Seniors Money offers the opportunity for applicant(s) aged 60 and over to release equity in their home. The loan is secured against their home but no payments are made until the house is sold or the applicant(s) pass away. Unlike other Co.’s offering a life time, when you choose seniors money you retain full ownership of your home and you can use the money for whatever you wish.

Seniors Money solves that by offering to lend 15% of the value of your home at age 60 or a maximum of 90% at the age to a maximum 45% at the age of 90. The interest rate is currently 5.65% p.a. There is a set up fee of €1,500 applied to all loans by seniors money which covers the valuation, independent legal advice etc.

The reality is people aged 60 plus who want to release equity in their homes are very restricted when applying for a mortgage due to a maximum age limits set by lenders, which is usually 70 for a PAYE worker and 75 for a self employed person. Many people live Mortgage free with a government pension as their sole income, in cases like this, in our opinion Seniors Money is a good option. It is an alternative pension option for those who didnt invest in a pension whilst younger. We advised the money released be used as a regular income to make the golden years just that.

Good news for Mortgage holders as the European Central Bank Rate (ECB) was slashed by another 0.5% on Thursday bringing the base rate to a record low of just 1.5%. With this reduction, a variable rate of just 2.75% will be available in the coming weeks.

Permanent TSB, KBC Homeloans, EBS, Irish Nationwide and Halifax and Bank of Scotland (Ireland) said the full half a percentage rate reduction would be passed on to customers with variable and tracker rate mortgages.
Bank of Ireland and ICS Building Society also confirmed this afternoon that they will pass on the full ECB rate decrease across their tracker and standard variable rate mortgage products, for new and existing owner-occupier customers.

National Irish bank confirmed it won’t be passing on the rate cut to its variable rate holders and both Ulster Bank and First Active confirmed they will pass on just 0.25%. For Mortgage holder with these lenders we advise switching to a more competitive lender. A quarter percent difference over the term of your mortgage could result in thousands of additional interest being paid.

The government has launched a scheme called ‘Home Choice Loan’. The purpose of Home Choice Loan is to help First Time Buyers get on the property ladder.  Initially it does sound promising; after all it gives another option to first time buyers in a tough mortgage lending market. But, a more in depth reading of its conditions uncovers some hindering restrictions such as:

- You must either be purchasing a new property or building a home
- You must have proof that you were refused finance with two mortgage lenders
- Minimum income for a single applicant is €40,000 per annum, €50,000 for a joint application
- Be in permanent employment for two years, if self employed two years accounts must be provided.

If you do meet the above criteria, Home Choice Loan is offering:

- 92% finance, subject to a maximum loan of €285,000
- A variable rate of 3.92%, APR 3.99
- A term of up to 30 years

I think restricting the product to new homes is unfair. Whilst I understand the Governments eagerness to help the floundering developers, I think it would be good to give first time buyers choice of their home, rather than restricting it.

We are now fully authorized to offer Home Choice Loan Mortgages. If you do have any questions on it, contact us and ask for Brendan.

We have had many calls from people enquiring about their Remortgage options available in the current market. We have also had people wondering “Are Mortgage lenders issuing approvals at all?”

There have been major restrictions in Mortgage lending in Ireland over the past year.  The frustrating thing about it for us and for some of our clients affected is that when lenders changed their polices, they gave no lead in time which resulted in a lot of people who had mortgage approval to be left stranded, some of which were at advanced stages of their mortgage loan application.

Good news is that in recent months Mortgage lending in Ireland has stabilized. We have prepared a brief synopsis of  what is available for Remortgages in Ireland, I hope you find it helpful. This synopsis considers the following Mortgage lenders – AIB, KBC Homeloans, First Active, Haven Mortgages, Permanet TSB, Bank of Scotland, ICS Building Society & Leeds Building Society.

- Mortgage lending ranges from 50 – 92% of the value of your home.
- A max term ranges is between 30 – 40 years
- Interest only option is available with some of the lenders. The interest only period  ranges from 1 - 10 years
- You can consolidate your short term debt into your new mortgage, some lenders are restricting the amount you can refinance.
- Variable rates as low as 3.25% is available and a two year fixed rate of just 2.8%

If you would like to find out more about your remortgage loan options, call us now at Mortgage Loans or fill in the form on the right hand side of this page to receive a call back.

ICS Building Society just introduced a €1,000 cash back offer for First Time Buyers who apply for their Mortgage from 23rd of February 2009 and drawdown by the 30th September 2009. This also applies to First Time Buyers who have submitted their application prior to the 23rd of February. The €1,000 cash will be paid into the customers account within approximately five days of mortgage drawdown date.

ICS also currently offer up to 92% of the purchase price and have a one year fixed rate of just 2.55% for First Time Buyer Customers who Drawdown before the 30th of June 2009.

Bank of Ireland announced on the 16th of February 2009 that it has put in place a fund of €1 billion for its First Time Buyer Customers. This is available across the bank of Ireland group, including ICS Building Society.

In recent months we have seen a significant rise in First Time Buyer enquiries and applications. This added incentive is an attractive offer and is a natural choice for First Time Buyers as it will ease the associated costs with the purchase of your first home.