A financial advisor has explained how you can obtain a mortgage without saving money for a mortgage deposit.
Paul Merriman from AskPaul.ie took to TikTok to share how those struggling to save may not need to.
He said: "If you use the Help To Buy from the government, you don't actually need to save for a deposit. The government will give you up to 10% of the value of the house up to a maximum of €30,000, and that money comes from the last four years of tax you've been paying. So you don't actually have to save a deposit."
When asked if the bank will need to see a savings history in order to grant the mortgage approval, Paul said there are other ways of proving your affordability to pay a mortgage.
He said: "What you need to show the bank is what's called affordability to pay a mortgage.
"So if you've been paying high rent for the last number of years, you can prove to the bank that when you stop paying your rent, you can afford your mortgage.
"So you're going to get the Help To Buy, which is the 10% government grant of up to €30,000 and then your rent that you've been paying is going to prove to the bank you can afford your mortgage. So you can technically walk out of your rental accommodation and into a value of a house of up to €300,000 but not needing to save a deposit."
The expert then explained what you need to qualify for the scheme.
He said: "So you apply for the Help To Buy on the Revenue.ie section, through My Account.
"Anyone can apply. The idea behind this is the government is giving you back the tax of a person, one person or two people back tax for the last four years worth of income tax.
"If you haven't been working in Ireland for the last four years, you're obviously not going to apply because you wouldn't have paid income tax over the last four years, but once you've paid income tax, as a single person or as a couple, the Revenue is going to refund that income tax up to a maximum of €30,000 or 10% of the value of your house.
"Now, if you go over the value of a house for 300,000 and you apply to try and get 30 grand back, and you have only paid 20,000 in tax over the last four years, they're only going to give you €20,000.
"So that's where everybody should check it out. Go to my account section on Revenue.ie and apply for the Help To Buy, and it will let you or your partner or your spouse know how much you qualify for."
