Getting a mortgage alone

08-10-2023 12:09am #1

I am in my early thirties. Coming to the realisation I’m not gonna meet someone and need to start thinking of myself and setting up my own home. I have a good professional career and salary is good.

but - BOI, TSB and EBS calculators are all telling me I will not get more than €110k alone.

is this correct ? How is anyone buying a somewhat decent home alone then if that’s the case?

i feel hopeless. What’s the point if that’s the case?

What are my options here? Besides winning the lotto

Augme · 08-10-2023 12:32am

People are eligible for up to four times there salary. You'll have no difficulty getting four times your salary if you can show an ability to save the amount of your repayments for six months.

mtoutlemonde · 08-10-2023 1:01am

Hi, I'm also single. There doesnt seem to be much help for us singletons. I applied for mortgage recently and was offered 3 times my salary but it could be more once the loans department examine it. I want to build my own house and was delighted to hear about the First Home Scheme but it's not all its cut out to be once you dig into it. I have posted about it but no body replied. I think I will have to use it if I ever want my own house .You will also have the Help To Buy scheme which is your tax for the last four years.

Anaki r2d2 · 08-10-2023 1:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121207965#Comment_121207965

It's simple maths as Augme posted. Take gross salary x 3 or 4 to give mortgage capacity.

If your answer is 110k for those then your salary is 27k and not a good professional salary. Sorry.

If your salary is 110k, then your sorted. Easy peasy. You have no issues buying a gaff.

You might not be able to buy in D4 but you can in meath louth Kildale etc....or equivalent if elsewhere.

08-10-2023 5:46am

@Anaki r2d2

No I’m €47k ….maybe I didn’t use the calculator right… it didn’t ask for a hypothetical deposit either.

XsApollo · 08-10-2023 5:58am

Well deposit is 10% minimum.

having loans, children affect your ability to repay so they can reduce the amount you can borrow.

if you have either of course.

08-10-2023 6:11am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121208157#Comment_121208157

HP loan. Low amount of bills. All sun up to approx €700.00 outgoing per month?

no children or dependents

08-10-2023 6:25am

I had made an application also to HTB scheme last year - it told me I owed tax???? If I buy the mystery tax amount, does that make me eligible?

XsApollo · 08-10-2023 7:27am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121208162#Comment_121208162

did you put that HP loan into the calculator? That could be what is lowering the amount you can borrow.

the 4 or 3 times your salary is the maximum you can borrow, They also calculate your ability to repay.

If you apply for a mortgage , I think for a single person the bank will calculate that as a single person you require 1500 euro a month to live( this could of went up or down) add in a hp loan of say 300 per month , that makes your minimum outgoings a month 1800.

so if your take home is 3,000 a month that leaves 1,200 ability to repay.

so say the mortgage is 1000 a month at 3% interest , the bank will also stress test , so they will add some extra % on to the interest rate ( I don’t know what that number is , could be different for each bank.) and that will be your ability to repay.

I don’t think the calculator takes all that in to account. If you entered you HP loan it will take that into consideration tho.

Anaki r2d2 · 08-10-2023 10:39am

Where in the country are you? Buying in Dublin will be a challenge. Cavan/Donegal easier.

You can set up an appointment with Bank of Ireland etc. They will walk you through mortgage process and work the numbers for you.

Do this a few times with different banks/brokers and you can what you see what your working with. You will also get educated in all things mortgage quickly. Its daunting at the start for everyone.

mtoutlemonde · 08-10-2023 12:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121208166#Comment_121208166

This happened when I looked up my eligibility a few years back - had to pay ~€200 and I was told what I was eligible for.

08-10-2023 1:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121208883#Comment_121208883

I don’t mind paying it as I was unaware. I’m gonna contact wages and ask what happened.

Padre_Pio · 08-10-2023 1:21pm

at 47k a year and moderate spending, the bank will loan you 188k max on a mortgage.

Add in a 10% deposit and you're looking at a property worth approx 209k.

So if you want to buy in a city then you're in the market for an apartment or a small house anywhere else in the country. Chances are these will be older, so you may not qualify for a green mortgage and will be charged a higher interest rate.

If you're aggressively saving then you may get an exemption, say x4.2 your wages, but exemptions are rare enough.

Get a mortgage broker, they have access to far more mortgage products than you do, and they can often get you better rates.

mtoutlemonde · 08-10-2023 2:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121208952#Comment_121208952

That was my thinking also. The reward was far greater. I never enquired as to why it happened but I put it down to sick leave.

Buddy Bubs · 08-10-2023 3:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121208952#Comment_121208952

I'll almost guarantee you it's to do with covid payments. We are all paying them back over 4 years through decreased tax credits but it shows up as an unpaid bill on HTB.

mariaalice · 08-10-2023 5:20pm

A friend of my oldest daughter purchased at 39, it took years of saving and HTB she got a townhouse it's lovely but only one room downstairs a combined sitting room and kitchen with a small loo to the side when you come in, the house is 61km from Dublin, it's on a Dublin bus route but apparently jammed in the morning and evenings, so basically years of saving and moving out of Dublin did.

