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

Frozen Veg · 12-01-2019 7:55pm

Are people generally going for variable or fixed mortgages these days?

First mortgage appointments booked for next week.

Will be looking for 90%, house value €120,000.

soc · 12-01-2019 7:59pm

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

Telling a person who has credit card debt to use their card more isn’t really the best advice.

I'm not saying that. I'm saying that if they want to show repayment history to bank regarding a credit card then clearing the balance every month shows good repayment history and not making monthly payments to chip away at a balance. I don't know how good or not the person is with a credit card...

august12 · 12-01-2019 10:46pm

Frozen Veg wrote:

Are people generally going for variable or fixed mortgages these days?

Depends on what you intend doing with repayments, some people like to overpay to reduce the term of mortgage, variable rate mortgage is more lenient when it comes to repayment plans, Ulster bank has a great fixed rate mortgage at present. Also allows an annual overpayment of 10% of outstanding balance.

Misssally · 13-01-2019 9:28am

I don’t use the card. It’s an old balance that I’ve reduced down. My question isn’t so much about the card, I’m aware it’s not a good thing to have so I’m trying to get rid of it. My concern is about reducing my savings. I have shown over 6 months that I can save over the expected repayments but if I take this 2k out it will reduce the average down. Obviously going forward I can save more as I won’t be paying the card but I’m not sure how it will look & if it will set me back another 6 months

laserlad2010 · 13-01-2019 10:53am

Well, back on here with second house sale agreed. This time the survey looks good so I won't have to back out this time!

A feel good story - this house was subject to a really low bidding war (started at 75% of asking price 400k and went up by 5k every two days). I'd come in with a much higher offer the week before Christmas, but the next day the EA says the vendor wants it done and dusted - best and final offers by X deadline. There were 5 interested parties.

Anyway, put in the best bid I could do and got a missed call from the EA the next day. Rang him back "Dear X, I'm just ringing about the property. You were not the highest bidder... but the vendor has preferred your bid" To say I was gobsmacked was an understatement! I think he couldn't resist the pause tbh:pac:

The highest bid was an investment offer from a landlord, and the vendor wanted it to be a family home for a FTB, so she wanted us in the property.

Just goes to show it's not all about the money sometimes. Obviously contracts not signed but hoping to do so in the next two weeks!

:)

fjon · 14-01-2019 5:44pm

I was wondering how feasible is it to obtain keys to a property before the sale fully closes?
We're at a very advanced stage and are just waiting for one piece of documentation (Land Registry), which is taking longer to obtain than anticipated. The date we have been given by the solicitor keeps being pushed forward - it was initially supposed to be before Christmas.
We have little time left in our current rental house and need to move out in the next 2 weeks.
I was wondering if anyone here has done this?

JustMe,K · 14-01-2019 5:52pm

fjon wrote: »

I was wondering how feasible is it to obtain keys to a property before the sale fully closes?
We're at a very advanced stage and are just waiting for one piece of documentation (Land Registry), which is taking longer to obtain than anticipated. The date we have been given by the solicitor keeps being pushed forward - it was initially supposed to be before Christmas.
We have little time left in our current rental house and need to move out in the next 2 weeks.
I was wondering if anyone here has done this?

I did this years ago for similar reasons, but the person I was buying off had used it as a rental property so he was happy enough to 'rent' the place to me until the sale closed, which was about 10 days after we moved in.

It really will depend on the owners circumstances, but given the current situation where everything is so heavily weighted in favour of tenants rather than landlords, I would be very hesitant if I was the owner.

Can you speak to your landlord an extend your time?

fjon · 14-01-2019 5:55pm

kcdiom wrote: »

Can you speak to your landlord an extend your time?

She is unfortunately currently renting and will be moving back into her house, so there's no room to extend that.

Weepsie · 14-01-2019 6:14pm

laserlad2010 wrote: »

Well, back on here with second house sale agreed. This time the survey looks good so I won't have to back out this time!

A feel good story - this house was subject to a really low bidding war (started at 75% of asking price 400k and went up by 5k every two days). I'd come in with a much higher offer the week before Christmas, but the next day the EA says the vendor wants it done and dusted - best and final offers by X deadline. There were 5 interested parties.

Anyway, put in the best bid I could do and got a missed call from the EA the next day. Rang him back "Dear X, I'm just ringing about the property. You were not the highest bidder... but the vendor has preferred your bid" To say I was gobsmacked was an understatement! I think he couldn't resist the pause tbh:pac:

The highest bid was an investment offer from a landlord, and the vendor wanted it to be a family home for a FTB, so she wanted us in the property.

