 250k”. It’s not good news- there’s no competition! Be brave and go back to your first bid.0
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angel eyes 2012 wrote: »What is the advantage of getting your home insurance with the Bank. Unless it's the best quote, I would recommend shopping around.
Sorry yes- that too! It turned out to be best for us0 -
I second the orange crate idea. But I'd go one further. First house we moved in with a mattress but bought stuff pretty quickly. A couple of years later I was already regretting a few big purchases. Second house (we moved) our original furniture didn't fit in properly but instead of shopping for new we got onto Adverts and picked up loads of second hand stuff. Best thing ever. Some we loved, some we didn't, but after a year or so we knew exactly what we wanted. Re sold the second hand stuff and actually mostly replaced it with more second hand stuff. We had 3 boys and didn't want to spend lots on something perfect only to have it destroyed in no time, so we got good stuff second hand and didn't mind as much when stuff got dinged or scratched.
Not for everyone, but you should at least have a look.0 -
Financially we cleaned up our accounts. We had a crazy amount of transactions. Tap tap tap basically.
We spent 2 months tracking our spending. We worked out what we spent on groceries, petrol, dinner out, social life, coffee, clothing etc. We reigned in all our spending and created a budget. We allocated 20 euro a week to ourselves for misc sending. We had a spread sheet and we filled in anything we spent. We transferred our savings on pay day so the money was gone.
We had 2 savings accounts. Banks in our experience want to see consistency. We wanted to save the exact same amount each month and not touch it but we also wanted access to money if something cropped up. So we split our savings 80/20.
We drove around areas that were on our list at different times of the day and week. We looked at numerous properties so we could figure out what we wanted.0 -
I second the orange crate idea. But I'd go one further. First house we moved in with a mattress but bought stuff pretty quickly. A couple of years later I was already regretting a few big purchases. Second house (we moved) our original furniture didn't fit in properly but instead of shopping for new we got onto Adverts and picked up loads of second hand stuff. Best thing ever. Some we loved, some we didn't, but after a year or so we knew exactly what we wanted. Re sold the second hand stuff and actually mostly replaced it with more second hand stuff. We had 3 boys and didn't want to spend lots on something perfect only to have it destroyed in no time, so we got good stuff second hand and didn't mind as much when stuff got dinged or scratched.
Not for everyone, but you should at least have a look.
Thanks for that tip :-)
I'll be keeping my eye out on Adverts. I've always been sceptical about buying things on Adverts but funny I should say that because we've sold a few appliances on that site and never had an ounce of trouble. I think I'll have more fun trying to see what I can grab on Adverts than actually going to a shop.
Fair play for buying a house with 3 children. It's just myself and partner and we find it hard. I hope everyone has settled well in your new home :-)0 -
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Financially we cleaned up our accounts. We had a crazy amount of transactions. Tap tap tap basically.
We spent 2 months tracking our spending. We worked out what we spent on groceries, petrol, dinner out, social life, coffee, clothing etc. We reigned in all our spending and created a budget. We allocated 20 euro a week to ourselves for misc sending. We had a spread sheet and we filled in anything we spent. We transferred our savings on pay day so the money was gone.
We had 2 savings accounts. Banks in our experience want to see consistency. We wanted to save the exact same amount each month and not touch it but we also wanted access to money if something cropped up. So we split our savings 80/20.
We drove around areas that were on our list at different times of the day and week. We looked at numerous properties so we could figure out what we wanted.
1) Did you find you had to push back on your savings so you could pay off your loans or did you save and pay off loans at the same time? I was in two minds about this and realised I would have to dip into the savings I currently have with the Credit Union and it would of shown them that I can't continusly save if I'm dipping into fund. Just in case I wanted to get a mortage with the Credit Union. We can't afford to save for a deposit and save to pay off our loans as well.
2) Can I ask how you got on with the spreedsheeting? I have it in my head that that's going over the top on tracking money and savings. I pretty much track my money as in, the day I get paid, all bills, loans and savings are taken out, paid for etc then whatever I have left is what I have for the week.
We have separate accounts for saving as I felt it was easier to track weekly savings ourselves rather than checking up on who put what amount in each week. Understandably when we do get a mortage, it would be joint but for the time being it seems easier to have seperate accounts but that actually brings me to another topic... Is it better for the banks to see a joint account or does that matter?0 -
Apologies if this was already said but my experience was.
Save consistently - this should be more than the mortgage repayment will be per month. Best to show 10 or 20% on top of that. You can save more but not less. Rent can be factored into this figure.
Gambling - Really not liked whether it's big or small. Best to have 6 months of clean accounts. Ulster bank only ask for 3 months btw.
Any large expenses be prepared to speak about them. Seems to me these are fine if they are justifiable.
Meals, takeaways, holidays -didn't seem to an issue.
When you are approved in principle start looking at houses. Look at multiple houses and dont overly attach yourself to any. I would suggest to go all the way with any you can. Many sales fall through late and you will only be approved for 6 mo this before you need to resubmit forms again.
