Buying ahead of returning to Ireland

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cobra75

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Hi there

We are returning to Ireland from Australia in Aug 07. We've seen a few properties on myhome.ie, one in particular that we would like to purchase now before we return. We have the means for a deposit and could cover the monthly mortgage costs whilst still in Australia. We are pretty comfortable if parents, siblings and friends who are Architects, Builders, Solictors and Estate Agents act on our behalf to cover off inspections, legal aspects etc etc (BTW - I am a qualified structural and architectural engineer). Question is this - how can we obtain an Irish mortgage to purchase this house whilst in Australia? Must we be able to prove employment both now and when we return to Ireland?

Any advice would be fantastic!

Cheers

Cobra
 
You need to open a current bank account in Ireland entailing producing all the usual documentation - proof of income, passport or other ID, social security reference, references from your bank/employer in Australia etc. Put your house-purchase/removal funds into this. This is the account into which your mortgage from your Irish lender goes when the deposit is arranged on completion.

Setting up has to be in person and there is a lot of form-filling but much of the subsequent transactions can be done by telephone and e-mail if you prefer.

This was my experience in buying whilst living abroad.
 
we walked into pemanent tsb with our passports, uk bank account statements, a couple of utility bills and hey presto in 20 minutes our current account was up and running. they wont give us a cheque book until we start paying in money on a monthly basis. whilst there i asked what the situ would be on getting a self build mortgage whilst we continue to remain in the UK until the house would be finished. they said no problem so long as we have proof of income and as we own the site outright, it would be simple. i also said what about our financial commitments in the UK (i.e. we have 12 mortgaged properties in london and we are not selling any of them) - reply was the more collateral you have under your belt the easier it will be and for us to show them a current statement for each mortgage - looks like the old scenario, the more you have the more you get and the easier it gets ! which is how it is here in the UK with getting for example buy to let mortgages so long as you have a 15% deposit. I guess it has got quite easy to get your hands on funding in Ireland too.
Regarding buying this house you like, if I were buying a place instead of building my own, then I would not buy a place now. there are thousands of new properties not sold in the midlands and hundreds more being built in first quarter of this year. i would say wait.............., its up to you but that's my opinion for what it is worth.
 
The maximum advance for a non resident mortgage is 80% of the purchase price and your application will be assessed on your income and your outgoings (including your current mortgage/rent payments) but as long as you qualify - if necessary taking into account the rental income on the Irish house until you are ready to return - you should be fine. We've arranged mortgages for people living in the States, South Africa, Russia and Papua New Guinea (their postal service is appalling!) :D

Sarah

www.rea.ie
 
Hi guys

Thanks for the info.
I already have an existing current account with BOI and I can easily transfer AUD into this via FX - currently have about AUD50k for a deposit plus approx 20k in superannuation which is refunded to us once we leave Australia, - this can be used as a contributing lump sum to the deposit too. Plus we have SSIA though minimal - approx 3k. - So all in all about 50k EUR deposit.
Current combined salary is AUD145k and we are saving approx 4k/mth whilst paying 2k/mth on rent in Sydney so could cover the mortgage repayments whilst we are still in Australia. But this may prove a stumbling block between travelling home and arranging employment back in Dublin. We are spending about 6 weeks travelling between end of June and early Aug before we arrive back in Dublin. Will financial institutions grant a 2-3mth grace period whilst we re-establish ourselves back in Dublin e.g. employment etc? Estimated combined EUR salary once we return would be in the order of 90-110k.

Cheers for the advice and comments in advance!
 
If you are intending to use the property as a main residence lenders will want to see evidence of your income (payslips) and you would have to have completed any probationary period before drawing down the mortgage. So you have two main options - buying as an investment/holiday home before leaving Australia using your current incomes and putting down a 20% deposit (plus Stamp) OR waiting until you are back and settled and showing earnings here sufficient to cover the mortgage.

There are other possibilities - buying jointly with someone resident here (relative) who's income is sufficient to cover their outgoings and the new mortgage until you are established or (and this is rare) depositing, say, 6 months repayments to the lender to cover the transition period.

Sarah

www.rea.ie
 
Hi Sarah

Yes, purpose is a main residence. Couldn't afford 20% re it as an investment property so might have the wait until we get back, however your point about joint ownership is an interesting one - either father could afford to do this by way of attaining the property if we transferred the deposit to them so that they could arrange a mortgage. What are the tax implications etc (if any) of assigning full ownership to us once we return?

Many thanks
 
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