Mortgage cash deals require care and research

NEWS of the Government’s plans to help first-time buyers have received a cautious welcome from the property industry, although there have been suggestions that the move is too narrowly focused in terms of buyer and house type.

But whether buyers qualify under the help-to-buy scheme or not, there are still plenty of offers around from the major banks. The challenge for potential homeowners is to analyse both the rates and sweeteners and ensure they are choosing the best product over the lifetime of the loan.

Most of Ireland’s banks are now offering substantial cash lump sums to new customers when they draw down a mortgage. EBS and Permanent TSB are offering 2% cashback on the value of a mortgage to first-time buyers, and Bank of Ireland recently announced it was increasing its 2% cashback offer to 3% for its current account customers.