Do your maths most likely you will need 10% of mortgage in cash(this can be used as deposit with auctioneer to go sale agreed) . You will also need solicitor pay which couples in land registry fees , title searches extra. You'll be looking at a about 2000 ish. Speak to a local solicitor and agree a price. You'll need an engineers report which is about 400.
On top of this would suggest some wiggle room as you may also need to have drains checked , plumbers, electricians check. This is up to yourself for piece of mind and most likely engineer advise if needed.
You'll also need mortgage protection which is about 20ish a month. The bank will try to push some crowd on you. I found their offer over priced. About 60 a month whereas I got it for 20 through another. I thought the bank threw a strop when I didn't go with their preferred provider. Forms started to get lost . Btw banks wont release funds until they are marked as the beneficiary of thos policy , cant remember the exact term for this. But each bank has a specific procedure for doing this. I would suggest to have this sorted a mo th or two before you close. so as not to cause a delay and there will be a delay!
House insurance seems to be needed and definitly is for piece of mind. Although bank doesnt really care about proof of this. My guess is once your still alive to pay them then there happy.
If it's not a new house see if they will throw in furniture , fridge oven etc. Can always change it later.
Check the esb / gas and see how long it's been cut off. If no one is living there and hasn't been switched to the overall owners. Costs few hundred if off for a period of time. To over a grand for longer. Plus you got to schedule these to be turned back on
Know the area your buying schools , shops, traffic , nightlife, transport ,broadband and broadband speeds, sky/virgin in the area
Would also suss out the locals/neighbours and see what their like.0 -
Apologies if this was already said but my experience was.
Save consistently - this should be more than the mortgage repayment will be per month. Best to show 10 or 20% on top of that. You can save more but not less. Rent can be factored into this figure.
Gambling - Really not liked whether it's big or small. Best to have 6 months of clean accounts. Ulster bank only ask for 3 months btw.
Any large expenses be prepared to speak about them. Seems to me these are fine if they are justifiable.
Meals, takeaways, holidays -didn't seem to an issue.
When you are approved in principle start looking at houses. Look at multiple houses and dont overly attach yourself to any. I would suggest to go all the way with any you can. Many sales fall through late and you will only be approved for 6 mo this before you need to resubmit forms again.
Do your maths most likely you will need 10% of mortgage in cash(this can be used as deposit with auctioneer to go sale agreed) . You will also need solicitor pay which couples in land registry fees , title searches extra. You'll be looking at a about 2000 ish. Speak to a local solicitor and agree a price. You'll need an engineers report which is about 400.
On top of this would suggest some wiggle room as you may also need to have drains checked , plumbers, electricians check. This is up to yourself for piece of mind and most likely engineer advise if needed.
You'll also need mortgage protection which is about 20ish a month. The bank will try to push some crowd on you. I found their offer over priced. About 60 a month whereas I got it for 20 through another. I thought the bank threw a strop when I didn't go with their preferred provider. Forms started to get lost . Btw banks wont release funds until they are marked as the beneficiary of thos policy , cant remember the exact term for this. But each bank has a specific procedure for doing this. I would suggest to have this sorted a mo th or two before you close. so as not to cause a delay and there will be a delay!
House insurance seems to be needed and definitly is for piece of mind. Although bank doesnt really care about proof of this. My guess is once your still alive to pay them then there happy.
If it's not a new house see if they will throw in furniture , fridge oven etc. Can always change it later.
Check the esb / gas and see how long it's been cut off. If no one is living there and hasn't been switched to the overall owners. Costs few hundred if off for a period of time. To over a grand for longer. Plus you got to schedule these to be turned back on
Know the area your buying schools , shops, traffic , nightlife, transport ,broadband and broadband speeds, sky/virgin in the area
Would also suss out the locals/neighbours and see what their like.
Jesus these are brilliant tips here. I've had to read it a few times to remind myself that there's more too it.
Saving constantly seems to be fine on our part. I think our problem is, we would love to be able to put away more than we are and I think that's where our problems mainly lie. Although the banks want to see constant saving, it's the amount that could kick us a little bit but when my employer deems it safe to return to work, I plan on upping the savings payment and keeping it as a consitantant pace. I do have to ask though, while saving, Did you find it hard to have another savings for Christmas, birthdays, trips etc as too not dip into the mortage savings (as I call it)
We were hopping to possibly by a second hand (or third hand) house as we know we'll never afford a newly developed house or newish. There's plenty around both in and out of Dublin, loads need renovations and we are panicking in case we find something, matches what we have and obviously could love and then find out more work needs to do be done so it's a case of, will we save for the actual deposit or save for both deposit and possible renovations? Nothing major. No walls to be pulled out but as the case with older homes, there's often something that needs to be done and we were hoping to find a home that requires minimal work so we can just focus on the basics and then maybe over the years do renovational work.
Throughout this thread, mortage protection and insurance has cropped up so I've learned to do my homework and shop around for what's a preferred quote and reasonable.
I never even taught of the ESB/Gas. Thank you so much for that! It's obvious I've been sheltered in these terms as I always just assumed a house had these and all was switched on when house was bought and worked perfectly. I am very naive in terms of these. Thanks so much again!0 -
Mortgage protection and life assurance depends what cover you want and what mortgage you have. Ours pays our mortgage and leaves a nice lump to whoever survives. It's 65 a month.
