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A €400 MILLION scheme to help first-time buyers afford newly built homes has opened for applications.
The ‘First Home’ shared equity scheme is one of the key pillars in the government’s Housing for All plan.
It aims to help people secure a home by providing part of the purchase price of the dwelling in return for a minority equity stake.
The maximum stake the scheme will take is 20%, if the buyer is also availing of the Government’s separate Help to Buy scheme, and 30% if Help to Buy is not used.
The equity stake is free for the first five years followed by a cheap interest rate thereafter.
The scheme is open to first-time buyers of newly built houses and apartments in private developments anywhere in Ireland.
It is planned that the €400 million scheme will facilitate the purchase of up to 8,000 homes over a five-year period.
To secure the funding applicants will have to borrow the maximum mortgage amount available to them from the participating lenders.
The scheme is currently open to customers of AIB, including their EBS and Haven mortgage businesses, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB. Other mortgage providers may join up in the coming months.
The Central Bank cleared the way for banks to take part in the scheme last November but warned that, in the short term, the plan could increase house prices.
Sinn Féin has also been critical of the scheme, also saying it would lead to rising house prices. It previously tabled motions calling for the scheme to be scrapped.
Housing minister Darragh O’Brien said the scheme will “literally open the door for many first-time buyers.”
“This scheme we are launching today will support first-time buyers and those seeking a fresh start by helping to bridge the gap between what they can afford and the price of the home they wish to purchase.
“It will make new homes more affordable and easier to access for first-time buyers, helping them get their foot on that crucial first rung of the property ladder. It will encourage the increased development of new build homes.
“This Government is working to give young and not so young people a real chance to buy their own home. Today’s announcement is another step in that direction,” O’Brien concluded.
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Anythings better than the constant rain! Gardens like a swamp add in a labrador, two cats and cream tiles
Ohh I hear u Susan LLyod my Floors are destroyed 2dogs and a cat
A mop and its grand. It’s when they jump on the bed with muddy paws…
Dogs shouldn’t be allowed in the house.
You shouldn’t be allowed in the house.
I love pure winter days.. really cold n frosty in d morn with the Sun in the afternoon.. Bliss
Perfect weather for getting out and climbing a few mountains.
Are you lot mental
No doubt they will be out in force, hill walkers I mean and the emergency services stretched to their limits once more.
With a hint of napalm in the mornings? lol.
I don’t find your comment funny, people can die on the mountains and families are left to deal with the heartbreak.
Currently climbing a mountain now.
Surprised you have coverage !
Yeah break / sprain your leg on the ice, needlessly call out rescue services & put more lives ar risk.
Sturdy set of boots and a modicum of cop on and you’ll be fine.
I would suggest Meindl boots.
Bit pricy. I paid €240 for mine 6 years ago but their going strong.
Snowball. You wont get that in Ireland slush, roads impassable, no sand, ask the Government and they will say “we are ready” the Hospitals will be even mire overcrowded with People falling.
A nice Spring day would suit better.
*more*
You musnt be having much fun on your hike if you’re on your phone checking out The Journal !!!
Thought the whole point of hiking was getting away from it all ???
Yeah but I was instagramming to prove I was climbing or else it would be a waste.
I believe that
Ya wouldn’t be long getting frostbit
Hopefully a cold snap will kill off the bugs making people sick
Bleedin bitter it is
Grand auld stretch in the evenings though
Its beginning to feel a bit like a New Year
And there will still be hero’s in shorts .
I already miss our 15 degrees winter.
If you were in Athlone you would not be saying that
Aurora Borealis?! At this time of year?!? In this part of the country!?
Located ENTIRELY in your kitchen?
Yes
May I see it?
No.
Steamed hams all round!
Too warm.
Minus 20 and we would have lovely ski slopes in Connemara.
Like Austria and Switzerland.
We are nearer the North Pole than they are.
Damned warm Atlantic is stopping us from having ski-slopes.
I read that as Adam West
Adam West is stopping you from having ski slopes?
So all that flood water is going to freeze? Next week special in Aldi, Ice skates just €20
Hopefully it will help dry the place up.
Weeeeee… O its frozen lol.
Wow…MINUS 5…is that like colder than minus 5.
This is exactly what is required and has been for a long time, as mild temperatures are the reason for the flooding…and yes it is January so it is still winter..doh!!
Second bellybutton weather guys!
Stibby ??
Ahhhh got you now!!
I was hoping i wouldn’t have to explain myself lol
At least it will be dry!
IN JANUARY?
Should be March / April time lol.
Roll on “Jasus it’s freezin’ but at least it’s dry”
Let it go let it gooo hahahaha
Elsa are you at it again !!
Basted Fianna fáil
Its Ireland we’re living in. This is normal January weather. If you expect anything else you’re living in the wrong country.
I blame the Government !
Irish weather – no idea how ye stick it. Nice & warm here today in Brisbane. About 28°C I’d say. Can’t handle the cold any more.
Time for a trip to the canaries,I’ve alway said it ,”if the canaries were only an hours flight away,and had the same good weather, there’d be no one left in Ireland ” damp arthritis that goes with living in this country.
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