Buying a house at home from Australia

thedarksh1te

Hi all, with the ask AIB section closed I'll throw this up here instead. Has anybody gone through the process of buying a home back in Ireland?

I'm aware you need circa 30% deposit and earn XYZ but has anybody actually gone through with it?

What were the biggest issues? Do you rent it out? What are the tax implications? Was your age a factor on applying for a mortgage? Did the bank want to know if you were coming home for good or not? Did you use a broker? Did you have to go with a higher interest rate? Could you pay off mortgage early?

My wife and I have saved a decent deposit for a modest 3 bedder (outside of Dublin) and we could easily pay the mortgage from here. Our intention would be to rent it out for the next 2 years before moving home with a tidy little mortgage remaining.

Thanks all :)

Dan251

Hello there! I am a bit late to this but wondering if you did this? We are in the same boat and trying to decide whether to buy from Australia. I would love know how you went!

Dani

emclau

I did this years ago…. the process was a real pain - lots of late night calls due to 11hr time difference but worked out in the end. Really glad I persevered with it. I know a few friends who have followed suit - it can be done!

Got parents in laws to do the inspection/viewings. Hope you have someone you can trust to do this for you as this will be key!

I went with AIB - they only give an investment mortgage which has a really high interest rate. I changed this easily to owner occupied by calling to their branch when I moved in - saved me about €400 in interest per month!

I rented the house out for a few years - the estate agent fees were extortion- c12% of rent, plus one months rent every time they find new tenants. Luckily we had no really letting issues with the tenants outside normal house repairs, there is a risk you need to consider they will stop paying rent etc. my solicitor told me not to bother finding tenants such were the risks, but we couldn’t afford the mortgage without rental income. We changed tenants lots of times, I wouldn’t want to be a landlord or overly dependant on the rental income as tenants came and went.

You will also need to lodge an Irish tax return for 20% of rental income, less expenses. This can be offset against your Ozzy tax return. Also you can’t claim the full amount of mortgage interest against your Irish income, but you can claim it all against your Oz tax. I did this myself - adding an accountant will cost you.

thedarksh1te

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120045726#Comment_120045726

Sorry for delay in replying, I did! Bought a house last year! I think we got lucky as it really wasnt that arduous. Let me know if you need any specific details.