Insurance depends on lots, location (crime, floods, subsidence etc) but were in a subsidence area paying about 400 a year (subsidence not covered though). Insurance broker actually got us our rate, and very happy with it.
Regarding brokers Vs straight to the bank, you've started to suss them out which is good. Decide for yourself, but I know for myself I was nieve to all this a few years ago. I've since switched mortgage twice going straight to the banks and it's a long enough process. Payslips, bank statements, credit cards, insurance transfers, life policy transfer, valuations, solicitor visits to sign X y z. Our first time with the broker we had our approval in September, Married in October, she agreed in Nov/Dec, moved in the 2nd march. (Christmas slows things down). Switching mortgage on my own I was probably 3-4 months doing it, and there's no seller involved there. It can be quicker, but life etc slows things down.0 -
Buy a house that meets your needs.
Simples.
Forget about moving up to a fancier place or will it hold its value or gain money etc.
Just buy a house that meets your needs and if the value falls it doesn't matter.0 -
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I'm close to drawdown at the moment and will echo some of the good advice given in this thread so far based on both experience and just chatting to multiple mortgage advisors at banks while going through the process with them:
- Saving literally as much as possible and making lifestyle adjustments in your payments like not going to restaurants is only as useful in how fast it gets you a deposit. After have the required deposit, banks don't really look at what you're spending on what you're saving so much as they look at your payment capacity. The literal test they apply is that could you service a monthly mortgage payment if interest rates rose by a certain percentage, and what's counted against this is stuff you absolutely have to spend money on. This means things more like child maintenance (this is why they ask you in the mortgage calculator forms) and less things like restaurants or bars.
- In the closing process, apply for mortgage insurance early as in some cases this can require a medical checkup and can delay things.
- The 'getting caught up in the bidding war' thing is real, as is getting so frustrated with constantly going to viewings that you're tempted to go over what you think a property really is worth. It's good to always try and reset yourself in these situations.
- If you're really interested in a property, get the BER rating number from the EA. They need it to legally complete the sale so should have it. It will accurately tell you a lot of information about the property that mightn't have necessarily been included in the ad - the BER rating itself, the square footage of the property, what year it was built, and so on. The BER rating of a property is also not just a measure of its insulation potential, it's also a general marker of the build quality of the house. It would be worrying to see a house that's ten years old have a low BER for example.
- There really is no substitute for exploring the neighbourhood in person at different times of day - an area is more than the evening you had the viewing at.
- If buying in Dublin, be aware of how any prospective property is affected by Bus Connects going through in a few years - it might result you in losing a bus service, or gaining much, much more if you're near a corridor.
- If not going through a broker, compare the lowest interest rates either through research or using this website. Generally the two best deals will be the one with the lowest interest rate and the one with the highest cashback, and you can decide which makes the most sense to you at the time (as cashback can be handy for all the early expenses you run into in a house). You can easily switch away from the cashback bank afterwards as it probably will have a higher interest rate (you keep the cashback in any scenario).
- It's possible to split your mortgage with a certain portion on the bank's fixed rate and a certain portion on their variable rate. You might choose to do this if you have significant capacity to overpay the mortgage (as you can overpay variable rate mortgages as much as you want, and there are usually limits on fixed rates).0 -
guyfawkes5 wrote: »I'm close to drawdown at the moment and will echo some of the good advice given in this thread so far based on both experience and just chatting to multiple mortgage advisors at banks while going through the process with them:
- Saving literally as much as possible and making lifestyle adjustments in your payments like not going to restaurants is only as useful in how fast it gets you a deposit. After have the required deposit, banks don't really look at what you're spending on what you're saving so much as they look at your payment capacity. The literal test they apply is that could you service a monthly mortgage payment if interest rates rose by a certain percentage, and what's counted against this is stuff you absolutely have to spend money on. This means things more like child maintenance (this is why they ask you in the mortgage calculator forms) and less things like restaurants or bars.
- In the closing process, apply for mortgage insurance early as in some cases this can require a medical checkup and can delay things.
- The 'getting caught up in the bidding war' thing is real, as is getting so frustrated with constantly going to viewings that you're tempted to go over what you think a property really is worth. It's good to always try and reset yourself in these situations.
- If you're really interested in a property, get the BER rating number from the EA. They need it to legally complete the sale so should have it. It will accurately tell you a lot of information about the property that mightn't have necessarily been included in the ad - the BER rating itself, the square footage of the property, what year it was built, and so on. The BER rating of a property is also not just a measure of its insulation potential, it's also a general marker of the build quality of the house. It would be worrying to see a house that's ten years old have a low BER for example.
- There really is no substitute for exploring the neighbourhood in person at different times of day - an area is more than the evening you had the viewing at.
- If buying in Dublin, be aware of how any prospective property is affected by Bus Connects going through in a few years - it might result you in losing a bus service, or gaining much, much more if you're near a corridor.
