Mortgage - First time buyer

miniperson

Hello,

My partner and I are thinking of buying a house for the first time in the next year or so.

We are first time buyers and would be looking for something between 175,000 to 200,000.

I have to admit - all we know at this stage is that we want to buy a house together. We know nothing of the process in how to buy one/ hidden, extra costs.

We would need a mortgage. All I know is that we would need between 7-10% of the mortgage as deposit (which we have).

Thats about it. I know nothing else about mortgages (I understand that there are interest rates, but do not understand them - which would be the best to go for).

Do you need a guarantor for a mortgage?

Are there any hidden costs in buying a house/apartment (taxes added on or anything)?

Also, I would be putting in more money into the house deposit-wise than my beloved. I was thinking, would it be a good idea (or even if it is possible) to draw up a contract saying that if we ever sell the house/go our separate ways, I get 10% more than I originally out in?

Thanks!

govinda

Hi

Check out askaboutmoney.com, it has lots of information about mortgages and a guide (collection of forum posts) especially for First Time Buyers.

Hope that helps!

ChipZilla

miniperson, as regards "going halves" with a partner (Business or otherwise )have a look at this post in the Accommodation/property section:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=173124

The more of a deposit you have, the better (obviously).

You don't need a guarantor - the mortgage is secured on the property.

As Govinda said, head over to www.askaboutmoney.com and check this out:

http://p200.ezboard.com/faskaboutmoneyfrm31

(Actually, people should read that whole site from top to bottom...)

miniperson

Thanks for those suggestions you guys.

As stated above, am a complete novice in this - all seems so complicated!

miniperson

Anybody have any other useful information about this?

Anybody who actually went through this?

Thanks again!

jd

miniperson wrote:

Anybody have any other useful information about this?

Anybody who actually went through this?

Thanks again!

We just got the keys, and we made an agreement re share of property.

You need to talk to your solictor for a start.


Work out how much you both can pay/ put up as deposit.
Base your agreement around that.
Make sure you are "tenants in common" odf the property, rather than joint tenants.

miniperson

What is the difference between "joint tenant" and "tenants in common".

Is there anyone who was as clueless as me about this stuff when buying your house/apartment?

I have been reading the websites suggested above, but am still so confused.......there is so much to know! Lucky we've a year or so to start understanding this system but I dont know where to start!

miniperson

What is the difference between "joint tenant" and "tenants in common".

Is there anyone who was as clueless as me about this stuff when buying your house/apartment?

I have been reading the websites suggested above, but am still so confused.......there is so much to know! Lucky we've a year or so to start understanding this system but I dont know where to start!

Feel very disorganised and clueless.

midget lord

you will generally get 90-92% off the bank or building societies, so if you spend 200,000 they will only give 184,000, so 16,000 to get together yourself. Other fees you will have to look our for are solicitors, usually 1-1.5% of the total, so in your case 2 or 3k. This should include land registry fees etc, you should get an itemised quote off any solicitor before deciding to use them. Another as you say 'hidden charge' is stamp duty. Judging by the info you gave you may not have to worry about it as your a first time buyer and will be living in the purchased residence, but you will definitely need to find out. Info can be obtained through revenue.ie or by ringing them.

In relation to the deposit and your paying more imo you have a couple of posibilities. You could get the gf to refund you the difference in deposit or you could get the solicitor to draw up a contract. I would definitely go for a as contract would be very messy, and besides you wouldnt really get too much extra if you decided to sell, e.g if you put in 10 of the deposit and she paid 6 you would be entitled to 52% of the selling price, assuming you pay half of the mortgage each.

Finally the fixed versus variable rate mortgage depends on your own financial planning. If you opt for a fixed rate the mortgage repayments the repayment will remain the same each month for the fixed term. The downside of the this is that any fluctuations in interest rates will not be reflected in your repayments, but this is the chance you take.

midget lord

Also you should have a look at some of the other forums, there is some interesting stuff around here besides the advice

jd

Englis but relevant
http://www.terry.co.uk/cohabitees01.html

also

http://www.aib.ie/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=AIB_PersonalPortal%2FAIB_Guide%2Faib_d_guide&cid=1047121677783&channel=FM

(use google )

miniperson

Hmmmm...interesting links yet scary!

Better to get these things sorted at the start I suppose.

jd

miniperson wrote:

Better to get these things sorted at the start I suppose.

Exactly-it's not very "romantic" but it has to be done.

midget lord

imagine writing this

midget lord wrote:

you will generally get 90-92% off the bank or building societies, so if you spend 200,000 they will only give 184,000, so 16,000 to get together yourself. Other fees you will have to look our for are solicitors, usually 1-1.5% of the total, so in your case 2 or 3k. This should include land registry fees etc, you should get an itemised quote off any solicitor before deciding to use them. Another as you say 'hidden charge' is stamp duty. Judging by the info you gave you may not have to worry about it as your a first time buyer and will be living in the purchased residence, but you will definitely need to find out. Info can be obtained through revenue.ie or by ringing them.

In relation to the deposit and your paying more imo you have a couple of posibilities. You could get the gf to refund you the difference in deposit or you could get the solicitor to draw up a contract. I would definitely go for a as contract would be very messy, and besides you wouldnt really get too much extra if you decided to sell, e.g if you put in 10 of the deposit and she paid 6 you would be entitled to 52% of the selling price, assuming you pay half of the mortgage each.

Finally the fixed versus variable rate mortgage depends on your own financial planning. If you opt for a fixed rate the mortgage repayments the repayment will remain the same each month for the fixed term. The downside of the this is that any fluctuations in interest rates will not be reflected in your repayments, but this is the chance you take.

in response to a request for assistance then not getting thanked.

How much bad rep can i give one person???????????????

miniperson

Excuse me?

midget lord

you never thanked me for posting all that.

