You will need to save a deposit for your house. Different Central Bank of Ireland rules apply to the amount of deposit you need depending on whether you are a first-time buyer or not.
First-time buyers
If you are a first-time buyer a 90% limit will apply to the mortgage you can get. So you will need a minimum deposit of 10%.
For example, if you can afford to buy a house worth €250,000, your lender may lend you up to €225,000. You will have to have the remaining €25,000 yourself.
The Help to Buy (HTB) incentive is a scheme for first-time buyers The amount that you can claim is the lesser of:
- €20,000
- 5% of the purchase price of a new home. For self-builds this is 5% of the completion value of the property
- the amount of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) you have paid in the four years before your purchase or self-build.
The maximum payment is €20,000 per property. You can find more information about the scheme from Revenue.
In order to help you save a deposit, it’s important to work out where your money is going and how much you can afford to put away. CCPC has lots of tools to help you:
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