Hi there, me and my partner are starting to look into the housing market. We both live in tallaght and don’t want to move too far away from family homes.

I hear everybody always complaining about house prices and mortgages and so on.
Combined we make 55k a year.

Looking at this listing below and a couple others around tallaght, it looks like we won’t have a problem affording a mortgage if we get our savings together.

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/terraced-house-77-maplewood-park-springfield-tallaght-dublin-24/3946087

Is there something we are missing? Truth be told we know nothing about this stuff and our family’s both rent so there’s no info there.

Like we don’t think we mind a 30 year plan of 900-1k a month as we think in our circumstances that is quite cheap. We are just conscious about the fact that in the media there is a mortgage crisis and so on so would love information

18 comments

  1. 3 and half times your combined wages. Plus 10% in savings. Not a notion

    Edit: don’t mean to sound harsh

  3. 3.5 x 55k = €182,500 this is what you would be allowed borrow.

    You would need over €100k in savings assuming the house goes for the list price which isn’t likely at the moment.

    Maybe look into a rebuilding Ireland loan as they are not restricted to 3.5x salary

    Correction: €192,500

  4. Combined 55k? Or did you mean 55k each?

    – The list price on Daft is rarely the price it will sell for. It’s a common tactic to price low to get interest and then bidding increases it to god knows what.

    – Keep in mind 3.5x lending rules, if that’s 55k…€192,500…so you better have a lot of savings to give a larger deposit then 10%. Lending rules can go up to 4.5 with exceptions, but these are limited per lender and generally are not given to FTB’s / lower value applicants.

    – Also keep in mind solicitor fees, various different insurances, taxes, furniture, fixing the place up etc..

  6. They can only lend you 3.5 times your salary. At a combined income of 55k you will get €182,500 maximum mortgage.

    Then you need to consider solicitors fees, valuation, surveyors report etc…

    I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but unless you have a very large deposit it won’t be happening.

  8. Look for a fixer upper in a decent area. The more in shite the insides are the less people will be interested. Youtube the repairs and only pay for tradesmen that you need per job like plumbing or electrical if your nervous. 90% of jobs you can get the hang of if you have the time and brains. My house was a state the old farts that lived ( or dropped dead) they must have been chain smoking and frying chips for decades but the area is sweet. Almost every surface in the house from floor to ceiling has been replaced at some stage over the 5 years ive been there. Im finally getting to replacing the mouldy kitchen counter this summer. Just go room by room and not give a shit what visitors think!

  9. I’d recommend talking to a mortgage broker, I bought three years ago with my husband and we hadn’t a clue what we were doing. The guy we used only charges you once you apply for a mortgage. So essentially free advice. We had a preliminary chat with him and he explained what we could afford, market conditions, lending trends etc, really helped to manage our expectations and then once we were ready to apply, managed all the paperwork and conversations with the banks. Think it was e150 at mortgage application stage and e350 when we drew down. If you want to DM me, I’ll send you on his details.

  11. What isn’t being taken into consideration is interest rates. Currently around 5.8%. In 1982 in Ireland they rose to 16.25%. Can you afford to triple your mortgage repayment every month? The banks forced thousands into repossession and people fled abroad. In those days you could hand in the keys and walk away, but that’s not the case any more.

    It’s an often unspoken part of house purchase – you’re forced to sign an agreement to say you have enough income to cover your monthly payment, but the banks control interest rates, you will never truly know if you have enough income to cover your payment but you will be held to the agreement until the banks bleed you dry.

    Edit: in my opinion the circumstances in global markets – shortages of goods, shortages of fuel, increasing inflation, core jobs threatening industrial action – healthcare, transport, most unionised industries – and disposable income being significantly reduced with rising costs – this is exactly the scenario that resulted in the 1982 interest rates. Don’t forget nations have borrowed heavily to get through the lockdowns, that has to be recouped and taxes will also have to increase to do so.

    It’s ugly, but it’s common sense whilst this global financial model continues to be forced on the low paid and squeezed middle.

  12. The comments are depressing. But sadly true.

    I’d consider a commuter town if I was you. You’d be surprised the gems you might find. I did last year anyways.

  13. The best thing you can do to help yourself is move jobs, easiest way to get a pay rise. I see you said your other half has peaked in wages but maybe she’ll get a promotion in work, they’ll increase wages (there was a protest and planned cash injection this week) or she’ll move industry.

    Short of that you need a bust to happen

  15. Combined you make €55k a year. You would be able to get a mortgage of 3.5 times that, so €192,500. In order to buy a house for €280k, you would need to have €87,500 to put down

  16. Thanks for all the info, it’s greatly helped me understand the whole scenario right now. I hope this allows other people to learn the in and outs of this also.

    Such bad news but hopefully it gets better 🙂

  18. You should follow crazy house prices on Instagram he has loads of info on buying and the state of the market. Showing listed prices and what they actually sell for. He gives the tools required to do the research etc

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