Maximilian

I'm a banking/property solicitor - you can pm me if you need to & I'll answer whatever Q's you have.

re Tenants-in-Common/Joint Owners, I'm simplifying things here but:

Tenants in Common is where 2 or more persons own distinct shares in a property, usually expressed as a percentage. If one TIC dies, the property goes into that person's estate and goes to whoever it is left to under his/her Will

Joint Tenancy is slightly different, its where 2 or more people jointly own ALL of the property and not a distinct share. So, if there are 2 joint tenants and one dies, the other surviving JT takes the entire property by survivorship.

TIC is more common form of ownership in commercial type transactions and JT is the usual form of ownership for couples.

A co-ownership agreement can be drawn up to deal with what happens if you sell the property later or if you find your beloved in bed with a donkey.

Your mortgage broker/bank will explain all the banking stuff to you.

Shop around for solicitors fees. The usual is 1% but many charge less. Don't go to low - you get what you pay for.

If the house you're buying is new, you generally shouldn't have to pay stamp duty, unless it is over 125 Sq. metres in size.

There are 2 forms of title registration, the Registry of Deeds and Land Registry. With a mortgage, if it was ROD, the fees would be €88, if Land Registry (more likely) you are talking about €550

miniperson

I am grateful and thankful to everyone for their posts and people know that (hence the "thanks" at the end of my posts).
Didnt mean to offen you.

Dr. Loon

We've been in our house about two months now. We went through Irish Mortgage Corporation who pretty much do everything for you. We found them excellent and free!

leahcim

Hi,

When I bought my house there was a huge differences between what solicitors wanted to handle the job. Some wanted one percent of the value of the house but you could get a much better deal by shopping around.
This crowd www.homebuyhomesell.ie do it for a fixed fee of 999 euros which is alot less than 1% if a typical 200k house. They do this in conjunction with a credit union so all you have to do is open an account for a few weeks and then close it again when finished (it doesn't matter how much is in your account).

Maximilian

That's about the lowest there is in Ireland. One caveat though, I wouldn't bother doing the work for a price like that, I can't see how it pays for any solicitors firm to do it for such a low fee. You get what you pay for.

Dr. Loon

Maximilian wrote:

That's about the lowest there is in Ireland. One caveat though, I wouldn't bother doing the work for a price like that, I can't see how it pays for any solicitors firm to do it for such a low fee. You get what you pay for.

Our solicitor's fee was/is €950 before outlays etc. If you shop around you'll get a good deal.

De Rebel

leahcim wrote:

This crowd www.homebuyhomesell.ie do it for a fixed fee of 999 euros which is alot less than 1% if a typical 200k house.

I have no connection with the legal profession.

Its horses for courses. If you are buying a new house in a new development of 500 identical houses, all you are looking for is a quick efficient conveyancing service. A fixed price deal like this may well be adequate.

If you are buying an older house, making changes to the design, involved in a chain of transactions, or are likely to change your mind, then a more tailored service is likely to be necessary, and you will pay more.

But beware; even the simple cases can turn complicated. My sister bought a house in a development of 50 houses about 4 years ago. All appeared to be very straightforward. Garden was seriously landscaped before they moved in (that cost them over €10k). The actions of a neighbour, and the developer acting in concert with the neighbour caused the garden to be flooded and the landscaping work to be destroyed. Liability was disputed/denied. Her solicitor went to work straight away and did a superb job - she was fully compensated in weeks.

A cheap solicitor will appear expensive if the deal goes smoothly and there are no unexpected issues. An expensive solicitor could well appear to be great value if things go against you.

De Rebel

miniperson wrote:

Is there anyone who was as clueless as me about this stuff when buying your house/apartment?

I have been reading the websites suggested above, but am still so confused.......there is so much to know! Lucky we've a year or so to start understanding this system but I dont know where to start!

You have plenty of time - don't be getting anxious.here's my thoughts on the subject;

There is a world of difference between buying a new house, while it is being constructed, and buying a second hand property. Decide well in advance which of the 2 routes you are taking.

Talk to as many of your friends/relations/their friends as possible who have been through the process. If possible talk to them in their houses - they will remember more. Ask when what they would do differently. Learn form their experience/mistakes.

If you go about it the right way, and thinking this far in advance is a good start, it can be a great experience and lots of fun.

Enjoy.

Victor

De Rebel wrote:

If you are buying a new house in a new development of 500 identical houses, all you are looking for is a quick efficient conveyancing service.

Assuming of course that (a) the house is actually built in the right place on the site (b) the address on the contract is the same as the name on the street :eek:

miniperson

Thanks a mill for all the replies.

I am putting together a word doc of all the information that I am finding.

What is or how do you get "Mortgage Relief"? This is a term I came accross while reading the property section the other day-trying to get up to speed on my lingo.

Also, if we wanted to buy a place for say €200,000. 8% of this is deposit right (€16,000). So what if we had €25,000 more to put into this house (altogether 41,000). I take it it would be 200,000-41,000 for a mortgage plus normal interest rates? (I read somewhere that the more you put in when you are buying the higher the interest rates-but am not sure)

Thanks!

Victor

miniperson wrote:

What is or how do you get "Mortgage Relief"? This is a term I came accross while reading the property section the other day-trying to get up to speed on my lingo.

Mortgage interest relief allows you write off part of the cost of the mortgage against income tax, up to a certain limit. It applies only to your principal private residence (and work thereto). Check out www.revenue.ie

miniperson wrote:

I read somewhere that the more you put in when you are buying the higher the interest rates-but am not sure

The lower the bank's exposure, the lower the rate you are likely to get as you pose less of a risk. The lower total amount you borrow the higher the rate as the overhead would be spread over a smaller amount.