Irish Insurance Brokers

Insurance brokers can offer a wide variety of services to customers. Some brokers specialize in certain areas of Insurance, investments, Pensions and other financial products. The main benefit of using the services of a broker over say a bank is that with a broker there are a number of different services offered to the client. In most cases banks are tied to an insurance agency so the client can only get 1 quote with them. In a brokerage, you will find a number of different providers with multiple different quotes and rates. This gives the broker some leverage over the insurance agencies in order to get the client the best deal available to them. 

For a potential client, the most time efficient way to price the market for a policy is to use a broker. The broker will offer the most suitable product available at the best price and in many circumstances improve on the policy already in place through a bank. 

There are a variety of insurance products on the market to suit every need. Life assurance on the …

Read More →

Safety Nets for Consumers in Mortgage Arrears

According to The Central Bank of Ireland, at the end of June 2019, there were 723,280 private residential (PDH) mortgage accounts for principal dwellings held. Of this, 61,901 accounts still had outstanding payments, also referred to as being in arrears. as of June, there were a total of 61,901 total accounts in arrears. Within that, over 18,000 were within 90 days overdue, almost 5,000 were up to 180 days overdue and a staggering 27,792 accounts were over 720 days overdue. However, at the end of the quarter only 1,407 homes were repossessed. So what protections do homeowners have when they are in arrears? In Ireland there are many codes and acts that are specifically designed to protect the family home from repossession.

The main code that deals with family homes, is the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA) which was put into place in 2013. The code is issued by the Central bank and relates to customers in arrears and pre-arrears situation. It does not however deal with investment properties. This code requires mortgage lenders to apply the Mortgage …

Read More →

Entering the World of Investments

Whether you are a new investor or have an established portfolio, investing in any area can be scary and confusing. There are many different ways to invest your money, but how and where you do depends on many factors. The one term that encompasses all these factors is risk tolerance. When investing, you always need to ask yourself “what’s my risk tolerance?”

There are 4 key factors when analyzing your risk tolerance.

1: Your investment time frame

This may be the most broad factor, but it has rung true for most investors. the main logic behind this is the more time you have to invest, the more amount of risk you can afford. Say an investment goes south while you are still relatively young. You have a greater amount of time to make up for this loss compared to a person a little older. However, like I said before, this is a very broad rule and further considerations are needed to decide which investment is right for you.

2: Your Risk Capital

The amount of money you actually have to …

Read More →

Wuppertal Geography and Facts

Wuppertal is the biggest city in the nearby area which is called ‘’Bergisches Land’’. With a population of over 354.000 people, the city takes up an area of about 169.000 square km. This makes Wuppertal the seventeenth largest cities in Germany. 

The coordinates of the city are: 51°16′12″ N; 7°10′03″ O.

The Wupper river, where the city gets its name, is a 116km long river that flows through the heart of the city. Wuppertal has several villas dating from the 18th and early 19th century when the city as it is today was founded. There are also more than 4500 protected historic monument buildings within the city. The main feature of the city is the suspension railway system. It is a unique means of transportation, which consists of a train turned completely upside down that runs over the Wupper River. 

Wuppertal is the biggest city in the area, and known for its steep slopes and lush woods and parks. the city is also the greenest city in all of Germany, with two-thirds of the entire municipal area being covered in green. 

The area around …

Read More →

Property Market in Wuppertal, Germany

About the City:

Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in the west part of Germany. There’s a population of about 350.000, and the name Wuppertal comes from the river ”Wupper” which flows through the city. Some key characteristics of the town include the suspension railway, ‘’Schwebebahn’’, the university and the Pina Bausch dance theater. The Schwebebahn is one of the defining features in Wuppertal, due to the fact that the train is actually upside-down.

Areas in Wuppertal, Germany

As in all other countries, the market in Wuppertal is divided into rental properties and properties to buy. Wuppertal is also divided into 6 different sectors, which have a strong influence on rental and purchase prices. Barmen, Elberfeld, Vohwinkel, Cronenberg, Ronsdorf and Beyenburg all have different prices for various types of properties. 

Prices for renting and buying

The cheapest area to buy and rent in Wuppertal is Elberfeld and the highest prices are found in Cronenberg. The prices generally start at 6.01 EUR/m² and goes up to 8.36 EUR/m².