Just goes to show it's not all about the money sometimes. Obviously contracts not signed but hoping to do so in the next two weeks! :)

I started reading that half thinking we might have been bidding against each other! But I was only one of 2 bidders, and there was no investor that I am aware of, and wasn't given a deadline, so wasn't the same place

We bid on a bhouse that started at 400, and came down a long way from that to nearly 75%. Bid under, as noone was bidding whatsoever. No contact from the agent at all. Send in an email, they eventually ring back and say they won't accept that, they want x amount, or we can try and negotiate.

So we increase our bid a little to see if they move, again silence from the agent for 2 weeks. Another bidder then emerges, and I get a call straight away. We match their bid, explaining we can move straight away etc, so they up there bid. We made one more bid and they went up by 10k.

We decided that we'd stop then. First time bidding, and I do not like estate agents. Kept telling me about the other bidder, when I said, I wasn't interested in other bidder says, I am interested in what the seller has said. The house was worth more than it went for too. They had mistakes in the description, addressed it wrong and when viewing the house (on 3 occassions), did not know some fairly basic details.

The sellers should've got rid of them and got someone else in.

Frozen Veg · 14-01-2019 8:05pm

Any thoughts on selection of mortgage provider for 5 year fixed mortgage? Which bank would be considered best value at the moment.

august12 · 14-01-2019 11:23pm

Frozen Veg wrote:

Any thoughts on selection of mortgage provider for 5 year fixed mortgage? Which bank would be considered best value at the moment.

Ulster bank seems to have the best fixed rate mortgage at present,

mkdon · 15-01-2019 2:33am

I had similar experience - I have found only speaking from my experience and the experience of those I know that estate agents for the most part to be unprofessional at every stage of the process.

I have been proven on numerous instances where by they have been telling porkies and different stories to different individuals.

I feel there is a lack of legislation governing this and this is badly needed considering the havoc the last housing crisis caused on our economy and ok they are not bankers but they were key stakeholders and for me, nothing has changed since then...over the phone phantom bidding ,etc. As I said I am sure there are some decent salt of earth EAs but I am yet to come across any in my experience

Goose76 · 16-01-2019 2:20pm

Has anyone written a letter to the sellers in the hope of them “choosing” your bid? I’ve heard this can be a good strategy.

We have gone sale agreed and everything is close to completion but have since found a property that suits us much better. Our budget is tight and we have no time to lose if we are to pursue this other house. The EA for the “new house” knows we are already sale agreed and need to move rapidly. Would a letter to the vendors help in any way and if so, any tips for what should be included?

eoghan104 · 16-01-2019 3:56pm

august12 wrote: »

Ulster bank seems to have the best fixed rate mortgage at present,

You need to factor in the cashback offers with other banks.

For us at a property price of 340k the BOI 2% cashback made them the best value for 5 years even though their rate was higher than UB.

Easy sums. 60 x monthly repayment minus any cashback. Lowest total amount is best.

purpleisafruit · 16-01-2019 3:58pm

eoghan104 wrote: »

You need to factor in the cashback offers with other banks.

For us at a property price of 340k the BOI 2% cashback made them the best value for 5 years even though their rate was higher than UB.

Easy sums. 60 x monthly repayment minus any cashback. Lowest total amount is best.

Don't forget that after 5 years, BOI are giving another 1% cashback also

ELM327 · 16-01-2019 4:01pm

eoghan104 wrote: »

You need to factor in the cashback offers with other banks.

For us at a property price of 340k the BOI 2% cashback made them the best value for 5 years even though their rate was higher than UB.

Easy sums. 60 x monthly repayment minus any cashback. Lowest total amount is best.

Surely if you're looking to calculate the best value it should be the lowest for:

(60*(M-C))-CB
Where M is monthly repayment
C is the non interest proportion (IE capital repayment)
and CB is cashback

Repayment of capital is not a cost, repayment of interest is a cost.

myshirt · 16-01-2019 4:02pm

purpleisafruit wrote: »

Don't forget that after 5 years, BOI are giving another 1% cashback also

Don't forget they are banking on customer inertia after the fixed term, or hoping the customer will be snookered into remaining with them. Box smart though and you are on to a winner, I agree.

eoghan104 · 16-01-2019 4:52pm

ELM327 wrote: »

Surely if you're looking to calculate the best value it should be the lowest for:

(60*(M-C))-CB
Where M is monthly repayment
C is the non interest proportion (IE capital repayment)
and CB is cashback

Repayment of capital is not a cost, repayment of interest is a cost.

