Last update: Apr 2025

Estimated costs

• Solicitor and fees (we budgeted ~3000 for this)
• Stamp duty is 1% of house price
• You need 10k on the moment of sale agreed
• You need 10% of house value (banks won’t lend more than 90%)
• A house inspection (if used) / Snagging (if new)
  • I paid 450 on mine, a friend paid 300 each visit (there were multiple, it was a new house)
• Check other hidden costs here

Process

• Approval in principle
  • This is basically a letter that your bank tells anyone the amount of money they are potentially willing to lend you
  • You basically need 6 months of bank statements and payslips
    • This could be more complicated now or if you go to a broker
  • Usually from 3.5x to 5x times the amount of combined salaries
    • In general, banks won’t lend you more than 90% of the house value. So if make sure you have ~10% of the house value in cash. So basically the amount you can buy a house would be mortgage amount + 10% of mortgage amount.
      • Say you can lend 400k as a mortgage. Typically, you would give 40k, and get a 440k house
    • In some cases you can get up to 5x. Check with bank/broker to see how could you apply
    • To extend the multiplication factor I believe having a savings account that you consistently add money (and not use it) really helps
  • Lots of people go to a broker. We did everything directly with AIB because it was the cheapest rates. They were very annoying (lots of documents) but it worked out for us. If you want simplicity get a broker.
    • For instance, because we weren’t in Ireland for 3 years they demanded a credit check from Brazil. We had to pay Serasa Premium because the free report wasn’t enough. Other people said the free report translated by Google Translate worked just fine.
• House viewing
  • Check below
• Sale Agreed
  • You need to pay 10k to realtor at the moment of sale agreed to guarantee it
    • This amount is not to be returned unless there’s a problem with the property. If you just “give up”, this money is lost
  • Get the house checked. Bank will make their own evaluation but you should know what you are doing
    • I did mine with PMK Architects. It was not an amazing report but not bad. The house was pretty new
    • A friend did with ECO Design and Management +353 86 604 2430 (Jeremy)
    • This company seem to have good reports
  • You should get a good Solicitor. Mine was Hazel Doyle, she is very good
• Approval
  • You don’t need to wait sale agreed to start submitting documents to the bank (AIB)
  • When we went sale agreed we already have ~50% of documents accepted
  • If you are under 3y in Ireland AIB asked for proof you don’t have debts in other countries
    • Don’t forget to cancel the Serasa Premium. You have to do it via email.
• Final
  • On the final day, you check the property one last time before giving the go-ahead for your solicitor to transfer the money. This is quite nerve wrecking because it is the last time you can back out and only loose the 10k.
  • Be aware that this might be a disappointment. On the viewing day the house was decorated and beautiful. On the final day, it was dirty, the walls had marks of when the pictures were and there were boxes everywhere. Because it was empty it felt too small. It was not an amazing feeling. Brace yourself and make sure to remember you saw its potential.

General tips

• This instagram have tons of useful tips
  • We sent a message to them at the time and they suggested that we send a letter to sellers regarding us and all our history. We don’t know if it helped or not but they cancelled a viewing after. Check this post for another person that did something similar. Check their tips. It might be invaluable for you.
• Ireland has a Help to Buy scheme for new developments where they lend some of the amount for the 10% entrance. See if you qualify and if the development qualify
  • This doesn’t work for used houses, only new ones.

While looking for a house…

• Call. Always. They don’t respond email
• Put alerts to make sure you get viewings early.
  • I once called a house the day they announced. They forgot to put me for viewing and when I called again there were 92 people in the waitlist. I fought to get a place on the view.
• I suggest going to houses even if you are not interested, so you can get a sense of things you like and dislike
• Check census data about the neighbourhood
  • Quick reminder that this is a money criteria and not violence/criminality. So use this tool wisely
• If you are looking for new developments, put your name in even if you don’t have things ready. These things have a massive waitlist and everything take forever!
• Create a checklist of your ideal house and add things you must check
  • It is easy to get yourself excited during a viewing and not check for everything you want
  • If you really like the house, try make video of it, so you can rewatch and check for things
  • For instance we saw a house that didn’t have space for garbage bins in the front and no side door to the backyard. So you had to go with the bins inside the house to get it to the front. Imagine doing this during a wet day
  • Some of my checks:
    • A kitchen with windows or a skyceiling
    • Floor to not squeak or that felt like they were fragile
    • Utility room (didn’t happen)
    • Near the dart
    • The bins to be outside at all times
    • 3 rooms + office space or 4 rooms (didn’t happen)
    • Supermarket nearby (didn’t happen)
    • Big back yard
    • South facing
  • I had 19 points in my checklist and my house had ~85% of them

If you found a house…

• You can see all requests for extensions and renews online. They are all public
  • Our house had a major renovation approved, but 7 neighbours complained about it. Everything was available: architectural projects, plans, letters of complaint, etc
• Check if your house has enough sunlight
  • If you zoom enough you can find your house and check the sun over the year. In Ireland, people prefer the south-facing side as there will be more sun over the year
• Check the flood maps
  • Some houses have a risk of flood (check this post) and you’ll have a tough time getting insurance for it. Make sure your house don’t have this risk!
• The house values are all available online
  • When the previous owner bought it and for how much
  • Near houses prices, etc

❤
Cheers!
Letícia

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