What does “Get Rich Quick” even mean?

It is not uncommon that you probably have stumbled upon these ads where people claiming, “Want to know how I got rich quick? Watch my video for more!”. They show off their riches while standing in front of large mansions and Lamborghinis and if you continue to listen, they most likely tell you an inspirational story about how they came from rags to riches. We know this cannot be real, but we all have a small voice in our head saying, “Is it actually possible?”. Are they actually teaching us useful financial advice that could put us in jeopardy or are they just a regular old conman?

We may typically think of a conman to be the same thing as a thief or a liar but a true conman does not force us to do anything. They do not forcefully steal our possessions away from us, rather they trick us into giving up our own things. They are manipulators and we are obsessed with them. We see them in movies and comics but fail to see them in our day …

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The interest rate will kill you.

No, not physically but they will hurt your financial goals if you do not completely understand them. When you are starting out on your financial journey you are not trained to look at interest rates. Most of us are just happy we got fifty euros in our pocket when we first start earning money. We know money comes in and goes out. Once we start going to university or getting a credit card that’s when interest rates start coming into play.

Although 2.5% on the paper might look like a small number on the paper, do not be fooled. Interest rates can be one of the biggest deciding factors in your financial life. The difference between a good and a bad interest rate to a car, credit card, mortgage, and so much more can literally be the difference between tens of thousands of euros! It might not seem to be a lot, in the beginning, take caution to your calculations. Even a cellular phone bill can hit you with a damaging interest rate which if you’re straight out of secondary …

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House Buying in Ireland

Buying a new home or property is possibly one of the most daunting tasks out there, especially for first-time buyers or international buyers. There are many regulations to keep in mind, and here is just a small list of actions to take that will make this process so much easier.

1: Builder: Contact a local builder and request them to look at the prospective property. They will be able to tell you how much additional work needs to be done for the property, and generally advise the state of the property.

2: Electrician Check: If you have the contact, call in a favor from an electrician to check the wires for issues and maintenance.

3: Structural survey: This will be an investment, and you’ll be surprised at the number of faults this check can find within a property, no matter how pretty the house may look from outside. The usual cost is around €1.5k, but worth it in the long run, if you are to meet large issues.

4: Deposit: Buying international means that you may have to put in …

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First-Time Mortgage Buyers

The COVID Pandemic may have been a financial detriment to many, but there are also families that have been saving due to the lack of activities to participate in. After the lift of quarantine, there is expected to be a rise in the real estate industry. With so many individuals looking to find a mortgage plan, we have comprised a couple of tips on how to use your money more efficiently.

The first major actions to take are opportunities to boost your credit file. If you look online, there are thousands of articles on how to do so. But for an official site, there is none better than the Money Advice Service list. Here are just a couple of ways to improve your credit score:

1: Pay your bills on time. This may sound obvious, but many people overlook this. With being able to pay all your bills on time, there will be no more drops in your credit score, and it can only go up from there.

2: Register yourself on the electoral roll. This is such a quick …

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The Growing Trend of Taking Longer Mortgages

According to a newly done study by the Nationwide Building Society; in the past year, nearly 70% of first-time buyers took out a mortgage beyond the traditional term of 25 years. This starkly compares to how less than a decade ago, that rate was less than 50%. There was a 45% rise in first-time buyers taking out an initial term of more than 25 years.

The longer the mortgage period, the higher the overall costs will be, even with a lower interest rate. The total significant costs for the mortgage can lead to the consumer paying for more than expected. It is calculated that taking a mortgage plan from 25 years to 35 years can have an increase in the total payment of the mortgage by nearly 40%.

While the market house prices continue to rise, the earnings of these first-time buyers have changed little. This creates a significant barrier for first-time buyers to make a deposit. A study shows that having a 20% home deposit nowadays is equal to 104% of the pre-tax income of an average full-time worker. …

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How are online mortgages changing the mortgage industry?

How are online mortgages changing the mortgage industry? Not long ago, the idea of doing a mortgage online seemed almost impossible, yet here we are seeing mortgages being done online. They may not be for everyone but with so many things moving online, why not mortgages? With COVID 19, it seems to be the perfect time for this industry to grow.

You can simply link your bank account or upload your bank statements, tax information, proof of assets, and any other documents that are needed securely online. This saves the time of having to collect these documents and is much more efficient. Being able to apply online, takes away the manual work of entering data which can also help reduce the number of errors that can occur with traditional ways of applying. You are also able to sign online which keeps you from having to interact in person during these times.

For those of you who are not the best at keeping your paperwork organized, this may be the answer for you. It is much easier to organize and find …

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Loan refusal statistics: what do they mean?

There are two sets of statistics floating around; on one hand you have the banks who claim that they are lending and also that the demand for credit simply isn’t there – a belief further expounded by John Trethowan. Then on the other hand you have the likes of PIBA who counter claim that 80% of applications are being refused.

So it is important to break down the vital components. First of all, the debate often centres around Small Medium Enterprise (SME) lending; even if demand for that type of credit isn’t there it doesn’t automatically translate into a reduced demand for mortgages. The point being that we can’t compare SME loans/business loan demand to that for mortgage credit.

Secondly is ‘what constitutes a refusal’, and this is where common sense diverges. Even the bank accept that if you seek €200,000 and are only offered €100,000 that it is a loan not fit for purpose, this even goes …

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Mortgage providers to restrict rural lending

We were mentioned in the Irish Independent today in a story about lenders restricting mortgage credit in rural areas. They are doing this by lowering LTV’s or coming up with requirements on population size for LTV’s (Loan to Values).

Mortgage broker Karl Deeter of Irish Mortgage Brokers said lenders were now discriminating against those seeking loans to buy property in rural areas. “If you are not buying in Dublin, Cork, Limerick or Galway cities they do not want to know. This is all part of a growing trend to discriminate against properties outside of the cities,” Mr Deeter said.

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KBC move to 90% LTV

This is a very healthy sign for the mortgage market, and in our opinion it could mean that 2010 might mark the low point for credit that we have been watching out for.

In 2009 KBC under-lent, they had €1bn and didn’t lend out anywhere near that, they are also here to stay, and prior to the crisis they had about 1/8th of the market share. The fact that they are rolling out a higher loan to value is a very confident sign that

Banks have a few internal policy tools to control lending 1.    Curtailing the amount of lending – we see that already, mortgage lending is about 85% down from the peak of 40bn p.a. , peak wasn’t exactly a gauge of normal, but half of that would be normal, and even on that basis it’s down 75% – that story still has to play out 2.    Rate increases: this has the same effect as central bank rate increases, it reduces lending and everybody has increased their margins by at least 1% in the last year, you and …

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EBS rate hikes, the benefit of mutuality?

EBS have announced a rate hike of 0.6% which is a follow on from their last 0.6% hike that was levied against variable rate mortgage holders on the 1st of May, this brings their margin increases to a total of 1.2% for the year to date.

Today’s Indo lead with this story (by Charlie Weston) and rightly pointed out that by the time this is over, a person with a €300,000 mortgage over 30 years could expect to pay just over €3,000 a year (after tax) in increased mortgage payments. For a person on the average industrial wage this is like a full months wages before tax being sucked away by the financial system. Tax hikes and wage cuts aside, this will ultimately reduce the money that is being spent in the economy and it will disappear into the financial system where banks will use it to de-lever further.

The contention for many people is that they are being punished, not for what they have done …

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