Buying first house - How?

Basically, as the title says, how do you go about buying a house?

I’m fairly old so I’m not sure if I can even possibly buy but the circumstances and ability aren’t important at the moment as I want to try regardless. Where do you start? I haven’t a clue and don’t even know where to look. Are there resources available for the likes of this? Thanks.

ReginaldSmythV

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Basically, as the title says, how do you go about buying a house?

I’m fairly old so I’m not sure if I can even possibly buy but the circumstances and ability aren’t important at the moment as I want to try regardless. Where do you start? I haven’t a clue and don’t even know where to look. Are there resources available for the likes of this? Thanks.

Daft.ie would be my first stop. Get an idea of what's on the market and the kinds of things that matter to you. If you're going to need a mortgage, the primary barrier for a lot of people is that the typical mortgage limit is 3.5 times your salary (there are exceptions). Your mortgage can also only be 90% of the total value of the property. Preliminarily look around daft.ie with a max value of (your current salary * 3.5)/90*100.

Check out the CCPC site which gives an idea of the process itself. It's a bit oversimplified really but it's a good high-level outline of the process. https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/housing/buying-home-step-by-step-guide/

Once you've a general idea of the process and the kind of house you're looking for, it will be much easier to make an action plan.

true-or-false

true-or-false wrote: »

Daft.ie would be my first stop. Get an idea of what's on the market and the kinds of things that matter to you. If you're going to need a mortgage, the primary barrier for a lot of people is that the typical mortgage limit is 3.5 times your salary (there are exceptions). Your mortgage can also only be 90% of the total value of the property. Preliminarily look around daft.ie with a max value of (your current salary * 3.5)/90*100.

Check out the CCPC site which gives an idea of the process itself. It's a bit oversimplified really but it's a good high-level outline of the process. https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/housing/buying-home-step-by-step-guide/

Once you've a general idea of the process and the kind of house you're looking for, it will be much easier to make an action plan.

That CCPC thing seems to be exactly what I’m looking for thank you. I didn’t even think you looked for the house first but it makes sense.

Well I wouldn't look for THE house first, but just have a look around so you know which general route you're looking to go down, like:
- Do you need a mortgage?
- How much of a deposit are you going to need?
- Will you be looking at a new build, build your own, or second hand?
- Where do you want to buy?

Until you've had a look at what the market's like, it'll be tough to nail down those initial questions, but don't go getting too attached to any specific houses at this stage.

brisan

BUDGET IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR
How much can you borow .how much deposit have you got .
Can you provide six months bank statements ,
Have you a savings record .
Have you any bad debts or court judgement against you.
Get your finances ie mortgage sorted and then look at property
You can look to borrow the max and have approval for it but you do not need to borrow it all

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1743

guyfawkes5

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Basically, as the title says, how do you go about buying a house?

I’m fairly old so I’m not sure if I can even possibly buy but the circumstances and ability aren’t important at the moment as I want to try regardless. Where do you start? I haven’t a clue and don’t even know where to look. Are there resources available for the likes of this? Thanks.

I don't know what you mean by 'fairly old' but it would be worth talking to a bank initially to get an idea of expected budget and repayments, as if you're closer to retirement age then the term will naturally be shorter and payments larger.

guyfawkes5

guyfawkes5 wrote: »

I don't know what you mean by 'fairly old' but it would be worth talking to a bank initially to get an idea of expected budget and repayments, as if you're closer to retirement age then the term will naturally be shorter and payments larger.

Do you have to talk to your own bank? We both have different banks.

Stark

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Do you have to talk to your own bank? We both have different banks.

No, you can talk to any bank.

Stark

Stark wrote: »

No, you can talk to any bank.

Is there a service or a person that can be paid to do this for you? Doing calculators for the last half hour has my head melted and we have no idea what paperwork we need. Plus I’d need to get loads of time off work to visit loads of banks.
Is that what a mortgage broker is for? Or are they just a lender too?

Stark

Yeah a mortgage broker will talk to multiple banks on your behalf and standardize the paperwork process on your behalf. I didn't bother myself as Ulster Bank were the clear winners value wise when I was looking with BOI coming a close second. Time off work wasn't an issue as the Ulster bank rep did everything over the phone/via email with me.