Surely it is not a consideration when the term (ie 30 years) is the same? You are looking at it from a 5 yr calculation only.

Greyian · 16-01-2019 4:59pm

eoghan104 wrote: »

Surely it is not a consideration when the term (ie 30 years) is the same? You are looking at it from a 5 yr calculation only.

Less of the capital will have been paid off after 5 years if you are on a higher interest rate (higher interest rate = less capital paid off earlier on).

So on a higher rate, you may have paid a total of €50000 after 5 years and receive €10000 cashback (so effectively €40000 paid).
On a lower rate, you may have paid off €45000. So it seems you'd have paid €5000 more. But those payments could have paid an extra €7000 off the capital, meaning you'd be €2000 better off (€7000 extra off capital, less €5000 extra paid vs. the cashback mortgage).

ELM327 · 16-01-2019 5:40pm

eoghan104 wrote: »

Surely it is not a consideration when the term (ie 30 years) is the same? You are looking at it from a 5 yr calculation only.

As greyian says below.
In short even on the same term on the same interest rate the apportionment can be different. You need to look at the terms and only apportion interest as a cost. Apportioning the full repayment as a cost is incorrect as capital repayments (and in a 5 year period you will make some capital repayment) increases your equity but interest payments obviously do not.

Greyian wrote: »

Less of the capital will have been paid off after 5 years if you are on a higher interest rate (higher interest rate = less capital paid off earlier on).

So on a higher rate, you may have paid a total of €50000 after 5 years and receive €10000 cashback (so effectively €40000 paid).
On a lower rate, you may have paid off €45000. So it seems you'd have paid €5000 more. But those payments could have paid an extra €7000 off the capital, meaning you'd be €2000 better off (€7000 extra off capital, less €5000 extra paid vs. the cashback mortgage).

averagejoe123 · 17-01-2019 10:30am

I am looking through the money back v the lower rate options at the moment and over a 5 year period I will save €3,187.89 by getting the BOI 3% cash back.

Assumptions-
1)- Borrowing €300,000 over 30 years
2)- KBC rate of 2.6% is available for 5 years
3)- Fix with Bank of Ireland for 5 years at 3%

Workings
1) With KBC
- Monthly repayments of €1,201.02- annual repayment of €14,412.24-
Repayments over 5 years- €72,061.20 - Mortgage Balance after 5 years- €264,734.38

2) With BOI
- Monthly repayments of €1,264.81- annual repayment of €15,177.72-
Repayments over 5 years- €75,888.60 - Mortgage Balance after 5 years- €266,719.09

I will pay €3,827.40 extra in monthly repayments and have a greater mortgage balance of €1,948.71 if I choose BOI = €5,812.11.

I will receive €9,000 back from BOI over the 5 years which will give a gain of €3,187.89 (€9,000 - €5,812.11)

Notes- Both BOI and KBC have high variable rates so the mortgage will have to be reassessed at the end of the 5 years.

There is also the option to consider multiple mortgage moves between EBS, PTSB and BOI to avail of the cash back offers.

You could place the initial €6,000 from BOI on a 5 year savings and earn an additional €300

averagejoe123 · 17-01-2019 10:31am

Double post

Weepsie · 17-01-2019 10:57am

Ulster bank is 2.6 for 5? It's advertised as 4 as you say, and 2.9 for 5 (or 2.8 for UB customers)

averagejoe123 · 17-01-2019 11:05am

Weepsie wrote: »

Ulster bank is 2.6 for 5? It's advertised as 4 as you say, and 2.9 for 5 (or 2.8 for UB customers)

No it's for 4 years. It would be silly to choose the current 5 year rate over the 4 year one available.

I used the 2.6% over 5 years as to not to distort the figures too much. The additional 1% only comes in from BOI after 5 years so I pushed out UBs rate for an additional year for comparative purposes.

Edited the initial post from UB to KBC as they offer 2.6% for 5 years

amcalester · 17-01-2019 11:13am

averagejoe123 wrote: »

No it's for 4 years. It would be silly to choose the current 5 year rate over the 4 year one available.

I used the 2.6% over 5 years as to not to distort the figures too much. The additional 1% only comes in from BOI after 5 years so I pushed out UBs rate for an additional year for comparative purposes.

You should really use the STV rate for year 5 rather than the lower 2.6% for a better comparison.