- If not going through a broker, compare the lowest interest rates either through research or using this website. Generally the two best deals will be the one with the lowest interest rate and the one with the highest cashback, and you can decide which makes the most sense to you at the time (as cashback can be handy for all the early expenses you run into in a house). You can easily switch away from the cashback bank afterwards as it probably will have a higher interest rate (you keep the cashback in any scenario).
- It's possible to split your mortgage with a certain portion on the bank's fixed rate and a certain portion on their variable rate. You might choose to do this if you have significant capacity to overpay the mortgage (as you can overpay variable rate mortgages as much as you want, and there are usually limits on fixed rates).
1) That's exactly what I was thinking myself. I knew if we could speed the savings by putting away as much as we can then we would have a decent amount but I've often found that before the week is over, I don't have much left but I'm not overly broke either. I wouldn't be able to say we can skip off for a random night out which for now isn't possible but then again, we wouldn't be ones to go out all the time. We quiet like the quiet life, as boring as it sounds.
2) Luckily we are on the same page and it looks like outside of Dublin is were we would like to live. Not hours away but close enough to Dublin so we aren't completely secluded and we've found really great prices and not too much renovations so I think that's motivated us knowing that over the years we can do whatever we need to do. There's plenty of new developments over Dublin, but the asking prices would be nowhere near what we could have and when it comes to negotiating prices, we'll we would be laughed at for what we would say. Plus, a little bit of country life seems like a nice prospect.
3) I'll be writing down on my list about BER rating number. I've seen those words a few times when looking and I never really understood what they were but the more it gets mentions on this thread, it seems like it'll be ideal to keep an eye out for that. I suppose it'll make it easier for us to understand what we are buying too.
Thank you so much for your reply :-)0 -
A little update if anyone is interested. I've emailed brokers and they gave me so much information and reassurance that it's feasible that for the next 18 months we can gather enough for a deposit and use the Help to Buy scheme which will be a huge help. With this, I would have enough for the fees included which I swear has made me feel so much easier about all this. With the help from the people on this thread and brokers, you've made it a lot easier for me and gave me so many tips and tricks I didn't even think was possible.
The process now is to just enjoy the saving and leave the worrying to when I get to view houses haha.
Myself and partner have hummed and ahhhs about what we were going to do and although he's more laid back, he's pratically horizontal about this, I'm the one who drives him up the wall and then I drive myself up the wall about the savings and what happens when we finally go through the process so god love him then if things were to go arseways. But overall, I actually feel a lot better now knowing that it's not actually going to take us that long and there will be bumps along the way but sure, that's life.
Thank you all again! Truly. Keep the tips and tricks and advice and the gorey bits coming because I'm loving ideas, epically when we buy a home all the free bits we can get from Adverts haha.
Keep safe everyone :-)0 -
I've gotten 2 mortgages in my life, did the first on my own and second through a broker.
Would definitely recommend a broker, especially one you get on a recommendation via friends/family. The really good ones are worth their weight in gold.
First time around, I did it myself, I probably wasnt conscious enough of getting the best rate but just wanted the loan quickly and went to my own bank thinking that them having all my history would make life easier.
Second time I went to a broker for a few reasons;
- Buying with my OH, who was a contractor
- I already had one mortgage in my name alone and wanted to leave that alone and rent that property out
so i thought a broker could help in terms of which bank would best accept those circumstances.
The guy we used was great -got us 4 offers, gave advice as to the trends of the banks ie Bank X tend to have a high variable after your fixed term, and Bank Y have poor customer care etc. He was also useful in terms of helping us quickly evaluate the various offers in terms of cash back v's better rate etc, and since we were in a good cash position we just aggressively went for the best rate possible. He pointed out towards the end that if we borrowed €10k less, we could avail of a better LTV ratio and we had the cash so we opted to do that and ultimately got a rate of 2.25% which is very competitive - now that wouldnt suit everyone as some people will need the cash upfront but we wanted to prioritise keeping our repayments as low as possible.
I did independently get my own quote from the bank we ultimately went wtih just to confirm using the broker wasnt costing us anything, and it didnt.
Our purchase took a few months as we found some issues in the house that needed to be remedied and in that time a new lender had entered the market so he got us a comparative offer there too.
It was so much easier than filling out applications for all of these banks and the advice was really useful.
I'd also echo the advice of going to viewings even if you're not ready yet. Seeing places in real life is the only way to fully narrow down what your non negotiables are. Looking at ads online is no substitute.
I also agree that you shouldnt rush to do everything straight away when you move in. Beg borrow and steal(ish) items and replace them with quality items over time. Priorise things like a good quality bed for yourselves and a sofa, if you're spare rooms are unfurnished for a while, who cares.0 -
Fair play for buying a house with 3 children. It's just myself and partner and we find it hard. I hope everyone has settled well in your new home :-)
Actually it was 2 and I was 7 mths pregnant. Had to replace floorboards, bathroom and kitchen immediately and then new windows with a newborn. And yhe other 2 had birthdays in that 2 mths and Christmas. Have no idea how we came out the other end.0 -
Exactly what I was looking for!
