Loan For Furnishings,Solicitors Fees etc.

eireabu

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Hi,

I am a first time buyer and am looking to buy a house at the moment. Am looking at a few properties in my area (Galway) and would be paying probably in the range of €280,000 to €300,000 in the current market.
We (would be buying with a partner) are pre-approved for a mortgage and have been told by the mortgage broker that we could get a 92% mortgage. This would leave us to come up with the remainder ourselves for the deposit (€24k on a €300,000 mortgage).
We have savings of roughly this €24k figure so we would not need to borrow for the deposit.

My question is regarding the cost of furnishing the house and other related fees (solicitiors fees etc.).
Are we likely to be able to get a separate bank or credit union loan for this? Or does the fact that we would have a mortgage rule us out?
We would have no savings left to put towards these costs after putting our existing savings towards the deposit.
Our combined yearly salaries before tax is around the €67k mark btw.

Thanks in advance for any help on this
 
Your total solicitors fees should not be more than €2k, whilst furnishing a place can easily be done for under €8k to keep total required to €10k. A personal loan over 3 years or less might be a solution? Repayments would be just over €300pm. Presume mortgage is less than €1500pm so you'd still have have plenty to live on based on your salary.

Given you are only looking now, you'll have at least a few months to save up some more, possibly €1k pm? You may find you'll have very little to borrow in excess of the mortgage by the time the deal is completed
 
would be paying probably in the range of €280,000 to €300,000 in the current market.

...

have been told by the mortgage broker that we could get a 92% mortgage. This would leave us to come up with the remainder ourselves for the deposit (€24k on a €300,000 mortgage).
€300K looks like a 100% mortgage on the figures mentioned above. Presumably you mean 92% of c. €300K mortgage and you stumping up the remaining 8%?
Are we likely to be able to get a separate bank or credit union loan for this? Or does the fact that we would have a mortgage rule us out?
Most lenders will assess your ability to service a loan by looking at your overall financial situation including any other loans that you may have.

Whatever about being able to get additional credit over an above the mortgage loan can you realistically afford to service both a mortgage and an unsecured loan for other purchase related expenses?

When it comes to furnishing the house why not do it gradually - e.g. just the bare essentials in a couple of rooms first and then build on that? There is no need to take a big bang approach. In fact not doing this may mean that you take greater care in selecting items which you will put up with for much longer than if you get everything in one go and end up hating some things.
 
One of the houses we are looking at at the moment has floors upstairs,all ensuites & the main bathroom finished. There is no flooring in downstairs.

This means we would be looking at putting in flooring downstairs (sitting room,kitchen,utility,conservatory,one bedroom). Then we need to put in a kitchen with appliances,furnish the master bedroom upstairs (other bedrooms can wait) and the put a fireplace and sofa/chairs in sitting room.

Any idea of how much (very roughly as I know furnishings can vary greatly based on type of kitchen chosen etc) money we would be looking at to do all of this? Bearing in mind we would not be going for the most expensive kitchens or the most expensive timber in the sitting room etc. We would be going for the cheaper to average costing furnishings.
Thanks again for your help guys
 
There is no flooring in downstairs.

This means we would be looking at putting in flooring downstairs (sitting room,kitchen,utility,conservatory,one bedroom).
You mean just concrete floors? You can survive with these for a while especially if you don't have kids and you seal (e.g. with dilute polybond) them first.
Then we need to put in a kitchen with appliances,furnish the master bedroom upstairs (other bedrooms can wait) and the put a fireplace and sofa/chairs in sitting room.
Again you can survive without doing all of this in one go. But it seems like lots of people think that you can't.
 
"Again you can survive without doing all of this in one go. But it seems like lots of people think that you can't."

I can remember living in the sparsely furnished space that was my first house shortly after moving in. I distinctly remember thinking one day as I sat on the uncarpeted stairs eating my takeaway because I did not have a table.chairs and the cooker was old and manky that whereas this was possible, that it was not how I wanted to live for very long!