For buying a house in Wuppertal, expect to pay 2.442,05 EUR/m² at …

Read More →

Online Mortgage in Ireland 2019

As Operations and Compliance Manager of Irish Mortgage Brokers here since 2004, Karl Deeter has established himself strongly in the mortgage and financial world. One of his latest projects is Yes.ie that he started back in 2016. In short, yes.ie is an online brokerage. The website allows you to apply for mortgages, remortgages, investments or buy to let loans, while comparing the most competitive prices all in the comfort of your own home. On top of looking for mortgage rates, yes.ie also offers services for insurances. So, if you need mortgage protection, a pension, or life insurance, yes.ie has all the information you need within a few clicks. 

Everything about this website is geared towards the client. There’s no opening or closing time, and everything is done at your own pace. It’s hard to find the time to make an appointment with a broker. Now, there’s no need to take time out of your busy schedule to do so. Without facing the pressure of a salesperson, you can feel comfortable and apply on your own terms. 

If ever you need …

Read More →

German Property Market – Rules, Regulations and Taxation

Legal Restrictions

There are no specific legal restrictions on cross-border real estate investments in Germany for foreigners. Normally a valid passport and an adequate capital will be sufficient to purchase property. It should be noted that private investors will not be given residential status merely by acquiring property in Germany, as is the case in some other European countries.

With regard to indirect real estate investments, however, some general rules apply. They are laid down in different laws and are binding for both foreign and domestic investors.

Ownership in Germany

The owner of a property is generally in possession of both the plot of land and any buildings upon it. The rights to ownership and inheritance are guaranteed by law.

If an investor acquires a single flat in a multi-family house, it is a matter of property ownership. However, this property ownership does not entail ownership of the land and building associated with the property. Instead the investors obtain a co-ownership share of the jointly owned property which the flat is a part of. 

According to private law, the owner …

Read More →

Trump on His Way Out?

It seems that no matter where Donald Trump goes, drama follows him like a duckling follows its mother. Ever since he entered the political race last election, the whole world has been watching him extremely closely. There’s no shortage of horror stories with things he’s said, done or even tweeted. Since the beginning there has been people who want him out of office and have tried to make that happen. However, Trump has done great things with the U.S. economy. He has created over 4 million jobs and significantly lowered the unemployment rate. Some may say he is just piggybacking on Barrack Obama’s success with his economic turnaround, but there’s no question Trump is economically savvy and contributed in some way. The most recent headlines regarding Trump show a massive push to see his impeachment. This isn’t the first time this has been brought up, but this time does seem to have much stronger roots.

With the 2020 election just around the corner, candidates including Trump are preparing and trying to get a step up on their competition. A major …

Read More →

Dortmund Property Market – areas, prices and average costs

Areas and Districts

The city of Dortmund is divided into twelve distinct districts. All city districts are then subdivided into a total of 62 statistical districts. Some of main, more well known districts include Downtown-West, Downtown-North, Downtown-East, Eving, Scharnhorst, Brackel, Aplerbeck, Hörde, Hombruch, Lütgendortmund, Huckarde and Mengede. 

Price fundamentals

Housing prices in Dortmund depend greatly on a number of factors, not unlike any other city. As any good realtor will tell you, pricing is mainly contingent on location. After that buys and sellers look for things such as year of construction, the condition of the property, living space, date of last modernization, final energy requirement (e.g. quality of insulation), surroundings, neighbourhood, car parking spaces or garages and much more. For this reason the following information may differ.

Development of prices / rents

The Empirica Price Database and others form the basis for the following comments on the property price development in Dortmund:

Depending on location, interior or other criteria from above, the current rent for an apartment in Dortmund are somewhere in between 7 € and 12 € per square …

Read More →

Ireland: Dealing With Crisis

In previous articles, I’ve discussed the ever increasing population of unemployed and homeless people in Ireland, as well as the rising housing prices. At times the two may go hand-in-hand. Higher cost of living could lead to homelessness, and so on. Within the last 12 years, the homeless population has tripled and the cost of living in Ireland has risen to 102% higher than the EU average. These two issues have rooted themselves all throughout Ireland, with no signs of being deweeded. While looking at the issues from an outside perspective may leave you believing nothing is happening to solve these circumstances, the government does have some plans in place to combat said issues. 

The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) is one of the largest contributors to the development of various social housing services. One of their main goals is to “deliver housing and combat homelessness”. The ICSH has already proposed their plan and budget for next year. With funding from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the ICSH has “an overall package of €2.6 billion to …

Read More →
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2