Thinking of switching Avant @ 1.95% or AIB @ 2.1% with €2k cashback?

T

The Oggster

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We're looking at switching out mortgage. Currently with KBC paying 2.6%.

I like the idea of fixing with Avant for 7 years below 2%. But AIB give €2k cashback which would go someway to covering costs. I think we'll have to pay around €1.5k break fee. Plus budgeting €1.5 for solicitor.

Current mortgage
24 years
Around €165,000

Fixed in January 2019 for 5 years if someone wants to see how my break funding fee calculations are? Balance at time of fixing was €186k if that makes a difference?

I reckon we save around €52 a month with Avant. Using the estimated costs above it'll take almost 5 years to gain back the €3k.

With AIB we'll save €40 a month. With the switching bonus we would pay off the costs in 2 years.

That's assuming we can get the AIB green mortgage rate. We meet the BER but it's not a new home.

I was almost set on switching to Avant because of the rate but looking at the above the cashback makes a big difference. We're also willing to move our joint current account to AIB and it looks like we'll avoid fees by paying our mortgage from this account.

Edit: Just to say we have been over paying our mortgage by a couple of hundred Euro a month. Can do this with Avant but anyone know if AIB allow overpayments on a fixed without penalty?
 
Hi there,

I'm in a similar position, thinking of switching to avant or AIB. I asked the mortgage advisor with AIB over the phone if we could overpay. He said no but didnt seem to sure. He advised fixing most of the mortgage and having a small part variable and to overpay the variable bit. I'm not sure what to do.
 
Since posting this, I've read on here that the way AIB have worded their T&Cs the break fee could be zero. They base the calculation on the customer rate instead of the interbank rate. If we got the green rate of 2.1% then I don't think there would be a fee for 'breaking' unless the other fixed rates went below this. Hopefully someone can confirm or correct my understanding.

It has also been said on here that someone didn't have to actually break from the fixed rate. They were able to over pay and stay on the same fixed rate. You would have to contact them each time to confirm the break fee and then fill in in the overpayment form.
 
AJ1 said:
Hi there,

I'm in a similar position, thinking of switching to avant or AIB. I asked the mortgage advisor with AIB over the phone if we could overpay. He said no but didnt seem to sure. He advised fixing most of the mortgage and having a small part variable and to overpay the variable bit. I'm not sure what to do.
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I'm leaning more towards AIB now. We currently have a joint account with KBC and pay all joint expenses out of it. Looks like we can get fee free banking by paying our mortgage out of it. We then have the likes of N26 for our own accounts so at least we would still have an Irish B&M bank if we needed to deposit cash or anything like that.
 
I am in similar situation. Moving from Ulster bank simply because they will be leaving the market and I don't like PTSB. I am the kind of person who doesn't like hassle of switching mortgages and don't want to be in that position if Avant decides to leave Irish market few years down the line.

Are you thinking of fixed and manage overpayments as above or planning split mortgage ?
 
Will probably fix and manage the payments as described.

You could always shorten your term if you wanted to permanently 'overpay' but I'd rather not as I like the flexibility.

Avant allow 10% overpayment a year without a fee.
 
Updates - switched to AIB green mortgage at 2.1% fixed for 5 years. Could go for Avant but I am done switching and wanted to stay with one of the pillar banks. To my nice surprise, the fixed term breakage fee charged by Ulster bank was merely €100 even though I still had almost year left in fixed term.
 
bish123 said:
Updates - switched to AIB green mortgage at 2.1% fixed for 5 years. Could go for Avant but I am done switching and wanted to stay with one of the pillar banks. To my nice surprise, the fixed term breakage fee charged by Ulster bank was merely €100 even though I still had almost year left in fixed term.
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Hi bish,

What rate were you on with UB?

Regards,

Gordon
 
We are switching to AIB 5 year fixed green rate of 2.15%. we could've switched to Avant too at 2.10% and the monthly repayments would be a small bit less. This is countered by the €2000 cashback with AIB.

