Bank of Ireland giving 0.2% discount for green mortgages - houses with A-rated BER

Brendan Burgess

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Green Mortgage Interest Rate:
Borrowers can receive a discount of 0.2% off any of our fixed interest rate options (from 1 to 10 years) where a fixed term is selected at drawdown of the mortgage. This fixed rate discount will be available from drawdown on new borrowing to finance the purchase, construction, or renovation of residential buildings with an A-rated or to achieve an A-rated BER energy performance. Based on a 20-year €200,000 mortgage fixed for the first five years, the Green Mortgage Interest Rate would represent a saving of c. €2,085 over the five-year term.

Terms and conditions

The Green Mortgage fixed interest rate is a discount (reduction) of 0.20% that we apply to our standard mortgage loan fixed rates.

The Green Mortgage fixed interest rate is available to you if you:

  • are buying a property that has a Building Energy Rating (BER) of A3 or better or are borrowing to
    build or up-grade your home so that it has a BER rating of A3 or better,
  • AND provide us with the BER certificate showing a rating of A3 or better before you draw down the loan (where you are borrowing to pay for building works, you provide us instead with specifications showing that rating will be achieved, and you provide the BER certificate once building works are complete),
  • AND draw down your new mortgage loan between 19 July 2019 and 30 June 2020.
The Green Mortgage fixed interest rate is available only if you choose a fixed interest rate that begins when you draw down your mortgage loan. It is not available with any of our variable rates.

The Green Mortgage fixed interest rate will apply to the mortgage loan for the period of your chosen fixed rate from the date the loan is drawn down. Our standard interest rate options for existing customers will apply at the end of that initial fixed rate period (so the discount ends then).

Full terms and conditions of your mortgage loan will be set out in your mortgage loan documentation including your Letter of Offer except that it will refer you to the dates for drawdown that we have set out above (so you need to take careful note of them and to bring them to the attention of your solicitor or builder if necessary).

The Green Mortgage fixed interest rate is not available (a) on a mortgage loan where it (or part of it) is used to repay an existing mortgage loan from a lender whether the lender is in the Bank of Ireland Group or not (for example, this means the discount is not available for mortgage loans where you switch a mortgage loan to us from one of our competitors); or (b) on mortgage loans to buy a residential property with a BER rating of B or lower; or (c) to build or up-grade a residential property to a BER rating of B or lower.

  • the first drawdown must be made between 19 July 2019 and 30 June 2020 to qualify for the Green Mortgage fixed interest rate,
  • AND you must provide a detailed specification from your builder showing work to be undertaken to achieve a BER rating of A3 or better.
We reserve the right to withdraw the Green Mortgage fixed interest rate at any time at our discretion. If we withdraw the Green Mortgage fixed interest rate before 30 June 2020, we will notify the public of this by putting an advertisement on our website and in at least one national newspaper.
 
Wonder can this be combined with the high value loan offer to get 2.3% (2.5% - 0.2%) for 5 years? That would start to make it worth taking this over the cash back.
 
Hi
I've been looking around recently.
Currently planning a new build (for my sins :))
At the moment, I'm planning to combine the BOI HVM (high value mortgage) and Green mortgage offers as a first time buyer.
So the 4 Year Fixed HVM LTV 61%-80% is 2.3% and combine that with Green Mortgage fixed interest rate which is a discount (reduction) of 0.30% that is applied to the standard mortgage loan fixed rates.
That results in 4 year fixed at 2%.
I can't see a better option in the market at the moment, unless I am missing something?
Anybody in a similar circumstance?
 
What you are missing is that when the 4 years up you will be a customer of Bank of Ireland which has very high rates for existing customers.

And while you might say now that you will switch to a better value lender, most people don't and end up paying excessive interest over the course of their loan term.

Brendan
 
What you are missing is that when the 4 years up you will be a customer of Bank of Ireland which has very high rates for existing customers.

And while you might say now that you will switch to a better value lender, most people don't and end up paying excessive interest over the course of their loan term.

Brendan
Thanks Brendan, and the reason for most people not switching, is it just the hassle of it?
 
1) Lack of awareness of the rate they are paying
2) Lack of appreciation of the savings from a 2% lower rate (Many people do not know how to calculate 2% of €300k)
3) Too busy with other stuff e.g. driving 30km down the road to a cheaper petrol station
4) Inability to get a loan elsewhere due to changes in credit risk or personal circumstances such as reduced income.
 
@BlackHound Note also that if you go with BOI the 0.3% discount for having a high BER will not be available to you at the end of 4-year fixed period, as noted in their T&Cs, here.
At the end of your initial fixed rate period you can choose from the normal interest rate options available to existing customers at that stage.

I.e., the discount is only available to switchers, and they won't consider you a switcher in four years' time.

Other lenders' green rates are available to both switchers and existing customers.

You should probably be looking at AIB's 5-year green rate or Avant's 5-year or 7-year rates. All three have an interest rate of 2.15% for an LTV below 80%
 
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