First time buyer questions

dovetail

Registered User
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Hello, I am a first time buyer preparing the mortgage application (80% LTV. 20 year mortgage with KBC). Searching for a property with market value 250-300K.
I have some questions that perhaps somebody could help to answer please, also some with approximate costs? :

Legal fees. how much?
Engineers structural report. how much?
Stamp duty is 1%?

Do I need t buy life assurance?
Is it still possible to buy mortgage protection insurance?
Is the following information true? Mortgages taken out after 31 December 2012 do not qualify for mortgage interest relief

Am I missing any other costs or important pieces of information?
 
Legal fees - between 1,000 and 1,500 euro
Valuation report - between 160 and 400 euro including VAT

Stamp duty is 1% if the price of the property is less than 1 million euro.
You will need to get mortgage protection insurance. Once your offer for a house is accepted start shopping around for this as sometimes, if you have medical problems, it will take longer to get it. I highly recommend low.ie as a broker for mortgage protection insurance. They are excellent.

The info you stated in the last paragraph is correct.

If the property you're buying is not new, you might want to get a structural survey done. It's not compulsory, but it will give you lots of information about possible issues with the property.

After mortgage approval, before you draw the funds down, you will also need to get home insurance. This is easy to get, but shop around for the best offer.
 
20 year mortgage is good. Make sure you know exactly what is included in the sale. The two insurances you need are life and house. Nothing else. Get a good engineer.
 
Mortgage interest relief was only ever an illusion army benefit, it meant buyers could afford to borrow more and therefore increased prices.
 
Just to make it crystal clear on the insurances, you mention life assurance and mortgage protection insurance.

You are required to have insurance on your life should you die so the mortgage is cleared off, this can be called several things by different people but basically death is what it must cover.

You must have house insurance.

Insuring your repayments against accident, illness or redundancy is an OPTIONAL insurance which is called among other things Repayment Protector Insurance, some people refer to it as mortgage protection which is incorrect (that is actually the life insurance cover) but just in case that is the one you are referring to with your original post.
 
In a similar boat to the OP. Have received AIP letter last week, which shows two figures, one with tax relief at source (if applicable) on it, which is approx. 200 less than the other figure. I rang the bank & asked them if this still applies, as thought it was phased out in 2012. Bank manager said ye are both first time buyers so yes, absolutely it does still exist but that it is between you & the revenue to sort out.

I'm confused?? Can I get mortgage relief or not?
 
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