Mortgage lenders focus on employers
Property related incomes, builders and architects are all experiencing above average difficulty in trying to secure a mortgage, according to the Irish Brokers Association.
It said other retail sectors are also being examined very closely.
Irish Brokers Association chief executive Ciaran Phelan said: “Criteria for lending approval have tightened particularly when it comes to employment and salary.”
He said as a rule candidates in permanent employment are only being considered and contract income does not qualify.
He said there is very little recognition for overtime, bonus and commission income of applicants.
“This in particular is having a significant impact on many mortgage seekers. Unfortunately for some, certain sectors of employment are almost completely excluded.”
Meanwhile, James Maguire, associate director of Financial Engineering, said another noticeable trend is that more and more people are beginning to be able to afford to move back to areas that the really wanted to live in.
“An example of this is a client who sold a five bed house in a satellite town of Dublin to move back to a three-bed semi in north county Dublin.
“The main reason they could do this is that the price of the house has dropped in both areas but they can now afford the mortgage on the new house whereas a few years ago they would not have been able to get this amount of money,” he said.
