Affordable housing - can I apply while paying off debts?

Could anyone tell me how being in debt affects you applying to be on the affordable housing lists in Dublin? I have a loan which will be paid off in 11 months (or sooner hopefully!). From what I can gather I could easily be waiting over a year for an affordable place in Dublin so it seems to make sense to be on the list while paying off the debt but I am wondering if my application would be rejected on the basis of my loan? Any advice would be really welcome, thanks!

Hi ggirl

I applied for the Affordable Housing scheme with Fingal Coco in August 2006. At the time i had a credit union loan of 10k (car loan) which i was still (and still am!) paying off.
My application certainly wasn't rejected as i was offered a place in Tyrrelstown and have been living there since Jan 07!
Obviously they will ask you if you have any loans, i just had to submit a statement showing how much i was paying per month along with all my other bank statements etc. Just to note they also asked me if i had any credit cards... and i think they were a bit fussy about my overdraft too (it was only €400 though).
Hope that helps!

Thanks a million. I have read so many different things about the whole system that I don't know if I'm coming or going! I didn't want to apply and be rejected so I appreciate the advice.

The affordable housing scheme only offers you a house at a reduced price, it doesn't give you the money to buy it. I'm on the list (with Dublin City Council) but because I have a large loan with another couple of years to run I wasn't able to find a bank to give me a mortgage for even as much as it would take to buy an "affordable house". What I can do is apply for shared ownership as well and, if I'm accepted for that I can use that to finance the affordable housing if I'm ever offered something. I didn't realise that was how it worked at first and thought the affordable housing also provided the financing.

So I'm in the process of applying for shared ownership and don't know how big an affect my loan will have on that. I'm waiting for a tax refund on medical expenses because you have to have savings of €1,300 and I won't until I get that money back from Revenue.

If you are really certain you'll be able to pay off the loan in the near future you may as well apply now. The process moves pretty slowly and you may well be waiting a while before you're even in a position to have to tell them what you have in loans. Also, depending on the local authority, the longer you're on the list the better your chances might be of getting a place.

Good luck, I applied for the first time 2 1/4 years ago and I get my keys tomorrow