Duration of loan: the number of years over which you pay your mortgage Traditionally mortgages lasted 25 years, but you may go for shorter period if you can afford to do so.
Loan-to-value: this is the percentage of the price of the property the bank will lend. In the boom years, banks were falling over themselves to hand out mortgages to people who had no savings and 100% loan-to-value mortgages were commonplace. Some lending institutions even threw in a bit of cash, rolling up loans to 110% of value. This has all changed now, though, and the highest loan to value on offer is 92 per cent.
Legal fees: In the boom years, these were set at a percentage of the purchase price. Be prepared to negotiate with your solicitor and shop around before settling on what lawyer to use.
Arrangement fee: banks may charge for the work they do in processing your application
Survey costs: banks send their own surveyor out to the property you wish to buy and will charge for that. The cost is likely to be between €100 and €200
Penalty clauses: banks frequently charge if you wish to change lender or change package, say from a fixed to a variable mortgage. The cost of this will depend on the size of your mortgage, but it can be hefty and run into thousands of pounds.
Stamp duty: this was simplified in the Budget 2011. All tax relief including that for first-time buyers was abolished. Now 1% stamp duty is payable on all properties to the value of €1m and 2% on properties over €1m.
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