Moonbeam · 10-10-2023 1:20pm

There are ways but you need to give up an alot.

I worked 2 jobs and as a result had little social life for about 2 years then had enough to buy a small house in Balbriggan.

YellowLead · 10-10-2023 1:32pm

It’s good to look into it now and get the reality of what you can expect to borrow - talk to a broker. However I think it might be worth waiting 3/4 years and looking at more of a long term plan - you may get a few pay rises in between, increasing the amount you can borrow and allowing you to save a good deposit. At the moment you are earning basically the national average (45k), so it’s not considered a good professional salary. Agree it sucks for single people who are on average or below average.

If you buy now and don’t need to be in or near Dublin you may get something, but why not wait a few years and get something better. I recommend once you get a real figure of what you can borrow now, spend months going to house viewings as the reality of that is different to what you can see on daft. It’s a big decision and not one to be rushed into.

RichardAnd · 10-10-2023 1:41pm

I'm in the same age-group (bit older), and I got a mortgage and bought a house alone. I'm well above the average salary, so it wasn't too difficult, but it was far from easy.

Aside from the financial aspect, the hardest thing about buying alone is knowing what to buy. I would sometimes get mad ideas of buying a rural cottage with land to set up some sort of prepper fortress or buying a run-down kip in a bad part of Dublin as a fixier-upper.

I do, however, think that you're right to try to buy something now rather than wait for a future that may never arrive. Besides, if you own a house or an apartment, you'll have no trouble at all landing yourself a nice Brazilian girl :D

Best of luck.

Jequ0n · 10-10-2023 2:27pm

What do you want to buy with that? An outhouse?

10-10-2023 5:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121218227#Comment_121218227

And I would of thought 45k was good..

Time to look for promotion 😂

Yeah the prices are crazy. I was thinking along the lines of getting my ducks in a row over the next year or two before engaging a bank.

also I need to move out in the next 2-3 years. Rent to me; is extortionate at the moment and completely ridiculous. I’d have to do overtime morning noon and night to make the rent and have some life.

PoisonIvyBelle · 11-10-2023 1:23am

You got the maths wrong somewhere, you should be getting at least 164k. Are you tied to Dublin? I'm 37 and 230k even with a deposit was getting me pretty much sweet fcuk all, so I can imagine your position. I was deadset on Dublin until I spoke to a broker in Belfast and realised I could get a city centre house there for a third of what I'd pay here. That might be an option for you depending on how flexible your work is/or the opportunities there if you'd have to change employers.

I'm holding out for Dublin for another while as it's not entirely out of reach & would likely end up buying with my current partner if all goes well as we're doing long distance at the mo. But if I was still single I'd be giving it another 2 years maybe to see if prices came down and then try Belfast. It's very feasible on your salary.

I don't know about any other areas as I never considered them. A friend of mine is moving down the country but she's had 4 houses fall through for one reason or another after mortgage approval and sale agreed, so you just never know how it'll go wherever you are. I really do recommend a broker though, I found it so helpful.

PoisonIvyBelle · 11-10-2023 1:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121219638#Comment_121219638

What are your savings like? They only look for 6 months but I'd recommend starting and maintaining a regular savings account ASAP and deposit and same amount monthly without fail. Try to aim to save what you'd be paying back on a mortgage. But also take into account that any rent you're paying, if any, can be taken into account as capacity to pay also.

dory · 11-10-2023 7:16am

I built on my own. Went into a bank and asked about savings options, did that for 5 years and had no loans etc when going for my mortgage. Couldn’t get HTB as the mortgage has to be 70% of house value or build cost, and being single I couldn’t get a big mortgage so it was mortgage plus high interest loan. Very very annoying but have a house now.

I would suggest getting your ducks in a row for a few years and trying then.

Homer · 11-10-2023 7:27am

You’re only in your early thirties and have given up on finding a life partner?? That’s the bit that stood out to me from your initial post. Tons of people only find their husband/wife/partner in their thirties. Plenty of people second time round lol! Keep saving and more importantly keep dating! Life is better when shared.. also much easier to buy a property 😉 I wish you luck for both

RichardAnd · 11-10-2023 9:20am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121219638#Comment_121219638

45k should be good, but that it is average is just a sign of how much money printing has been happening here in the last few years. Twelve years ago, I got 30k from my first "real" job, and it was pretty good. However, all those tech-trendies and brogramers on 100k or more along with asset inflation and civil service pay-rises really do erode the value of money. One could say that Ireland is a victim of its own success, if they were to be charitable.

To be buying in Dublin, one would want about 300k, but that will only really put them in apartment territory. Certainly, there are apartments for less, but those closer to the 200k mark would not be of great quality. That said, I would still take one of these apartments over renting simply because it's cheaper, and it is at least not paying dead money.