We wouldn't get to the Avant rate of 1.95% for LTV less than 60% for a few years so it's more advantageous to be with AIB for the next 5 - 7 years. Where interest rates are then, who knows, but can revisit it then.
 

Hello, can you help should I choose Avant @ 2.2% fixed 5yr or 7 yr or AIB fixed 5 yr @ 2.15% with €2k cashback.​


29years left
279k outstanding
LTV 79.9%

Thanks for helping.
 
@Interest% Is there any chance that your Building Energy Rating (BER) is B3 or better?

For your LTV and balance, AIB's best product is a 4-year fixed rate of 2.2% (not 5 years at 2.15%).
 
Interest% said:

Hello, can you help should I choose Avant @ 2.2% fixed 5yr or 7 yr or AIB fixed 5 yr @ 2.15% with €2k cashback.​


29years left
279k outstanding
LTV 79.9%

Thanks for helping.
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What’s your capacity for overpayments?
 
Paul F said:
@Interest% Is there any chance that your Building Energy Rating (BER) is B3 or better?

For your LTV and balance, AIB's best product is a 4-year fixed rate of 2.2% (not 5 years at 2.15%).
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@Paul F
I have A3 rating so i can avail of AIB green fixed at 2.15% Or should I choose Avant 5 or 7 year at 2.2% ?
 
Interest% said:
@Paul F
I have A3 rating so i can avail of AIB green fixed at 2.15% Or should I choose Avant 5 or 7 year at 2.2% ?
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Firstly, you are eligible for AIB's green rate, which is fixed for 5 years at 2.1%, and gives €2,000 cashback. If you go for that product, in five years' time you will be better off by about €3,500 (versus either of the Avant 2.2% options).

So then it's a matter of guessing what mortgage offers will be available in 5 years' time, in order to decide whether to go for the AIB 2.1% rate fixed for 5 years or the Avant 2.2% rate fixed for 7 years.

If AIB's best fixed rate in five years time is 2.8% or lower, you are better off going with AIB's 5-year 2.1% fixed rate today instead of Avant's 7-year fixed rate. (I.e., the €3,500 you save over the next 5 years with AIB will only be wiped out in the two years after that if AIB's rate is 2.8% or higher in 5 years' time.)

By coincidence, your LTV will be right around 70% five years from now (assuming your property value doesn't fall). That may or may not open up other switching options at that point.

A (potentially big) point in AIB's favour is the way in which they calculate their break fee – it's laid out in this thread and this thread, but basically there is a decent chance that if they offer a lower rate in the future you could switch to that rate without incurring a break fee. And for the same reason there is also a decent chance that you will be able to make an overpayment (of any size) without incurring a break fee.

And regardless of the lender, if interbank interest rates rise at all after you switch, you can make overpayments without penalty.

Note also that at least one person on this forum speculates that Avant might not be here for the long term. [Edit: although in this thread others disagree and think that Avant will stick around.]
 
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I can't see why Avant would not be here for the long term.

1. No expensive branch network
2. Low number of employees, sales outsourced to brokers
3. As a non bank lender, the capital requirements are lower than the pillar banks.
4. Already have written a fair amount of business
5. The legacy issues of trackers and bad mortgages do not affect them.

I suspect that they will be here for many years to come.
 
@peemac I was referring to this post by @letitroll:
letitroll said:
Dont count on Avant being a committed player here long term, its my understanding, Avant are here in Ireland to help itself with a specific asset liability duration matching issues it has at the parent related to its insurance subsidiary and Ireland provided a unique opportunity in the European/EURO area to net some of those liabilities off (given our high rates vs Euro rates). If underlying ECB/sovereign rates rise in the core EU area and Avant can pick up 2% paper there it will.
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When do we get €2000 cash back from AIB after switching. Its almost three weeks we switched but no sign of cash back yet. Do I need to remind them ?
 
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