Why can't I go and switch my mortgage anywhere within the EU??

Domhnall O'Sullivan

Registered User
Messages
20
I dont understand it. My mortgage is 4.5%, and the Euro average is 2.5%.
I should be able to go to Bank of Paris, Berlin , Budapest, wherever and get the best deal on offer...

isnt that what the whole unity thing is about. If we're so locked in for so many other issues why can this not be the case in terms of mortgages?!!!

If we cannot do this, then the only real answer to that is that it is a conspiracy, to extract maximum funds from EU citizens...
 
There's no legal reason why you can't refinance your mortgage with anybody.

If you can persuade a lender anywhere on the continent to refinance your mortgage at a lower rate then please do report back to us.

There's really no conspiracy - secured lending in Ireland is risky and therefore expensive.
 
Sarenco pretty much sums it up, plenty of commercial lending happens this way though.

I moved to Ireland from UK in 2007, I had a mortgage on my UK home with Halifax in the UK. At this time Halifax were just opening, in what turned out to be a very short stay, in Ireland, under the BOSI umbrella and, though I was a good customer and they were keen for new business, Halifax UK could not just transfer my debt to be secured against Irish collateral.

Different markets with (as we can see quite clearly) different margins and different risks. You won't even get a northern bank lending cross-border. And, obviously, with UK there are potential currency issues also.
 
Just one anecdotal report but ...
I know of one person (a French citizen living here) who enquired about this with a bank in France.
The bank would not do it for a PPR (which was the case here) but said that they might consider a BTL.
I don't have any more info on the details (e.g. potential rate, other terms and conditions etc.).
 
Back
Top