Stark

Stark wrote: »

Yeah a mortgage broker will talk to multiple banks on your behalf and standardize the paperwork process on your behalf. I didn't bother myself as Ulster Bank were the clear winners value wise when I was looking with BOI coming a close second. Time off work wasn't an issue as the Ulster bank rep did everything over the phone/via email with me.

Not so bad. I’m BoI myself and she’s AIB but suppose I may go to someone to tell me what I need to do for the next few months anyway.

Geuze

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Is there a service or a person that can be paid to do this for you? Doing calculators for the last half hour has my head melted and we have no idea what paperwork we need.

Paperwork:


6 months payslips
P60s
6 months current account statements
CC statements
Statements of all savings accounts
Salary Cert signed by employer

If it’s 6 months of current account statements then I’m probably beat already. I’ll have another number on the clock if I have to spend 6 months cleaning up my accounts.

Do P60’s exist any more? I thought they were gone.

Can anyone recommend a decent broker company anyway? The online calculators are too strange, apparently BoI or AIB would allow me to buy a house worth 130,000 euro more than Ulster Bank would, which couldn’t be right.

Thoie

While waiting for broker appointments, gathering paperwork together and all that kind of thing, have some conversations with your partner about what you're looking for in a house. As you mention you're "fairly old", maybe you want to think about what you'll want after you retire (or maybe you're not that old).

Make a "wish list" of features, but be aware that you're unlikely to get everything you want at a price you can afford. But at least it will start you both thinking about what's important to you during a house search.

For example -

• Do you want dedicated parking, do you need parking at all, is on street parking OK?
• Do you want a garden? Are you big into gardening, or just an outdoor space where you can drink coffee 3 times a year?
• How many bedrooms do you need/want? Do you have an elderly parent who might need to come live with you? Do you need a bedroom dedicated to being a home office?
• Can you manage stairs? Do you need a bungalow?
• What's your lifestyle like? Would one open plan kitchen/dining/sitting room suit you, or would you prefer a separate sitting room?
• What do you want in terms of location? Do you want somewhere to buy milk within walking distance, or would you prefer to be miles out the country alone?
• Do you have a hobby that takes up a lot of space? Do you want to be able to park an articulated lorry outside your door?

These are all just "conversation starters". As you talk about what you want, make note of both of your requirements, and start prioritising them. There's no point spending weekends looking at 2 bed places, when you know you need a 3 bed.

It's the new P60 equivalent from your revenue online profile that they need - an employment summary.

Everyone always talks about having to maintain good accounts for 6 months - I'm never totally sure what that means. If you can afford the mortgage and aren't doing anything untoward with your account I can't see what the problem could be. I had saved up my deposit years ago (for a masters that never happened), so when we decided to buy we just went straight to the bank with our accounts as-is, and there was no issue.

Thoie

Thoie wrote: »

While waiting for broker appointments, gathering paperwork together and all that kind of thing, have some conversations with your partner about what you're looking for in a house. As you mention you're "fairly old", maybe you want to think about what you'll want after you retire (or maybe you're not that old).

Make a "wish list" of features, but be aware that you're unlikely to get everything you want at a price you can afford. But at least it will start you both thinking about what's important to you during a house search.

For example -

• Do you want dedicated parking, do you need parking at all, is on street parking OK?
• Do you want a garden? Are you big into gardening, or just an outdoor space where you can drink coffee 3 times a year?
• How many bedrooms do you need/want? Do you have an elderly parent who might need to come live with you? Do you need a bedroom dedicated to being a home office?
• Can you manage stairs? Do you need a bungalow?
• What's your lifestyle like? Would one open plan kitchen/dining/sitting room suit you, or would you prefer a separate sitting room?
• What do you want in terms of location? Do you want somewhere to buy milk within walking distance, or would you prefer to be miles out the country alone?
• Do you have a hobby that takes up a lot of space? Do you want to be able to park an articulated lorry outside your door?

These are all just "conversation starters". As you talk about what you want, make note of both of your requirements, and start prioritising them. There's no point spending weekends looking at 2 bed places, when you know you need a 3 bed.

We’ve dreamt for years so it’s well talked about.

