first time buyer or not???

tumble

Hi there, hope someone can answer this for me. If someone inherited a property but never had a mortgage on would they be a first time buyer? Or is it the simple fact of owning a property that defines it??

GerardKeating

tumble wrote: »

Hi there, hope someone can answer this for me. If someone inherited a property but never had a mortgage on would they be a first time buyer? Or is it the simple fact of owning a property that defines it??

once they (or their spouse) have owned a residential dwelling, then they are not a first time buyer

Trish56

According to the Central Bank of Ireland a First Time Buyer is defined as a borrower whom no housing loan has ever been advanced to.

tumble wrote: »

Hi there, hope someone can answer this for me. If someone inherited a property but never had a mortgage on would they be a first time buyer? Or is it the simple fact of owning a property that defines it??

tumble

Trish56 wrote: »

According to the Central Bank of Ireland a First Time Buyer is defined as a borrower whom no housing loan has ever been advanced to.

So that would mean that you are still a first time buyer as long as you have never had a mortgage - even if you own property??

coylemj

Nothing to do with the Central Bank. It's the revenue people who interpret and implement legislation on tax and reliefs.

The Revenue website outlines tax reliefs available to first time buyers and the criteria appears to be that it is the first house that you 'purchase' or 'self-build'.

Under the 'Help to Buy' scheme, they state......

To qualify, you must not have previously bought or built a house or apartment, either on your own or jointly with any other person. If you are buying or building the new property with other people, they must also be first-time buyers.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/property/help-to-buy-incentive/who-can-claim-the-help-to-buy-htb.aspx

To disqualify someone from the scheme because they inherited another property would be grossly unfair because you could be left a cottage with a leaking roof in the back of beyond and this potentially could cost you more than the place was worth in the loss of tax relief on the purchase of a house in Dublin.

Bubbaclaus

coylemj wrote: »

Nothing to do with the Central Bank. It's the revenue people who interpret and implement legislation on tax and reliefs.

Depends on the query. It is the central bank's definition that matters for the mortgage. Revenue's for any tax relief.

Trish56

OP did not ask about the Help to Buy scheme however if that is his reason for asking in order to qualify for the HTB scheme the answer is no as it applies to the property which should not have been lived in previously.

On the other hand regarding getting a mortgage if you borrowed for a property previously - the Central Bank and therefore lenders see you as a second time buyer and so can only borrow up to 80% and if you never borrowed before you are treated as a first time buyer you can borrow up to 90%.

As there is no longer any tax relief's available on purchasing a property it really would have nothing to do with Revenue. Perhaps the OP should clarify why he asked as I was under the impression it was how the Central Bank or indeed a lender viewed a first time buyer. Please refer to Central Bank Regulations
https://www.centralbank.ie/docs/default-source/financial-system/macroprudential-policy/policy-documents/faqs-outcome-of-the-2016-review-of-the-mortgage-measures.pdf?sfvrsn=6.pdf?sfvrsn=6

coylemj wrote: »

Nothing to do with the Central Bank. It's the revenue people who interpret and implement legislation on tax and reliefs.

The Revenue website outlines tax reliefs available to first time buyers and the criteria appears to be that it is the first house that you 'purchase' or 'self-build'.

Under the 'Help to Buy' scheme, they state......

To qualify, you must not have previously bought or built a house or apartment, either on your own or jointly with any other person. If you are buying or building the new property with other people, they must also be first-time buyers.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/property/help-to-buy-incentive/who-can-claim-the-help-to-buy-htb.aspx

To disqualify someone from the scheme because they inherited another property would be grossly unfair because you could be left a cottage with a leaking roof in the back of beyond and this potentially could cost you more than the place was worth in the loss of tax relief on the purchase of a house in Dublin.

coylemj

Trish56 wrote: »

As there is no longer any tax relief's available on purchasing a property it really would have nothing to do with Revenue.

There is a Help to Buy Incentive which is only available to first time buyers and the Revenue have a definition of FTB which is relevant below....

Trish56 wrote: »

Perhaps the OP should clarify why he asked as I was under the impression it was how the Central Bank or indeed a lender viewed a first time buyer. Please refer to Central Bank Regulations
https://www.centralbank.ie/docs/default-source/financial-system/macroprudential-policy/policy-documents/faqs-outcome-of-the-2016-review-of-the-mortgage-measures.pdf?sfvrsn=6.pdf?sfvrsn=6

At the end of section 7 (top of p.5) in that CB document it states as follows ......

The requirement for all borrowers of a particular loan to be FTBs is aligned with the definition of FTB from the the Office of the Revenue Commissioner

Though the two definitions are not 'aligned' because if you had previously purchased a house with no mortgage and were now buying one with a mortgage, Revenue would say you were not a FTB but the CB would say that you were.

IamCait

coylemj wrote: »

There is a Help to Buy Incentive which is only available to first time buyers and the Revenue have a definition of FTB which is relevant below....



At the end of section 7 (top of p.5) in that CB document it states as follows ......

The requirement for all borrowers of a particular loan to be FTBs is aligned with the definition of FTB from the the Office of the Revenue Commissioner

Though the two definitions are not 'aligned' because if you had previously purchased a house with no mortgage and were now buying one with a mortgage, Revenue would say you were not a FTB but the CB would say that you were.

Yes I'm currently wondering the same thing, has anyone been able to clarify this?

8oredon8oards

Hmm yes me too... has anyone been through this or any idea?

Konata

For the purpose of obtaining a mortgage, you are considered a first time buyer so long as you have never taken out a mortgage before (see Central Bank definition).

For the purpose of the Help to Buy scheme, you are only considered a first time buyer if you have never owned a property before (see Revenue definition).

So if you have owned a property before, you can still avail of the FTB lending rules (10% deposit) but you won't be eligible for the Help to Buy scheme.