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

krazyklown

Azalea Screeching Padding wrote: »

See I don't even know what exactly I will spend as I'm really only testing the waters at the moment to see where I would stand. When speaking to the advisor I asked for a bit more than 3.5 times my salary to get a nicer figure and she verbally said I'd more than likely get it but what is said and what happens are two very different things.

I have only gone as far as the "having a chat" stage yet, just to get a feel for the whole process really.

We went in just before Christmas as we wanted to now how much we could borrow before we started looking for houses. We had a good idea using the Central Bank rules what we could get.
We were in a healthy postion as we had a very good savings record, full deposit ready, no loans, both in full time employment and no dependents.
Our advisor suggested that we make an application for the max amount as she suggested that the amount to borrow could be reduced within that application, but if we needed more than approved amount we would have to submit another application. Having received the approval we know what our max budget is and are now focused on finding the right home.

jennyhayes123

Sleepy wrote:

The bank pays the broker. There's a lot of recommendations on this forum for a user called killers1 who we're using for our application too. So far I've found him incredibly responsive, emailing us back in minutes etc. but can't comment any further as we've yet to apply, never mind get approval!

Killian is absolutely amazing. Only for him we still wouldn't have our mortgage. He is so lovely and will go above and beyond for you.

Pseudorandom

Does anyone have an email address for killers1/Killian they could PM me?

Konata

messy tessy wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/personal-finance/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-mortgage-rules-1.2088470

Point three of this explains about exceptions. i actually hadn't heard of this before this thread. Thanks!

So the exceptions are on a case by case basis? Myself and partner won't be buying for another 2-3 years but we've been doing a lot of research into mortgages and where we want to live etc so we can be in the best position possible when it comes time to apply. What we will definitely be most limited by is the 3.5x multiple though so I wonder would we be good candidates for an exception to that rule does anyone think? We both work in the public sector - I'm permanent, my boyfriend is not yet but is on track to be by the time we'd be buying. So we both have guaranteed increments for quite a number of years, as well as good promotional opportunities in my job in particular. We have no loans, no late bills or rent payments or anything like that. We would have well enough for a 10% deposit and would be hoping to put forward a 15% or even 20% if can save hard enough.

I've been very disappointed with what we could get on 3.5x time our salary at the moment so it would be great if we could get an exception! Is there anything else we could do to improve our chances or are we on the right track I wonder?

messy tessy

Konata wrote: »

So the exceptions are on a case by case basis? Myself and partner won't be buying for another 2-3 years but we've been doing a lot of research into mortgages and where we want to live etc so we can be in the best position possible when it comes time to apply. What we will definitely be most limited by is the 3.5x multiple though so I wonder would we be good candidates for an exception to that rule does anyone think? We both work in the public sector - I'm permanent, my boyfriend is not yet but is on track to be by the time we'd be buying. So we both have guaranteed increments for quite a number of years, as well as good promotional opportunities in my job in particular. We have no loans, no late bills or rent payments or anything like that. We would have well enough for a 10% deposit and would be hoping to put forward a 15% or even 20% if can save hard enough.

I've been very disappointed with what we could get on 3.5x time our salary at the moment so it would be great if we could get an exception! Is there anything else we could do to improve our chances or are we on the right track I wonder?

I am applying as a single person, so very restricted on the 3.5 multiplier - especially for Dublin. I am having a chat with AIB at the end of next month, just to get an indication of what I should be doing / what I would need to have. If I get any tips / info on the exception I will post them on here. It looks like 2 -3 years for me too, unless I get a significant bump in salary.

messy tessy

Konata wrote: »

We have no loans, no late bills or rent payments or anything like that. We would have well enough for a 10% deposit and would be hoping to put forward a 15% or even 20% if can save hard enough.
Is there anything else we could do to improve our chances or are we on the right track I wonder?

You sound like you are on the right track!

I want to apply on my own too so the 3.5 times salary is also an issue for me. Also not permanent (on shortish fixed term contracts) but the mortgage advisor didn't appear too concerned with that. I'd be hoping to apply sooner rather than later but not setting any specific time frame.

Alkers

Konata wrote: »

So the exceptions are on a case by case basis? Myself and partner won't be buying for another 2-3 years but we've been doing a lot of research into mortgages and where we want to live etc so we can be in the best position possible when it comes time to apply. What we will definitely be most limited by is the 3.5x multiple though so I wonder would we be good candidates for an exception to that rule does anyone think? We both work in the public sector - I'm permanent, my boyfriend is not yet but is on track to be by the time we'd be buying. So we both have guaranteed increments for quite a number of years, as well as good promotional opportunities in my job in particular. We have no loans, no late bills or rent payments or anything like that. We would have well enough for a 10% deposit and would be hoping to put forward a 15% or even 20% if can save hard enough.