Country.
2 or 3 bed bungalow (might be harder find a 2 bed as 3 seems standard). 2 storey wouldn’t matter either.
Not too fussed on location in the country.
Can see some neighbours but they’re not too close (not completely isolated so you’d constantly be robbed).
Can drive the car around the back.
A shed/garage or room for one.

“Nice to haves” would be a decent sized kitchen, a utility room, and fairly close to a town (within 7 or 8km of a shop if you need milk or something).

I think that’s mainly it. The number one priority is just to not be in a housing estate of any description (we’re both country people and completely strangled and stifled in one). If that was our only option when it comes to price then we’ll do our best to rent something fitting the above.

There’s not many other specifics about room or garden layout, etc.

Well you know what you want, so budget is the other part.
Do you have savings?
Do you need a mortgage?
Have either of you owned property before?
Are one or both of you employed?
How long till you retire?
Do you have any other debts or responsibilities eg children or as a carer)?

Don't worry too much about different calculators for the moment, pick one and use it as a start.
Put in the above details and it should give you an idea of what if anything you can borrow.

Not being fussed about location is good for affordability, but does it suggest you are already retired?

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

Well you know what you want, so budget is the other part.
Do you have savings?
Do you need a mortgage?
Have either of you owned property before?
Are one or both of you employed?
How long till you retire?
Do you have any other debts or responsibilities eg children or as a carer)?

Don't worry too much about different calculators for the moment, pick one and use it as a start.
Put in the above details and it should give you an idea of what if anything you can borrow.

Not being fussed about location is good for affordability, but does it suggest you are already retired?

Not retired but only have about 25-30 years of employment left if I go to retirement. We’ve about 13-17% of the value saved (going by the fact we’ll need to keep around 10,000 back from the savings to pay all the other parties). Both working, no children, no loans at all. Definitely need a mortgage but neither of us owns property or have ever.

It’s mad the difference in the calculators though.

Will your work be coming with you if you move?
If you are getting differences, then a broker is the way to go.
You are probably about my own age and I got a mortgage a few years ago, but yes age will be limiting you now a bit.

How are your pension savings otherwise?
Do you think you will be having children?
If not I would take this as a point to consider your overall position, when do you want to retire etc.
A cheap house in the country somewhere might bring you a lot closer to that.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

Will your work be coming with you if you move?
If you are getting differences, then a broker is the way to go.
You are probably about my own age and I got a mortgage a few years ago, but yes age will be limiting you now a bit.

How are your pension savings otherwise?
Do you think you will be having children?
If not I would take this as a point to consider your overall position, when do you want to retire etc.
A cheap house in the country somewhere might bring you a lot closer to that.

Hard to say now but, God willing, I’ll be able to work til retirement and would have no interest in not doing so at this moment in time. My current job can be done from anywhere.
No pension, never had a job that provided one and not sure if it’s worthwhile looking at one at my age now for all it would be worth. Children not in the plans at all.
Would be very happy with something that even needed a bit of work or needed the shed part done. I’ve been so stifled from renting in estates for years I’m itching to get out and get doing things.

One More Toy

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Hard to say now but, God willing, I’ll be able to work til retirement and would have no interest in not doing so at this moment in time. My current job can be done from anywhere.
No pension, never had a job that provided one and not sure if it’s worthwhile looking at one at my age now for all it would be worth. Children not in the plans at all.
Would be very happy with something that even needed a bit of work or needed the shed part done. I’ve been so stifled from renting in estates for years I’m itching to get out and get doing things.

It's never too late to start a pension, one of the few tax reliefs available

Noddy33

Highly Recommend this crowd below who are very professional


http://www.parkfinancial.ie/

RCSATELLITES

If you have a pension or not that's not what this is about. So you want to buy a house. Where do you want to buy the house?? That's the very first question and then all the others like amount of mortgage, budget and all the other things come after that. Do you have savings that would buy a house say for €80k without a mortgage. Are you a handy man would you be able to buy a fixer upper. Not everybody needs a mortgage. Some people could buy with savings if location is not priority. If you do need mortgage then you will need savings of 10% at a minimum if first time buyer which sounds like you are.

You could buy a house at auction like bidx1 if you had the savings.

Bought 3 houses myself over the past 7 years for renting and living. No mortgages. Any questions from the op, just ask.