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House Purchase / Building Loan

Loans for the purchase or building of dwellings may be obtained from the commercial lending agencies (e.g. building societies, banks, etc) subject to meeting the conditions they lay down. Enquiries concerning the qualifying conditions for a loan from a commercial agency should be made directly to them. If an applicant is unable to obtain a loan suitable to his/her requirements from a commercial agency, s/he may apply to the Local Authority for a loan. Evidence must be produced to the authority of a genuine refusal of a loan from both a building society and a bank.

 

You may qualify for a housing loan if:

·        You are in need of housing and approved on the housing waiting list and your income satisfies the income test below, OR

·          You are a person whose application for Local Authority Housing has been approved by the Local Authority, or a Local Authority Tenant or Tenant Purchaser who wishes to buy a private house and to return your present house to the Local Authority, or a Tenant for more than one year of a house provided by a Voluntary Body under the Rental Subsidy Scheme who wishes to buy a private house and return your present house to the Voluntary Body  

Note: Galway County Council do not offer top ups or consolidation/remortgages loans.

 

The income eligibility test is as follows:

·      Housing Loans Key Criteria

  Please note : the House Purchase Loan is not available to those in receipt of unemployment/social welfare benefits.

·        Must be first time buyers

·        Maximum loan to value is 97%

·        Cannot be a current owner of property

·       Gross internal floor area of  175 sqm or less

·   Property cannot exceed a value as determined by the Local Authority, this also applies to Shared Ownership

·        Applicants must occupy property as normal place of residence

·        Max loan is 220k

·        Max term is 30 years, repaid by annuity of  principal and interest. All payments at monthly intervals

·        Loans advanced on the applicants capacity to repay using net income ratio calculations.

·        Repayments cannot exceed 35% of disposable after tax income unless approved by Local Authority Credit Committee.

·        Repayments to be stress tested on an interest rate of 5.5% over 30 years to allow for future interest rate increases.

·        Single applicants must not be earning more than 50k and combined income of joint applicants must not be greater than 75k

·        Applicants must have credible savings record

·        Applicants must have good credit standing with satisfactory credit record

·        Primary earner must have 2 years continuous permanent employment/self employment & second applicant must have at least 1 year

·        Applicant must provide details of marital status, dependents, current and previous employments, other borrowings (credit card, car loan, personal loans etc), savings, details of property proposed for purchase, & any other details that may be required from time to time.