When I looked at this last year, the BOI 5 year fixed @ 3% with 3% cash back was cheaper than UB @ 2.9%, my LTV was > 80% so I didn't qualify for the lower rate.

djan · 17-01-2019 11:16am

Contrary to the message pushed through the media warning of cashback offers not being worthwhile, if you are prepared to switch after every term, given a average mortgage amount you will save over 10k euro. Thankfully, the banks no longer can claw-back the cashback even if you switch a few months into it.

Going through the solicitors and the paperwork associated with numerous mortgage switching is time consuming, but definitely worth it!

GingerLily · 17-01-2019 11:18am

There are other things you should consider - a lump sum when you buy a house might be worth more to you then a small saving over five years.

For us it meant we could buy good quality flooring that we won't have to replace etc.

averagejoe123 · 17-01-2019 11:26am

amcalester wrote: »

You should really use the STV rate for year 5 rather than the lower 2.6% for a better comparison.

When I looked at this last year, the BOI 5 year fixed @ 3% with 3% cash back was cheaper than UB @ 2.9%, my LTV was > 80% so I didn't qualify for the lower rate.

There are many different ways this could of been approached. I could of put the initial €6k off the mortgage with BOI to lower the monthly repayments be. I could explore the different LTV rates across Fixed and Variable options on offer etc.

I wanted to give a basic illustration of two similar offerings from 2 different banks and compare the costs.

Weepsie · 17-01-2019 11:46am

averagejoe123 wrote: »

Edited the initial post from UB to KBC as they offer 2.6% for 5 years

That's with a LTV of 60% though fyi and if you have an account with the.

We're leaning towards KBC over BoI. Cashback is great and all and would be good at the very start, but over the course of a few years it doesn't make sense, unless we switched quickly.

averagejoe123 · 17-01-2019 11:51am

Weepsie wrote: »

That's with a LTV of 60% though fyi and if you have an account with the.

We're leaning towards KBC over BoI. Cashback is great and all and would be good at the very start, but over the course of a few years it doesn't make sense, unless we switched quickly.

Do you mind me asking why you would not switch to another cash back offer after the minimum term? Switching can be a bit of a pain from a paper work angle point but you can save and gain thousands. If you have a mortgage of 200k+ your hourly rate for time spent on it would be very high.

Interesting reading for multiple switchers https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/multiple-switches.211122/

Weepsie · 17-01-2019 11:55am

averagejoe123 wrote: »

Do you mind me asking why you would not switch to another cash back offer after the minimum term? Switching can be a bit of a pain from a paper work angle point of view buy you can save and gain thousands. If you have a mortgage of 200k+ your hourly rate for time spent on it would be very high.

Oh I am all for switching and I will look to do it whenever I see it as a good chance for saving, but few of us now what offers are going to be available in 6 months time and beyond, what rates will be available and how affordable switching will be.

averagejoe123 · 17-01-2019 12:02pm

Weepsie wrote: »

Oh I am all for switching and I will look to do it whenever I see it as a good chance for saving, but few of us now what offers are going to be available in 6 months time and beyond, what rates will be available and how affordable switching will be.

I think this is an overly cautious approach.

The likelihood that mortgage rates will change significantly in 6 months is very small considering the increased competition in the Irish market and the fact that we are paying the highest rates in the EU

tailgunner · 17-01-2019 6:06pm

Frank Castle wrote: »

Just as an update, as I forgot to post it before.

Got the cashback from PTSB after 2 weeks. (in case anyone is wondering)

Can be hard to get this information as people tend to stop posting once they get their keys!

Just to add to this, we got the cashback from PTSB today (17th) after drawing down last Tuesday (8th).

august12 · 18-01-2019 12:29am

Weepsie wrote:

Ulster bank is 2.6 for 5? It's advertised as 4 as you say, and 2.9 for 5 (or 2.8 for UB customers)

Think you also get 1,500 towards legal fees and free valuation.

Prospector1989 · 18-01-2019 10:20am

Hoping to get approval from PTSB (via broker) over the next week or so. Looking for an exemption above the 3.5 times our combined salaries. Our broker appears confident.
We had a major surprise on Wednesday however when the bank were questioning arrears on the OH's Credit Report. Following some digging, the OH had changed job and changed the frequency of the repayments on a loan to monthly from weekly.
The CU never updated this with the ICB resulting in this. Getting a letter from them today to clear things up with the bank.