We are at a stage where we want to purchase a home but when you are renting, it's pretty much save what we can rather than "This is how much we'll put away each week". Some weeks are brilliant then other weeks it's like it goes asreways and often wondering is it even possible. I took the advice from the first poster and emailed a couple of brokers and I was amazed at how quick they responded.
I already have health insurance so I am not sure if this would be factored into having some form of insurance or if it needs to be included on the insurance forms for a mortgage.
Can I ask, how long did it take you to save? How did you find the process overall?
I am finding it hard to stop stressing myself from continuously thinking about it. Each time I get paid, I'm literally like "Right X amount savings now!" before I have even taught about what I need in the shopping haha! It's like I'm afraid to have a little bit of fun in cause it comes up in my bank account and I'm sat there like an idiot trying to find what I spent money on. Mind you, I don' spend a lot or go out a lot for that matter but even when I'm doing the food shop I'm practically watching what I'm spending because Im thinking the bank will ask why I spent more or less on different shopping haha. I'm such an idiot!
Cheers for making me want Eddie Rockets now haha!
We saved for a year to get a nice lump sum, we left a surplus of €10,000 to cover the solicitor, stamp duty, maintenance fees, broker fee if applicable, utility start up costs and a just in case pot.
We are able to do a salary deduction from our bank strait through to the credit union. We also paid rent and his car loan as DD.
So the banks looked at our savings + the rent paid - his car loan to come up with our stress test. We had a good pot build up before we talked to the broker, he gave us a 6 month target to reach as my overdraft caused a few problems, I needed to show 3 months of not going into it, but also didn’t need to get rid of it cause it showed the banks I was responsible 😂
As long as you put in the same amount, same time over 6 months the banks are usual ok. They will ask to see proof of funds for deposits and such. They also want to see you have a surplus for the items I listed above - solicitor etc.
I was questioned on iTunes payments, but after the end of each saving fortnight we still had cash to spend. After all of our own bills paid so they did not dwell too much on iTunes.
Health insurance is different, mortgage protection pays for the mortgage if a person dies, some health insurances do offer it. We did not go for life assurance as our work offers that, we get death benefit from work and union benefits. We will still be working by the time mortgage is paid (35 years) so our work benefits will be in play.
A good broker won’t steer your wrong, our guy looked at our statements each month and gave his opinion on our spending, and then when he felt we were ready he went for it. We had approval in principal in 2 days. Approval a week later. This was October last year, we went draw down January as we bought a new build.
Don’t forget in new builds you are paying 13.5% VAT, so your stamp duty is house price, less 13.5% @ 1%.0 -
Oh, and HTB is for new builds/self builds only. Did not see this mentioned.
You get 5% of the house cost up to the max of €20,000. It depends on tax paid though, if you’ve paid €10k tax but qualified for the full €20k you only get the €10k.
You also need to submit returns for the last 4 years and pay back any tax owed.0 -
Jen Pigs Fly wrote: »Oh, and HTB is for new builds/self builds only. Did not see this mentioned.
You get 5% of the house cost up to the max of €20,000. It depends on tax paid though, if you’ve paid €10k tax but qualified for the full €20k you only get the €10k.
You also need to submit returns for the last 4 years and pay back any tax owed.
When is HTB running until?
The OP might not buy until up to 2 years from now, so the schemes available might look different by then.
The point is valid though, its on you to be aware of what offers/tax breaks/grants are available to you. Its on you to research whats out there for first time buyers by the point you actually go to buy.0 -
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Jen Pigs Fly wrote: »We saved for a year to get a nice lump sum, we left a surplus of €10,000 to cover the solicitor, stamp duty, maintenance fees, broker fee if applicable, utility start up costs and a just in case pot.
We are able to do a salary deduction from our bank strait through to the credit union. We also paid rent and his car loan as DD.
So the banks looked at our savings + the rent paid - his car loan to come up with our stress test. We had a good pot build up before we talked to the broker, he gave us a 6 month target to reach as my overdraft caused a few problems, I needed to show 3 months of not going into it, but also didn’t need to get rid of it cause it showed the banks I was responsible 😂
As long as you put in the same amount, same time over 6 months the banks are usual ok. They will ask to see proof of funds for deposits and such. They also want to see you have a surplus for the items I listed above - solicitor etc.
I was questioned on iTunes payments, but after the end of each saving fortnight we still had cash to spend. After all of our own bills paid so they did not dwell too much on iTunes.
Health insurance is different, mortgage protection pays for the mortgage if a person dies, some health insurances do offer it. We did not go for life assurance as our work offers that, we get death benefit from work and union benefits. We will still be working by the time mortgage is paid (35 years) so our work benefits will be in play.
A good broker won’t steer your wrong, our guy looked at our statements each month and gave his opinion on our spending, and then when he felt we were ready he went for it. We had approval in principal in 2 days. Approval a week later. This was October last year, we went draw down January as we bought a new build.
Don’t forget in new builds you are paying 13.5% VAT, so your stamp duty is house price, less 13.5% @ 1%.
