Saving/Applying for a mortgage 2015/16/17/18/19

Uglysoik1 wrote: »

Is this normal that an EA asks for proof of funds to back up your offer?
I put in an offer on a property but the EA is asking for proof. What should I do.?

The boom is back with regards to buying housing, Estate Agents are basically saving you wasting their time. Usually an Approval in Principle letter from the bank will suffice. This will include the value of a potential mortgage the bank will give you, you're within your right to tippex this amount out.

It's similar to any kind of deal, show me the money, I'll show you the goods.

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

The boom is back with regards to buying housing, Estate Agents are basically saving you wasting their time. Usually an Approval in Principle letter from the bank will suffice. This will include the value of a potential mortgage the bank will give you, you're within your right to tippet this amount out.

It's similar to any kind of deal, show me the money, I'll show you the goods.

That's great - thanks very much for this!

Hello,

Just wondering what people think of my situation. I have a mortgage saver account for around 6 months now and I have been renting for 4 years now roughly just above what my mortgage repayments would be. Recently a house that would be ideal has come up and a friend of mine advised me to get a letter from my parent "gifting" me the deposit amount, then go to the bank and see what they offer? Looking at the mortgage calculator it seems (on paper, at least) that I would be approved the amount I need. But it all seems a bit too simple? Now, it's a smaller mortgage 126,000 approx. but I feel like the banks will find every way NOT to approve a mortgage these days?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Phileas Frog wrote: »

They do. Never use a broker paid for by the bank, they have a vested interest

Why?

As far as I know, any offer you'll get through a broker is the same as the offer you'd get if you applied yourself.

So there's no difference really, you'll get the same offer regardless.

DOC2015 wrote: »

Okay, I get you. Makes sense with the stress test. Savings/rent history is basically the usual story - struggling to save while paying rent. How they expect people to save for the Dublin area while paying rent is an absolute disgrace to the government.

Thankfully, I will never be able to afford a mortgage in Dublin but I feel sorry for those who have to get one there.

Thanks very much for the reply

Banks actually don't care where your deposit comes from if you pass the other affordability metrics. They take your rent plus savings as your repayment history for assessing your affordability.

Blanco100 wrote: »

We are sale agreed also now awaiting our letter of offer we have been told it can take 3 days.

With AIB it seems valuation report will come after letter of offer.

Will the bank organise this themselves? And how much does it cost?

Engineers report is costing around €500 inclusive of VAT

Just been through this with same bank - there is a number you need to call to organize the valuation, it was on our letter of offer but I’m sure you can google it if you’d like to be a step ahead. It costs €150 and you pay by card over the phone at time of booking.

Just out of interest, to the people that got approved for the 4.5 times exemption, what was you combined income and what bank did you use?

I know there is other factors involved other than just income but just want to see are we wasting our time trying to pursue it.

Me and the missus are on ~€60000 basic combined and about €68000 with our bonus.

moonlighting_1 wrote: »

What banks are doing the 4.5 times your wages.
Got approved for 3.5 times my wages but as a single person I am struggling to buy anything for 3.5 times my salary.

They all can. The max is 4.5 based on you getting an exemption. The only rule is that the banks can only give 20% of their mortgage out as exemptions in a given year. Some will give them out on first come first served basis, and some will spread them out throughout the year.

AIB offered me a 4.4 times exemption, when it came down to it, I didn’t need it. I was a single applicant at
The time as well.

Ayan Prickly Road wrote: »

Yes, there's nothing wrong with going with a broker paid by the banks. One thing an applicant might want to check is the broker has the same commission with all the banks, so they've no vested interest in going with one bank over another, but that's it imo.

But no matter how the broker gets paid they have a vested interest in getting you a mortgage. If they take money from the applicant up front but don't do their job very well, they won't be in business for long. I used a broker and it was the best decision I made in this whole process. If I ever move house I'm going straight back to her.

I also used a broker and she was amazing. I was looking for an exemption and she was able to immediately tell me which bank would give me the biggest exemption and which one would be best then based on rates. I’m sure the commission is the same for all brokers which is 1% of mortgage drawdown. She was very upfront with fees. At the time we had a property in mind so I didn’t have time to go to all the banks as I needed an exemption. Maybe next time if I’m not caught on time I might do the banks individually. But I found everything moved quickly. Only thing to note is if you move bank within 3 years there is a clawback on their fee.

Blanco100 wrote: »

what happens in relation to letter of offer? we were told its with underwriters since 21st June, what is exactly happening at this stage?

are they only doing relevant checks now? all this info was provided weeks ago in application process. We are borrowing well below our combined salary x 3.5 max approval amount for what its worth.

Probably just a backlog of applications with the bank. We were a few weeks waiting for ours

awec wrote: »

Are brokers really getting as much as 1%?

That’s what was on our loan offer with Ulster Bank - it was 1% of the value of the mortgage and broker said that’s stranded. She was up front on fees. So they make a nice fee as our solicitor wasn’t charging 1% of the value of property but a fix rate which was lower than that.

But I think that’s why people lean towards brokers if your self employed or have potentially problems with application form. One bank may not have an issue with something another bank does. If your straight forward case, then go directly to the banks.

I would caution applying online for a mortgage. A friend did that and she had an issue with a qualification on title her solicitor had to put in. When she was trying to put pressure on the bank to review it, it was difficult as she didn’t have one point of contact who could escalate it. Her and her solicitor would need to ring the central place and every time, they were speaking to someone new and had to outline the problem every time. It just wasted time.

cbrbob94 wrote: »

Me and the missus are on ~€60000 basic combined and about €68000 with our bonus.

We had similar combined income and got an exemption. Wasn’t 4.5x but had 3.7x and 4x times. But it’s not just income that’s a factor, what to you work as, what are your savings every month, are you above the stress test, other loans etc all factor into an exemption I felt.

Donny345 wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a mortgage broker for a self-employed company director in the software industry?

Where are you based?

Aiyana Mysterious Apathetic wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a mortgage broker for a self-employed company director in the software industry?

I’ll PM you a recommendation.