So why is it that I need a mortgage?

If you have a big wad of money and can buy a house straight up, more power to you. But the majority of younger people wanting to buy a house simply don't have the luxury of having € 250,000+ sitting in a bank account, or in a biscuit tin in the hot press like Bertie Ahern.

I'm not sure what your point is but for the average worker they are never going to be able to save enough out of their salary to buy a house outright these days even if they live in a tent!

Years ago people in rural Ireland anyway managed to build houses on land they owned or were gifted by doing it bit by bit with every friend/family able to giving them a hand. A friend of mine built her house for 2,000 pounds about 40 yrs ago, fine grant sized bungalow! You could cobble together that sort of money over time, both lived at home and in fairness there wasn't much else to spend your money on back then, holidays etc would be uncommon but you couldn't finance a house these days from savings only unless you're on mega bucks.

How much does this starter house cost, Brid?

You know people?

You have to keep up with the Jones's.

And when you've caught up with them, you need to move on out and up.

Recycle & repeat.

Have a look at The Gallops, Clonee.

See if you don't need a mortgage.

How much is this 'huge' amount of money you'll be saving?

You could be the best saver in the world, you're not going to save up for the averagely priced house in Dublin any time soon.

Say we take 350k as the average house price. If you wanted to buy that ten years from now, you'd have to save 35k a year. Do you make enough money to save 35k a year?

And to top it off, when you go to buy that house in 10 years with all your cash savings, there's a high probability the house will cost a lot more than 350k...

Having a mortgage saves you money in general. Example:

• I have a mortgage on a small 2-bedroom terrace house close to work, pay €1000 a month for the mortgage and can save €500 a month. I don't need a car and walk to work. Great for the environment and I am getting more savings every year.
• Let's say I did not have a mortgage. For the same house, I would pay €1800 a month. Or I could rent far away for €1000, but would need to get a car and spend hours in traffic, burning hundreds of €€ in petrol and car depreciation. No money saved as I have more expenses => I will be renting until the retirement, and then I would need to move to live under a bridge somewhere.

Is there a flaw in the logic above? Any alternatives? Ah, I know, *live with parents and save* until you are 40 years old?

OP I know someone who saved for years, wouldn't have been the type to be spending everything and still had to get a mortgage to buy a small enough place for just herself. Granted her mortgage will be paid off years before a lot of people's as it was a small enough one, but she still needed it to afford something that suited.

I got a larger mortgage to essentially future proof - I saw too many people stuck in those starter homes from pre-2008. Trying to raise families in small 2 bed houses or apartments that were only really meant for a couple a most. But with negative equity, they could afford to move somewhere bigger. Therefore somewhat worth the extra little bit to me to know that we don't have to move if that does happen again. That the house we're in works for us now & into the future. And hopefully by the time I retire, it'll be paid off & I won't have to worry about where I'll live.

Of course, 2 times already. The first lender (some subprime provider, as I didn't have an Irish passport then and was rejected by main banks) was very expensive (€1300 - €1500/month), but after a year I moved to PTSB and then KBC and with those normal banks, by getting best mortgage offers, the difference in repayments was under €100/month. When the loan-to-value ratio falls below 50% I may get a better deal, but I would probably keep the same repayments and reduce the term instead.

People are entitled to use their own money however they wish. Begrudgery isn't really the strongest argument against someone buying a house. It's not OP's responsibility to help you buy a house.

Furthermore, plenty of people out there are looking to rent. Not everybody is at the stage in their life where they want to buy a house. Does your desire to own your own home trump their need to rent a place? The housing market isn't all about first time buyers you know.

PS - what you call greed, others call good financial planning.

Why do you need a mortgage?

Might I guess that you don't have enough money saved yourself to buy a house with cash?

I'm inclined to agree with you, though I wouldn't always call it 'greed'. There is a view out there though in Irish society that if you have a home and a bit of spare cash, that you buy an 'investment' property to pay for your pension etc. It is essentially speculation and unnecessary - for the good of society as a whole, the investment property would be better off available to those wishing to purchase a home.

What is/was galling though was to see some of these speculators squealing after the last crash that the values of their investments had fallen and they were going to lose their 'pension'. I had zero, zero sympathy for them, though I suspect many were dealt with leniently by their lenders at the expense of other taxpayers.

If you want a pension, then invest in a PRSA or some pension scheme.

Maybe but investing in property should also be understood as gambling. The value may rise & fall etc.

The way it is, you'd swear Irish people think they have a God given right to property going up & up & up in value. And if doesn't, they whine about needing bailouts and their 'pensions'. F*** them the rest of us say.

a small house would set you back 300k