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Buying a home? Here’s how to save on the hidden €10,000 bill Stamp duty, insurance and valuation fees can all come as a shock to buyers who have already maxed out budgets. Legal fees can be the single biggest cost of buying a home. Photograph: iStock If you’re house-hunting, you’re crunching numbers. You can borrow four times your income as a first-time buyer, or three times otherwise. You’ll need a 10 per cent deposit too. What you might -
Saving for a deposit and qualifying for Government incentives is a challenge. But could change be on the way? ‘Supply of affordable new-build homes is the greatest challenge for our mortgage-approved clients.’ Photograph: Dan Dennison It’s a conundrum of the current market. Putative homebuyers are qualifying for mortgages based on their incomes. But, given high rents, they are struggling to save enough for a deposit, while rising house prices mean that they can’t find a home that qualifies -
How a couple buying a €400,000 home only need a €10,000 deposit Michael Broderick of First Home Scheme is amazed so many people who want to buy a property are unaware of the supports available We’ve all heard the complaint: how can young people buy a house when they can’t even save the 10pc deposit that’s needed? But there is a way, says Michael Broderick, chief executive of the First Home Scheme – and he’s -
Houses are being built in Ireland, so why can’t ordinary people buy them? Prices are rising because the biggest buyer in the market is pushing them up. Who will benefit? One way of seeing what’s really going on in the housing market is to poke around the accounts of big homebuilders. Photograph: iStock It’s not every day I worry about the welfare of estate agents. This tribe doesn’t immediately spring to mind as an oppressed
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How to buy a home by yourself Almost 30% of buyers are doing it solo despite competition from couples. Here’s how to do it Solo buyers often have significant savings, many get family support, and they will have to be open to relocating to more affordable regions, says mortgage broker Shane Tobin. Photograph: iStock “How in the name of GOD are single people meant to buy their own home?” That’s the title of a Reddit thread where -
Typical price of a home has climbed by €200,000 in the past 10 years – CSO The housing crisis has been brought into sharp focus by new figures showing a surge in the price of a typical home, rising by almost €30,000 in the last year alone. The cost of buying a home has shot up by €200,000 over the past decade, data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows. The median, or typical, price
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AIB cuts non-green mortgage rates but ‘has a long way to go to compete in market’, expert says Move will help bank attract customers buying second-hand homes with lower energy ratings AIB non-green mortgage fixed rates will drop by 0.75 percentage points from May 13. Stock image AIB has responded to market pressure by cutting fixed rates on some of its mortgages. It is reducing its non-green mortgage fixed rates by up to 0.75 percentage points -
Exempting ‘back-garden homes’ from planning rules part of Government plan to increase housing Policy change seen as potential solution for young people and downsizers Government is keen to see planning laws around modular properties eased. Photo: Getty Cabin-style homes in back gardens are to be exempt from planning rules under new Government plans. It is hoped that this will help provide more housing options and allow households to downsize. The homes can be rented out