I've been very disappointed with what we could get on 3.5x time our salary at the moment so it would be great if we could get an exception! Is there anything else we could do to improve our chances or are we on the right track I wonder?

The more deposit you have save with a good record of saving over a longer period of time, the more likely you are to get an exception. Bear in mind you'll probably only get 4 * salary as an exception though.

Rothmans

Quick question, and it may be silly, but I'm slightly confused from seeing contradictory posts. The 3.5 times income rule. Say if you had an income of €40k. Would this entitle you to a loan of 3.5 x 40k, i.e. €140k, which would entitle you to buy a house worth a max of €154k provided you have a €15,400 deposit? Or, does it mean that an income of 40k only allows you to buy a house with a max value of 140k i.e. a loan of 126k and a 14k deposit?

kaisersose77

I applied for a mortgage though BOI online and got the offer letter pack through the post. In the pack there is a salary cert and sepa direct debit mandate amongst other things. Do the salary cert and mandate need to be returned with the offer letter? If not when do they need to be returned? (I'm a BOI customer so salry cert wasn't requested earlier). Didnt get a chance today with work to speak to my local branch mortgate adviser so was just wondering.

Rothmans

Rothmans wrote: »

Quick question, and it may be silly, but I'm slightly confused from seeing contradictory posts. The 3.5 times income rule. Say if you had an income of €40k. Would this entitle you to a loan of 3.5 x 40k, i.e. €140k, which would entitle you to buy a house worth a max of €154k provided you have a €15,400 deposit? Or, does it mean that an income of 40k only allows you to buy a house with a max value of 140k i.e. a loan of 126k and a 14k deposit?

3.5 times the salary refers to how much you can borrow. So if you earn 40k you can borrow up to 140k and with the minimum deposit of 10% you can buy a house of 154k.

Of course if your deposit is more you can spend more on the house but the amount of the mortgage stays at 140k (unless you get an exception).

Santy2015

Rothmans wrote: »

Quick question, and it may be silly, but I'm slightly confused from seeing contradictory posts. The 3.5 times income rule. Say if you had an income of €40k. Would this entitle you to a loan of 3.5 x 40k, i.e. €140k, which would entitle you to buy a house worth a max of €154k provided you have a €15,400 deposit? Or, does it mean that an income of 40k only allows you to buy a house with a max value of 140k i.e. a loan of 126k and a 14k deposit?

From my understanding it's the max you can borrow, my oh and myself have a combined income of around 44k and she has a small car loan 135k was the max we could borrow well that's what the online calculator said and the advisor so we've applied for that, we could potentially afford a house worth 150k

Rothmans

Many thanks. I suspected as much. I saw one or two posts which seemed to suggest otherwise so I was just getting a bit worried there:p Should have the deposit ready in 6 years or so, but I'm starting relatively young

turniphead

Credit Unions will be able to offer mortgages under new legislation that came into effect on 1st January this year.

One such union are currently offering:

- Up to €300,000 for family homes
- Terms of up to 25 years
- Variable rate of 3.75% (APR 3.82%)
- Free life cover for duration of loan
- Available for first time buyers, moving house, extensions/renovations or for people wanting to move their mortgage from a bank to a credit union.

It's early days yet but I think it's good to see credit unions getting involved and hopefully offer some genuine competition to the banks.

matrim

turniphead wrote: »

Credit Unions will be able to offer mortgages under new legislation that came into effect on 1st January this year.

One such union are currently offering:

- Up to €300,000 for family homes
- Terms of up to 25 years
- Variable rate of 3.75% (APR 3.82%)
- Free life cover for duration of loan
- Available for first time buyers, moving house, extensions/renovations or for people wanting to move their mortgage from a bank to a credit union.

It's early days yet but I think it's good to see credit unions getting involved and hopefully offer some genuine competition to the banks.

Didn't many credit unions also get into trouble during the boom by trying to get into property speculation / morgages?

turniphead

matrim wrote: »

Didn't many credit unions also get into trouble during the boom by trying to get into property speculation / morgages?

I wouldn't say many got into trouble but there were certainly some examples alright. The main point is that extra competition in the market should benefit the consumer.

angeldelight

We met the mortgage broker yesterday and he reckons we should be ok - have two more docs to email over to him at the weekend and then it will be 10 working days to hear back

hardCopy

matrim wrote: »

Didn't many credit unions also get into trouble during the boom by trying to get into property speculation / morgages?

