Buying your own home in Ireland

At some point in your life, you may wish to ditch the rental market and buy a home. Buying a house can be a wonderful and exciting time. But it can also be a complex and confusing process if you are not fully informed on the processes involved in buying a house. There are basically 5 steps to the process of buying a property in Ireland.

So, here’s a quick summary of the steps;

1. Financial Stage
2. House search
3. House viewings
4. Putting down an offer
5. Closing the purchase.

1.  Financial Stage

This is the most important step when it comes to buying a property in Ireland. There are two ways to buying a property, you can either buy it outrightly with cash or purchase through a mortgage. A mortgage simply put is a type of loan used to buy a property. The amount you have as cash and the amount you can get from the mortgage lender can help you set a budget on the value of property, type of property and location you can buy in.

If you are a First Time Buyer or second time buyer purchasing your main home, you will need to put down at least 10% of the purchase price when you buy, you can do this from your savings or with government scheme’s such as the Help to Buy or First home scheme, if you are a first-time buyer and buying a new build home. These government schemes can really boost your deposit and budget however, they are only for first time buyers.

The mortgage amount you can borrow, how much the monthly repayment would be and even the chances of approval all varies depending on the lender. It would be good to go through a mortgage broker for this as a broker would be able to go round all the lenders and give you a detailed list of options based on which lenders can approve you and which ones have the best rate and overall package that suits your needs.

You can contact me, Timileyin Arimoro on 016583040 or ta(at)mortgagebrokers.ie for a free consultation. I would be able to tell you how much you can get over the phone or via email.

2. House Search

Once you have sorted the financing of the property and have a budget, the next stage is the search for that dream house that is within your budget. It is all about location when buying a property in Ireland. The two big online property search platforms in Ireland are Daft.ie and myhome.ie.

You are able to filter properties based on location and budget on these websites which helps to narrow your search down. It is worth creating an account and allowing for email alerts based on your filters so as not to miss out on your dream home.

3. House Viewings

Before you reach this stage, you must have received your Approval in Principle (AIP) from your mortgage broker because most selling agents would request or the AIP. If you don’t have your AIP yet (because the banks are slow as usual), you can always contact your mortgage broker who can give you a letter confirming how much you would be approved for.

Once you are at a viewing, it is important to take your time to look round the property and ask the agent any question you may have no matter how small it might be.

4. Putting down an offer

Once you are satisfied with the viewing, you can place a bid/offer on the property. Most sellers would favour offers from people with an AIP so might be best to make sure you have the full AIP before placing an offer. Find out if there are current offers and you would have to go above that offer if you feel it is worth it. It is unlikely for sellers to go for the lowest offer.

When deciding on the amount you want to bid, make sure it is withing your budget and also make sure the property is worth it. You can use sites like the Property Price Register, to find out how much properties in that area are going for so as not to go way above current market value when making an offer.

5. Closing the Purchase

Once the bid is accepted and you have paid a booking deposit to the estate agent, you will need to find a solicitor. A solicitor would have to review the legal documents from the mortgage lenders and also from the seller. The solicitor gets the funds as well from the mortgage lender and deals with the transfer of funds to the seller’s solicitor. Due to the amount of work the solicitor has to do at this stage, it would be best to find a solicitor that specialises in real estate.

Apart from the Legal aspect, your mortgage broker would be able to assist you with all the other aspects at this stage. Your mortgage broker would assist you in getting your mortgage protection and home insurance which is a requirement in other to get the funds from the mortgage lenders.

Once the funds are in place, your solicitor can exchange contracts with the seller. It’s only at this point that the sale is secure and the sellers can no longer pull out and you can finally look forward to moving into your new home! This is where the real fun starts!

As you can see, buying a property in Ireland is not as scary as it seems especially when you have a broker helping you through the way. Here at Irish Mortgage Brokers, we would assist you all the way from the beginning of the process till you finally get your home. We would assist you all through the mortgage journey. Feel free to contact me, Timileyin Arimoro on 016583040 or ta(at)mortgagebrokers.ie. I would be happy to help you to own your own home.