When a new year comes, people often take the opportunity to make a big change in their lives, and change doesn’t get much bigger than buying a new house. If you’ve decided this is the year you’re going to move into a new home, now is the perfect time to make that move, especially if you’re a first-time buyer. And whether you’re a first-time buyer or you want to trade up, Mullins & Treacy will help make the process of buying your new home as easy and stress-free as possible.

Mullins & Treacy’s team of friendly conveyancing solicitors specialises in property transactions, and we’ll give your house purchase our undivided attention. We’ll guide you through the ins and outs of the property-buying process. You’ll get the benefit of the strong relationships we’ve built with brokers, auctioneers and mortgage providers. Our goal is to cut all the hassle out of buying a house and to make sure you get the keys to your new home without delay.

Help to Buy Scheme

The Help to Buy Scheme has helped thousands of first-time buyers get their foot on the property ladder. The scheme began in January 2017, and the Revenue Commission calculates that by October 2018, 9,034 first-time buyers had taken it up. Unfortunately, this scheme is finishing at the end of 2019, so this year will be your last chance to avail of it. You will be eligible for this scheme if you take out a mortgage that is worth at least 70% of the purchase price of the house.

The Help to Buy Scheme offers first-time buyers a tax rebate of up to 5% of the cost of purchasing a house. The amount of money people can claim is capped at €20,000, on houses priced at up to €500,000. The scheme is only available to people purchasing new houses. The Central Bank has rule that deposits on a new house must be worth at least 10% of the purchase price, and this is often a barrier for new buyers. This scheme helps them overcome that barrier.

There are two stages in the Help to Buy process. The first stage aims to establish the maximum amount of tax rebate you can claim. Once you know this, you will be in a better position to arrange a mortgage or sign a contract. When the maximum rebate is decided, you will move on to the second stage, when you establish exactly how much money you’re going to get in the rebate. This is based on the purchase price of the house. The payment will be made to the developer or construction firm who is building your home, or your bank if you’re building the house yourself.

Other Helpful House Loan Initiatives

If you don’t fit the criteria for the Help to Buy Scheme, you can avail of the Rebuilding Ireland Scheme. Under this scheme, first-time buyers buying new or second-hand homes can avail of low-interest loans from local authorities. If your application is approved, you will receive a loan worth 90% of the market value of your home from your local authority. In the counties of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, these loans are given for houses worth up to €320,000. The maximum value for the rest of the country is €250,000.

Trading Up

Those of you who are trading up can still avail of good terms and conditions from banks, especially in the first half of the year, when banks have more leeway with regard to how much they can lend. At this time of year, it’s easier for banks to find ways around the strict lending rules that the Central Bank applies. That discretion tends to be used up by the second half of the year, so this is an ideal time to make an appointment with your bank’s mortgage team – and with Mullins & Treacy’s conveyancing solicitors.

Why Hire A Solicitor

A solicitor will represent your best interests with banks and other parties involved in the loan. Banks like to deal with solicitors and solicitors know what banks are looking for, so they can negotiate effectively on your behalf. The solicitor will also deal with the seller’s solicitor and with auctioneers involved in the sale. When you hire a solicitor, the buying process will be faster and smoother, because the solicitor knows how to avoid pitfalls and how to obtain the paperwork you need for the sale to go through.

If you’d like to get more tips on how to make buying a new house easier for yourself, Mullins & Treacy will be giving a FREE property workshop in February. We will be emailing all our clients about this, or you can watch out for an announcement on the Mullins & Treacy Facebook page. Or you can organise a FREE one-on-one meeting during the month of February with our property solicitors here at our office, with no obligation to take it any further.

We’re here and we understand.

We are client focused and results driven. If you’re buying a house and looking for a solicitor to help you make the purchase, please do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to help. Give us a call on 051 391 488 or email reception@mullinstreacy.iefor a no obligation discussion about how we can help you.