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To qualify for a mortgage in Ireland you need to meet certain criteria. In general these are:

1. You need to be in secure employment and have a source of income that can sustain the mortgage.
2. You need to prove that you can afford your repayments, even if interest rates rise.
3. You have to have at least a 10% cash deposit if you’re a first-time buyer and a 20% deposit if you’re a second-time or subsequent buyer.
4. You need to have a good credit history, which means well-managed finances and not too much existing debt.

The Central Bank’s mortgage lending rules state that a prospective home buyer can borrow up to 3.5 times their annual income though in some cases banks can provide an exemption to this limit and loan you more.

Current Central Bank rules state that first-time buyers need a cash deposit of 10% of the value of their property while second-time and subsequent buyers need a deposit of 20%.

There isn’t one answer to this question. Different banks offer different rates based on how big a deposit a prospective borrower has i.e. their loan-to-value ratio. In general the bigger the deposit you have saved in relation to the mortgage, the lower your interest rate will be. The best way to find out which bank has the lowest mortgage rates for your individual circumstances is to compare your options with our Mortgage Calculator.

You can switch your mortgage providing you meet certain criteria. Each bank has its own set of criteria, and if your financial circumstances have changed since you qualified for your initial mortgage, you may have problems switching. In general you must consider factors such as:

1. The outstanding balance on your mortgage: The average minimum new mortgage accepted by Irish banks for someone switching is around €30,000.
2. Whether you have a fixed-rate contract with your current lender: You may be charged penalty fees for switching out of a fixed-rate contract early.
3. Your credit rating: You must still have a good credit rating. An Irish Credit Bureau check will be carried out by the lender you’re trying to switch to and if you’ve taken out loans or used credit cards and had difficulties repaying these, you may have problems switching.
4. How much equity is in your house: You may have difficulty switching if you are in negative equity.
5. The term remaining on your mortgage: You may not be able to switch if you only have a few years remaining on your mortgage.

With so many banks now offering cashback on their mortgages, it's no surprise that customers and especially first time buyers, are being tempted by these often sizeable lump sums of cash.

The question to consider before diving in is do these offers represent the best value over the long term?

Comparing mortgages is easy with bonkers.ie. Just use our mortgage calculator to quickly compare the different interest rates, offers and cashback incentives from all of Ireland’s mortgage lenders and see what your monthly repayments would be.