Apart from my rent and house bills that have to come out of my account, I realistically only have my health insurance, my loan and Spotify that comes out of Direct Debit. Other than that I've no subscriptions to any sites. I made sure to cancel them all last year so I could build a report of exactly what I spend my money on and I wouldn't have to be questioned about certain things. My partner was the same. Any gambling sites and gaming sites, he's cancelled those. He would treat himself to a game maybe, once every two months. Nothing to extreme but other than that we really don't have anything connected to our accounts. Hopefully that shows we can commit as well as save.
I've given us around 18 months, maybe a little bit more to come up with deposit, enough for fees and maybe enough for furniture but my family have said they will probably buy us a few little bits here and there to help fill the house which will be a huge help. My partner has friends that are handy with house work, building and painting so hopefully when the time comes we won't have to worry too much about hiring professionals. Plus having friends around to help decrote a house seems fun. So those seem like small money savers.
The brokers I have been in contact with so far, they have been so helpful in giving me the advice needed so I think I've an idea who I would like to approach when the time comes to pick a broker so I think that's a little bit off my shoulders as well.0 -
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Choose your solicitor wisely and try use a firm that specializes in conveyancing as a bad or disorganized solicitor will wreck your head while closing.
I've read a couple of threads about useless solicitors and I genuinely think I might have to do more research on that when the time comes. I've heard of people that have had to wait much longer than necessary for simple things causing delays and I know if that was me, I would be absolutely up the walls.0 -
Jen Pigs Fly wrote: »Oh, and HTB is for new builds/self builds only. Did not see this mentioned.
You get 5% of the house cost up to the max of €20,000. It depends on tax paid though, if you’ve paid €10k tax but qualified for the full €20k you only get the €10k.
You also need to submit returns for the last 4 years and pay back any tax owed.
Ah, so the HTB doesn't work if I seen a previously owned house? I was hoping this would be the case.
I don't know anyone who has applied for this scheme and has used it so I haven't a clue what the process is for it but thanks for letting me know :-)0 -
Buy a house that meets your needs.
Simples.
Forget about moving up to a fancier place or will it hold its value or gain money etc.
Just buy a house that meets your needs and if the value falls it doesn't matter.
That's exactly what we plan to do. I don't want to buy a house just for the sake of saying we bought a home. This will be more of a forever home as I genuinely feel that I don't want to move again after going through the whole saving and mortage process. I plan on having a family in the future too so my plan is to build a family in a home in an area, maybe outside Dublin, where its home and we all feel comfortable.0 -
Ah, so the HTB doesn't work if I seen a previously owned house? I was hoping this would be the case.
I don't know anyone who has applied for this scheme and has used it so I haven't a clue what the process is for it but thanks for letting me know :-)
We used it to get out new build - for example, we qualified for €17k HTB rebate (we straight to the contractor) but as we only paid €16k tax in the last 4 years that is what we got, so that went again our deposit. It was still very helpful.
But yea only new builds and self builds qualify.0 -
Apart from my rent and house bills that have to come out of my account, I realistically only have my health insurance, my loan and Spotify that comes out of Direct Debit. Other than that I've no subscriptions to any sites. I made sure to cancel them all last year so I could build a report of exactly what I spend my money on and I wouldn't have to be questioned about certain things. My partner was the same. Any gambling sites and gaming sites, he's cancelled those. He would treat himself to a game maybe, once every two months. Nothing to extreme but other than that we really don't have anything connected to our accounts. Hopefully that shows we can commit as well as save.
I've given us around 18 months, maybe a little bit more to come up with deposit, enough for fees and maybe enough for furniture but my family have said they will probably buy us a few little bits here and there to help fill the house which will be a huge help. My partner has friends that are handy with house work, building and painting so hopefully when the time comes we won't have to worry too much about hiring professionals. Plus having friends around to help decrote a house seems fun. So those seem like small money savers.
The brokers I have been in contact with so far, they have been so helpful in giving me the advice needed so I think I've an idea who I would like to approach when the time comes to pick a broker so I think that's a little bit off my shoulders as well.
We had the usual DDs, rent, vhi, his car loan, phones, etc. We kept them all but I cancelled a subscription I had to a clothes company (popfit how I miss you!) and use my parents Netflix.
I also had a little woods account but it didn’t seem to come up at all so I just left it, I don’t pay DD to littlewoods I just go in monthly and pay back my minimum so maybe that’s how it went under the radar.
We haven’t painted the house, we got floors in and kitchen in. Then we got stung with lockdown. So we have our tv, sofa, bits and bobs, master bed and second room bed, 3rd room is currently used as storage! We have a kitchen table, it’s all we needed. Very handy having someone who can paint and such though. My partner he was able to put up the curtains, assemble furniature and fix problems that arose.
I should note - if family members are giving cash as a gift towards the deposit/house purchase, they will need to sign an affidavit for the banks that they are relinquishing all claims to the house. Gifting furniture and such it grand though. My broker and solicitor fixed all that up for us. The bank deemed a small inheritance I got that I used to pay back a car loan as a money lend towards the house. My dad signed the affidavit. Was crazy, the money came in a year before we even we for approval.0 -
Jen Pigs Fly wrote: »We had the usual DDs, rent, vhi, his car loan, phones, etc. We kept them all but I cancelled a subscription I had to a clothes company (popfit how I miss you!) and use my parents Netflix.
