Question by poppy: How do you start the mortgage journey?
I have €10,000 loan from college and a car. I have 3 yeasrs to pay it off. How do I begin the mortgage climb? What do I need to do to get a mortgage? How long do I need to be saving with a building society etc any advice greatly appraciated. Oh by the way I’m single, and earning just over €42,000 a year in a permanent pensionable job. Ireland only please.
Apologies for poor spelling typos working off a broken keyboard!

Best answer:

Answer by bluebell
You could start by joining a building society now, and arrange a regular savings plan. The easiest way is to have money deducted by standing order from your pay every payday (assuming your pay is deposited straight into the bank). Then you need to work out a feasible budget. €42,000 a year is roughly €807 a week or €3,500 a month. How much of this do you really need to live on, and how much can you save? The more you save, the less you have to borrow. If you can put a special effort into repaying your existing college loan, you get rid of one burden, and it is a plus in your favour to be able to say to a potential lender that you had repaid this loan early. It shows you to be a responsible person. It also shows that making those payments hasn’t been a struggle, which in turn makes you a better candidate for a loan. You can apply for a mortgage at any time, but the odds are better if you have already been saving seriously with the building society for some months or years.

Have a look at house prices in the area where you want to buy. You will need to save at least 10%. If you make it a challenge, you could do it sooner by reducing other spending. If you can pay off existing loans, that repayment money can then be redirected into extra savings.

Good luck !!

Give your answer to this question below!