There has been a lot of news about banks not lending to people who are receiving any wage supplements during the covid 19 pandemic. The initial headlines were about AIB who later rowed back on the decision not to assess any cases where people were on wage supports.
The other banks were more open to offering loans but they all have one basic trend in common which is that you can’t be on TWSS and draw down a loan. This may seem unfair but if you got a loan in July and were laid off in August in time a person would wonder ‘why did the bank give that loan?’ given that companies can only get wage supports if their turnover is seriously impacted due to the pandemic. So what can you do?
- Delay: for many people they’ll be back to regular wages soon, talk to the people involved in your transaction and see if they are willing to wait.
- Withdraw: most contracts have ‘subject to mortgage approval’ in them.
- Ask your employer to take you off the support scheme: some employers are happy to take staff members off the scheme and that satisfies the bank’s requirement.
While none of these are ideal outcomes, the last thing you want to do is try to close when you know you can and potentially put your deposit at risk. The pandemic has messed up house buying for lots of people, speak to your broker and come up with a plan that suits your needs best.