I also had a little woods account but it didn’t seem to come up at all so I just left it, I don’t pay DD to littlewoods I just go in monthly and pay back my minimum so maybe that’s how it went under the radar.
We haven’t painted the house, we got floors in and kitchen in. Then we got stung with lockdown. So we have our tv, sofa, bits and bobs, master bed and second room bed, 3rd room is currently used as storage! We have a kitchen table, it’s all we needed. Very handy having someone who can paint and such though. My partner he was able to put up the curtains, assemble furniature and fix problems that arose.
I should note - if family members are giving cash as a gift towards the deposit/house purchase, they will need to sign an affidavit for the banks that they are relinquishing all claims to the house. Gifting furniture and such it grand though. My broker and solicitor fixed all that up for us. The bank deemed a small inheritance I got that I used to pay back a car loan as a money lend towards the house. My dad signed the affidavit. Was crazy, the money came in a year before we even we for approval.
If I spoke to a family member, I could try and get a gift sum if it means helping more. Obviously I could make an agreement with them to pay them back over a certain amount of time etc. How much would be too much? Is there a only allowed to be a certain amount gifted? But if it was a case of a family member not being able to gift a sum amount, would that matter?
Honestly I was sad to see some subscriptions go. I do love do love a good browse and if I wanted a good splurge but I knew myself if I kept at it then it would be harder for me now to part with some clothing sites. I think that was the hardest for me to let go haha! My partner was gutted when I told him about the bookies online. Obviously he was unstanding but it was his little thing once every few weeks or when the big races were on but some sacrifices have to be made.
Call me dramatic here but in terms of saving for Christmas and trips away (which I've also accepted might have to be put on the back burner for now) how did you manage to put away enough for those? More so occasions. I've a couple of birthdays coming up and I've tried to see how could incorporate deposit savings and "raniny day" savings and its not possible at the minute. It's one or the other for now. Did you find it hard to save and still afford the other little bits or did you find it was a case of people will have to understand that I'm prioratising one thing at a time?0 -
all me dramatic here but in terms of saving for Christmas and trips away (which I've also accepted might have to be put on the back burner for now) how did you manage to put away enough for those? More so occasions. I've a couple of birthdays coming up and I've tried to see how could incorporate deposit savings and "raniny day" savings and its not possible at the minute. It's one or the other for now. Did you find it hard to save and still afford the other little bits or did you find it was a case of people will have to understand that I'm prioritising one thing at a time?
Honestly when it comes to Christmas etc, maybe tell family and friends that you're not doing christmas this year as you're saving for a house. Or if thats too extreme, opt for a secret santa type scenario that means you buy for only one person?
This is probably going to come across as annoying because I was always the sort of person who saved anyway, so when I wanted to buy, I had savings ready so never saved for a house as such, but I think genreally being good with money boils down to avoiding mindless spending.
Whats actually important? Personally I love going away so I'll always prioritise that. I have areas where I actively resent spending money and will shop for bargains such as insurance, utilities, groceries (love Aldi - think Dunnes in particular are a rip off). I rarely ever buy take away coffees and I hardly spend any money on my hair for example (2/3 trims a year). I stopped allowing myself to be influenced on instagram to buy every new bit of makeup etc.
Go through your spending, take a months bank statement (maybe not a quarentine month as its not the norm) and see where your money is really going. Are all the purchases necessary? Are there items you could cut without impacting on your quality of life?0 -
Honestly when it comes to Christmas etc, maybe tell family and friends that you're not doing christmas this year as you're saving for a house. Or if thats too extreme, opt for a secret santa type scenario that means you buy for only one person?
This is probably going to come across as annoying because I was always the sort of person who saved anyway, so when I wanted to buy, I had savings ready so never saved for a house as such, but I think genreally being good with money boils down to avoiding mindless spending.
Whats actually important? Personally I love going away so I'll always prioritise that. I have areas where I actively resent spending money and will shop for bargains such as insurance, utilities, groceries (love Aldi - think Dunnes in particular are a rip off). I rarely ever buy take away coffees and I hardly spend any money on my hair for example (2/3 trims a year). I stopped allowing myself to be influenced on instagram to buy every new bit of makeup etc.
Go through your spending, take a months bank statement (maybe not a quarentine month as its not the norm) and see where your money is really going. Are all the purchases necessary? Are there items you could cut without impacting on your quality of life?
I'm with you on Aldi. It's the only place I will walk into to buy any groceries. Even if I just need milk on a Wednesday, I'll treck to Aldi just because its cheaper! At one point I've questioned whether I've turned into the lot on TLC on that program, Cheapsakes but really, if I can find a good bargain in Aldi then I'm sold. I refuse to go into bigger stores just because I know I can get better, regardless of brand names. Food, toiletries etc, its always Aldi. I might venture into Lidl if I'm feeling like a rebel haha. Maybe Dealz if I fancy a nosey but even Dealz has caught me out a couple of times and I've had to hide what I bought because they've been the most pointless items I could of easily ignored to buy but sure.