Fingers crossed now!

tailgunner · 18-01-2019 10:29am

Prospector1989 wrote: »

Hoping to get approval from PTSB (via broker) over the next week or so. Looking for an exemption above the 3.5 times our combined salaries. Our broker appears confident.
We had a major surprise on Wednesday however when the bank were questioning arrears on the OH's Credit Report. Following some digging, the OH had changed job and changed the frequency of the repayments on a loan to monthly from weekly.
The CU never updated this with the ICB resulting in this. Getting a letter from them today to clear things up with the bank.

Fingers crossed now!

Went with PTSB via a broker as well and found them very reasonable about things like this. As long as there's a genuine reason, you should be fine.

Prospector1989 · 18-01-2019 10:35am

tailgunner wrote: »

Went with PTSB via a broker as well and found them very reasonable about things like this. As long as there's a genuine reason, you should be fine.

Yeah we're not worried about the ICB thing any more. I think it's just as we're gonig for an exemption, there's always another "query" or something else they need. Feel like it's never going to end.

We're in the fortunate position, that we're buying the house we're currently living in so at least that's one less stress (provided we actually get approved!).

Sureal · 18-01-2019 7:52pm

Hello. I have a few questions on getting a mortgage, I'm hoping someone can help.

Me and my partner are looking to buy a place. He is earning 44k per year but I've gone back to college to study in a different area because work in my area has dried up. That means I'm only in receipt of back to education allowance. Am I right in thinking that the back to education allowance won't be taken into account when the bank is evaluating our application?

If so then our limit is 3.5 times his salary which leaves us at 154k plus our deposit which is at 40k combined. So if approved we could get a place for 194k. We are looking to buy in the Dublin area and surroundings, there are a few but not many places available for that price. What is the best course of action for us to take? Just wait until I'm finished college (a few years), get a job and then try? Would me going in on the application make a difference at all? Maybe he'd be better off applying by himself?

Sorry, I'm not highly educated on this area. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

GingerLily · 18-01-2019 7:55pm

If your not married he'd be better off applying by himself, he'll be more likely to get an exemption or a higher LTI as his income won't be seen as supporting you.

Is the deposit from his savings or shared?

Sureal · 18-01-2019 8:01pm

GingerLily wrote: »

If your not married he'd be better off applying by himself, he'll be more likely to get an exemption or a higher LTI as his income won't be seen as supporting you.

Is the deposit from his savings or shared?

Thanks for your reply. We're not married. How much more can you get with an exemption?
It's shared, about 20k each.

GingerLily · 18-01-2019 8:32pm

Your probably best to sit down with a broker and discuss your options

Sureal · 18-01-2019 8:37pm

GingerLily wrote: »

Your probably best to sit down with a broker and discuss your options

Thanks. I'm just wondering does anyone reading this have experience of applying for a mortgage in similar circumstances or knows of someone who has? If I was to get a part-time job and drop back to education allowance would that help much?

august12 · 18-01-2019 8:39pm

Would have to be permanent part-time I would think and you would need to be there 6 to 12 months.

Sureal · 18-01-2019 8:43pm

august12 wrote: »

Would have to be permanent part-time I would think and you would need to be there 6 to 12 months.

A permanent part-time job would be hard to come by I think.

Samuel T. Cogley · 18-01-2019 8:54pm

We applied in similar circumstances but with a large deposit, it's possible to do - I wouldn't bother with a broker just go direct to the banks.

Sureal · 18-01-2019 9:02pm

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

We applied in similar circumstances but with a large deposit, it's possible to do - I wouldn't bother with a broker just go direct to the banks.

Thanks for your help. Was a government payment taken into account?

Samuel T. Cogley · 18-01-2019 9:04pm

Sureal wrote: »

Thanks for your help. Was a government payment taken into account?

I never really got an answer on that. At a guess not for LTI but for affordability I think it was.

Sureal · 18-01-2019 9:09pm

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

I never really got an answer on that. At a guess not for LTI but for affordability I think it was.

Oh ok. So you think we should go in together and not just have him apply? We don't have a huge deposit so maybe we should save some more also.

Samuel T. Cogley · 18-01-2019 9:14pm

Sureal wrote: »

Oh ok. So you think we should go in together and not just have him apply? We don't have a huge deposit so maybe we should save some more also.

No harm in going in and asking. The agents are there to help you. It's the underwriters (second stage) that will go into everything with a fine tooth comb. Take the agents (in the bank) advice, they're not trying to catch you out. We found KBC the best and BOI wouldn't touch us.

Be a bit careful though as 194K could lead you to a bad area or a one bed apartment, both of which are best avoided IMHO.

The very best of luck!

Graham · 18-01-2019 9:15pm

Mod Note

Threads merged.

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

Comments