I think Bishopstown were the only ones to actually offer mortgages but several got burned by lending to local developers and Newbridge CU built their own building which subsequently devalued.

retalivity

(Possibly stupid) question, we have mortgage approval in principle, have a solicitor, but what is the actual bidding process? Is it as simple as us calling the estate agent with an offer or is it more formal through the solicitor? What would an estate agent require from us to formally accept/acknowledge a bid?

zarker

retalivity wrote: »

(Possibly stupid) question, we have mortgage approval in principle, have a solicitor, but what is the actual bidding process? Is it as simple as us calling the estate agent with an offer or is it more formal through the solicitor? What would an estate agent require from us to formally accept/acknowledge a bid?

Yes that's my experience of the bidding process.
After you're happy with the house, you call the agent and make an offer. What follows after that may vary. e.g. some EAs may ask to see your approval in principle letter.

zarker

retalivity wrote: »

(Possibly stupid) question, we have mortgage approval in principle, have a solicitor, but what is the actual bidding process? Is it as simple as us calling the estate agent with an offer or is it more formal through the solicitor? What would an estate agent require from us to formally accept/acknowledge a bid?

My past experience is that it's as simple as calling the EA and making an offer. The EA may or may not request to see your approval in principle letter.

whiskeyman

zarker wrote: »

My past experience is that it's as simple as calling the EA and making an offer. The EA may or may not request to see your approval in principle letter.

I'd rather them not see the approval in principal letter.
What if the approval is for a good bit above the bid?
They'd know you may / could go higher, and could inform the seller?
Could this be the case?
How would you go around this?

El_Dangeroso

whiskeyman wrote: »

I'd rather them not see the approval in principal letter.
What if the approval is for a good bit above the bid?
They'd know you may / could go higher, and could inform the seller?
Could this be the case?
How would you go around this?

Black out the figure and scan the letter. They just need to know you're approved, not for how much.

Santy2015

It's 16 days since we applied and got nothing back and finding it hard to get onto the advisor that dealt with us, I rang the bank direct to see if they had any info for me and they couldn't tell me? They said they'd contact the branch and get them to contact me. I find this strange

loveisdivine

I've a quick question too please, do you usually have the survey done before or after you make a bid?

I think I'd be a bit frustrated if I'd pay x amount for a survey, only to be outbid, move on to a different house and then pay for a survey on that one too.

Jen44

you dont get the survey done till near the end of the whole process but before you sign contracts obviously

loveisdivine

Ah ok, that seems more reasonable.

Santy2015

Bank advisor got back to me. He said that our application was waiting to be pre submitted before going for full approval? Is this normal?

shamrock55

I know most people on here are first time buyers, but is it easier or harder to get a mortgage if i wanted to upgrade my current house, i could have my current mortgage payed off in 5yrs,that would stand to me right?, or should i just sell now,pay off the mortgage and start saving for a deposit then, if i could pay off my mortgage early i could keep the property and maybe rent it out,would i even be able to pay off my mortgage early?

Jen44

I think you would be mad to sell it and then start saving for a deposit! Is there a reason why you want to leave the house? Other wise just save away and dont sell the house untill you can make a few bob to put off the deposit on your next house...remember you are now going to need 20%

shamrock55

shamrock55 wrote: »

I know most people on here are first time buyers, but is it easier or harder to get a mortgage if i wanted to upgrade my current house, i could have my current mortgage payed off in 5yrs,that would stand to me right?, or should i just sell now,pay off the mortgage and start saving for a deposit then, if i could pay off my mortgage early i could keep the property and maybe rent it out,would i even be able to pay off my mortgage early?

Surely if you could have the mortgage paid off in 5 years you must have a lot of equity in the current house?

SarahMollie

Santy2015 wrote: »

Bank advisor got back to me. He said that our application was waiting to be pre submitted before going for full approval? Is this normal?

Full approval only happenes when its linked to a specific address, so basically when you go sale agreed the update your approval with the details of the property itself and will then go back through any outstanding information, ie maybe a more recent payslip, P60's etc. They will also need an official valuation of the property itself in order to allow you to draw down the funds.

Santy2015

SarahMollie wrote: »

Full approval only happenes when its linked to a specific address, so basically when you go sale agreed the update your approval with the details of the property itself and will then go back through any outstanding information, ie maybe a more recent payslip, P60's etc. They will also need an official valuation of the property itself in order to allow you to draw down the funds.

Ah okay was wondering that alright. Thanks

loveisdivine

What's people opinions on mortgage brokers? Are most people using them these days, is it a good idea for first time buyers to use a broker?