When I was in my early 20s I never even taught of savings. I probably never uttered the word from my mouth. I would of rathered spending. Honestly I've regretted that now. Not just for the fact that I could of bought a house earlier but moreso, I would understand the value of money. Me and my partner were still living with parents at the time so we taught sure money, that's something you can spend. But now it's, money, that's something we can save. I used to laugh at people who saved in their teens/early twenties but sure who's laughing now because those guys are the ones I cry out to be haha!
I've taught of explaining to family members about the Christmas presents. I've just got my partner and parents so really it's 3 people so I'm lucky in a sense that I don't have a huge family. This year however I think me and my partner might get some small stuff, stocking fillers as such and my parents vouchers. For the immediate family, I'm sure they can come to an understanding and accept that this year won't be the year for splurging.0 -
If I spoke to a family member, I could try and get a gift sum if it means helping more. Obviously I could make an agreement with them to pay them back over a certain amount of time etc. How much would be too much? Is there a only allowed to be a certain amount gifted? But if it was a case of a family member not being able to gift a sum amount, would that matter?
Honestly I was sad to see some subscriptions go. I do love do love a good browse and if I wanted a good splurge but I knew myself if I kept at it then it would be harder for me now to part with some clothing sites. I think that was the hardest for me to let go haha! My partner was gutted when I told him about the bookies online. Obviously he was unstanding but it was his little thing once every few weeks or when the big races were on but some sacrifices have to be made.
Call me dramatic here but in terms of saving for Christmas and trips away (which I've also accepted might have to be put on the back burner for now) how did you manage to put away enough for those? More so occasions. I've a couple of birthdays coming up and I've tried to see how could incorporate deposit savings and "raniny day" savings and its not possible at the minute. It's one or the other for now. Did you find it hard to save and still afford the other little bits or did you find it was a case of people will have to understand that I'm prioratising one thing at a time?
As far as I know, even with a payback clause the banks want an affidavit that the person who gave the money had no claim in the house. It’s a simple contract that the lender has to sign. And it’s difficult to hide really, a large amount of money being lodged in a bank needs to be accounted for, and you need to show where all large amounts come from. It took me dad 5 mins in all to sign the affidavit for the bank.
I’m noticing now I have more cash when I’m not paying for subscriptions so I can afford to splurge on new online shops once in a blue moon!
We didn’t do any holidays or big presents, people were very understanding though about it. Bearing in mind we went drawdown January, we did small Christmas presents, and of course his birthday is a week after Christmas so we forewent birthdays last year as we were buying a house! Most if not all our Christmas presents we received were house related. It’s funny, it’s like with having kids, birthdays and christmases become help for that!
We were planning a holiday for this September but obviously that didn’t happen. We were going to use a holiday site that allows you to pay bits off at will.
One good tip I can give though, we moved in February this year, we are still putting in what we were saving + rent into our joint account that mortgage and bills come out of, it means we are always in the plus as what we were saving and paying in rent was a lot more than our mortgage. So we always have a surplus, we are going to use that surplus for house insurance and such.0 -
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Jen Pigs Fly wrote: »We saved for a year to get a nice lump sum, we left a surplus of €10,000 to cover the solicitor, stamp duty, maintenance fees, broker fee if applicable, utility start up costs and a just in case pot.
We are able to do a salary deduction from our bank strait through to the credit union. We also paid rent and his car loan as DD.
So the banks looked at our savings + the rent paid - his car loan to come up with our stress test. We had a good pot build up before we talked to the broker, he gave us a 6 month target to reach as my overdraft caused a few problems, I needed to show 3 months of not going into it, but also didn’t need to get rid of it cause it showed the banks I was responsible 😂
As long as you put in the same amount, same time over 6 months the banks are usual ok. They will ask to see proof of funds for deposits and such. They also want to see you have a surplus for the items I listed above - solicitor etc.
I was questioned on iTunes payments, but after the end of each saving fortnight we still had cash to spend. After all of our own bills paid so they did not dwell too much on iTunes.
Health insurance is different, mortgage protection pays for the mortgage if a person dies, some health insurances do offer it. We did not go for life assurance as our work offers that, we get death benefit from work and union benefits. We will still be working by the time mortgage is paid (35 years) so our work benefits will be in play.
A good broker won’t steer your wrong, our guy looked at our statements each month and gave his opinion on our spending, and then when he felt we were ready he went for it. We had approval in principal in 2 days. Approval a week later. This was October last year, we went draw down January as we bought a new build.
Don’t forget in new builds you are paying 13.5% VAT, so your stamp duty is house price, less 13.5% @ 1%.
It's actually under 12% that you deduct from the new build sale price to arrive at the balance eligible for stamp duty (as for the calculation your total is 113.5%, and remapping that as a 100% baseline, to get back you only have to take ~11.9% off the "original" 113.5% - I know, I've explained it terribly!). Admittedly on a price of 400k you're only talking about 100-200 quid in the difference in stamp duty, but worth going in eyes open all the same.0
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