But yes- hanging rails instead of built in wardrobes, stand alone cooker and fridge/freezer and kitchen table instead of a fitted kitchen, planks on bricks for bookcases, very cheap rugs on old floorboards instead of carpets - all perfectly functional.

I feel a dose of Month Pythonesque " ah but you were lucky" coming on!

mf
 
I feel a dose of Month Pythonesque " ah but you were lucky" coming on!

Them were the days. Sure not to worry we are fast returning to the days of groveling on our knees to the bank manager for a morgage. Or the be more precise in these hi-tech days their lending department' computer.
 
I distinctly remember thinking one day as I sat on the uncarpeted stairs eating my takeaway because I did not have a table.chairs and the cooker was old and manky that whereas this was possible, that it was not how I wanted to live for very long!

But you had the money for the chinese takeaway...so stop complaining.
 
as I sat on the uncarpeted stairs

Oooh fancy shmancy - so you had a stairs. Stop making me feel bad - we only had a ladder with 2 missing steps - my thighs still ache from the 2 foot stretch.

eireabu,
I've bought 3 houses in my life (at different times - never owned 2 at once) and every time I did it I stretched myself to the point of having about 2 quid left in the bank the day we signed the contracts. My advice would be to buy a cheaper house (wait a few months too - you never know) and try to keep a little nest egg in the bank and then save up each month to buy bits and pieces. Cause I agree with Clubman, it's best to do it over time. No rush. We lived in this house with a concrete floor for 18 months with 2 kids. No biggie. Get a rug in Guineys for 20 euro to put in the middle. If you over-stretch yourself now, it'll take years to get back to having any spare cash.
 
It wasn't a real takeaway - it was chips and mushy peas!

mf
mf1 was probably like Peter Mandelson in the chipper that time - "can I have a portion of that guacamole with my pommes frites please?". :D

OK - it (the Peter Mandelson version) [broken link removed] but it's a good story all the same... :)
 
Also have a look for stuff on [broken link removed] there is always people getting rid of good stuff that is no use to them but would be handy for someone else. You need to be quick though- I put something up there and within 15 mins it was gone - had 7 calls in 2 hours!!
 
Can anyone else hear those violins playing in the background?;)

Seriously though, agree with sentiments expressed that you do not need to take out a loan, best to save up and buy as you will still then be able to have a life- holidays, nights out, chinese takeaways...

On www.jumbletown.ie people also give away kitchens, couches, tables, chairs, beds etc etc.

Alternatively borrow some manky old plastic garden furniture and invite your nearest and dearest around for a meal. They'll soon cough up to help out...:D
 
Alternatively borrow some manky old plastic garden furniture and invite your nearest and dearest around for a meal. They'll soon cough up to help out...:D

Don't forget to leave a few catalogues lying around with items that you fancy circled to make it easier for them!
 
If you have friends and relatives that would be likely to buy you a housewarming gift, ask for a voucher for your local homewares / DIY store.
 
On the other hand you've paid €300k for a place. You may as well feel good about it for the extra €10k it takes to kit it out nicely, the interest would avarage €10 pw over 3 years.

You might prefer to drink a couple of pints less a week rather than live in squalor for up to six months!!!
 
On the other hand you've paid €300k for a place. You may as well feel good about it for the extra €10k it takes to kit it out nicely, the interest would avarage €10 pw over 3 years.

You might prefer to drink a couple of pints less a week rather than live in squalor for up to six months!!!

it's more like €75 per week. And it would hardly be squalor to live for a year or two without built-ins and carpets. I say have the few pints and a few weekends away each year, save what you can and don't get in to serious debt.
 
it's more like €75 per week. And it would hardly be squalor to live for a year or two without built-ins and carpets. I say have the few pints and a few weekends away each year, save what you can and don't get in to serious debt.
The total loan would be €75pw with approx €65pw capital and €10pw interest. The interest is the price of getting stuff before you can afford it out of your savings
 
Oooops my mistake Kaiser. I mis-read your post. I see now you said "the interest". Sorry.
 
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