Jen44

yea so long as its a good broker they can do a lot of the ground work for you. Make sure and get recommendations some of them are time wasters!

Cathmandooo

Just got my mortgage through a mortgage broker, genuinely would never have gotten the house without him. The house hit a lot of bumps in the road which dragged the process far too long, the guts of a year sale agreed, nightmare. He was a godsend to be honest, took a lot of pressure off us handling the bank side of it. I can pm you his details if you want them.

jennyhayes123

When we were trying to get mortgage last year this joker broker (pardon the pun) was looking €200 off us non refundable just to apply then if he got us a mortgage we would have to give him about €1000. Can't remember exact figure. Anyways I read a thread on here about a guy who is a mortgage broker and there was I think over 70 comments on him. I thought no one can have that many friends... anyways turns out he is an absolute angel. He is amazing at his job and so so helpful and nice. We are living the dream now in our new house. Without Killian we would have never done it.

P.s we never paid him a cent. Bank done all that. I hope he was well paid cause he deserves it

mirrorwall14

jennyhayes123 wrote: »

When we were trying to get mortgage last year this joker broker (pardon the pun) was looking €200 off us non refundable just to apply then if he got us a mortgage we would have to give him about €1000. Can't remember exact figure. Anyways I read a thread on here about a guy who is a mortgage broker and there was I think over 70 comments on him. I thought no one can have that many friends... anyways turns out he is an absolute angel. He is amazing at his job and so so helpful and nice. We are living the dream now in our new house. Without Killian we would have never done it.

P.s we never paid him a cent. Bank done all that. I hope he was well paid cause he deserves it

Any chance you could PM me his info? I'd like to speak to a broker

I'd personally prefer to be dealing directly with the bank rather than messing around with a broker who is there to make money. Its just a middle man between you and the bank.

cupcake queen

jennyhayes123 wrote: »

When we were trying to get mortgage last year this joker broker (pardon the pun) was looking €200 off us non refundable just to apply then if he got us a mortgage we would have to give him about €1000. Can't remember exact figure. Anyways I read a thread on here about a guy who is a mortgage broker and there was I think over 70 comments on him. I thought no one can have that many friends... anyways turns out he is an absolute angel. He is amazing at his job and so so helpful and nice. We are living the dream now in our new house. Without Killian we would have never done it.

P.s we never paid him a cent. Bank done all that. I hope he was well paid cause he deserves it

If you could PM me his details too I would be very grateful!!

mirrorwall14

Azalea Screeching Padding wrote: »

I'd personally prefer to be dealing directly with the bank rather than messing around with a broker who is there to make money. Its just a middle man between you and the bank.

I'm guessing a broker is handy when you have any odd circumstances which we do

angeldelight

We've just applied through a broker - it was handy filling in one application form and only needing to gather one set of documents to apply to multiple banks

kev22185

+1 here in terms of recommending using a broker. It took Ulster Bank 4 weeks to process our documentation and the offer they came back was far lower than we expected, when we applied ourselves. Our broker had 4 offers in under two weeks and all were closer to what we expected.

Edit to say we didn't pay our broker. He made his money through life insurance commission. We were happy to give him the business as he was great to deal with.

loveisdivine

If the people that have offered PM's could please send me their brokers details that would be great. Sounds like it would be a good idea, especially as FTB's.

john the one

I went through the bank without a broker, its been drawn out and stressful but i know everything is in place now to settle and hopefully will be moving in in 3 weeks. Survey just done today which came back great.

saram

What do people consider good savings for a mortgage downpayment per month for a household..

€600 a month.. on the high end or low end of the scale??

athtrasna

saram wrote: »

What do people consider good savings for a mortgage downpayment per month for a household..

€600 a month.. on the high end or low end of the scale??

Depends on how much of a deposit you need and how soon you want to buy. €7,200 a year will take quite a while to bring near deposit level

mirrorwall14

And where and what you want to buy. If it's anywhere near Dublin you'd be waiting a while with that level of savings. Some areas of the country you'd get there pretty fast assuming you wanted a simple house and not a four bed detached!

Glen_Quagmire

I'm saving 800 a month a the moment and hoping to buy in North West Dublin if possible on a single salary. Feels like an impossible task with the current mortgage lending rules and house prices

Captain Chaos

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

I'm saving 800 a month a the moment and hoping to buy in North West Dublin if possible on a single salary. Feels like an impossible task with the current mortgage lending rules and house prices

I'm in a similar situation, currently saving around €1,200 per month and looking to buy almost anywhere in Dublin on a single income.

With the new rules I'm going to need about a 50% deposit. It's going to take a while.