This is area for confusion for lots of people. Especially for our friends living in or working in Northern Ireland who want to buy a home and live in the Rep. of Ireland. This is very prevalent for people around the border areas of Derry and Tyrone wanting to move to Donegal, where property prices are cheaper.
Firstly, can I stress that Mortgage lending is available to cross border workers, contrary to some information being given.
Whilst lending is available there are a couple of issues for those earning Sterling to be aware of, these apply whether you currently live in the Rep. of Ireland and working in Northern Ireland or the UK or those living in Northern Ireland and wanting to move to Rep. of Ireland
If you earn in Sterling there are 2 main challenges to be aware of, these are
There are a limited number of lenders willing to lend. Not all lenders are in the market for you.
The lenders that will lend will allow an exchange rate but will also reduce your Sterling income by 20%. As, in the first instance the amount of lending you qualify for is based on your income, the reduction of 20% does have a major effect on the amount of lending available. Where you have 2 people earning in Sterling this can, in some case, push them out of getting lending all together. Read More