For those who remember the Monty Python classic song The Lumberjack Song you could swap the employment with Gardaí …I’m a Gardaí and I’m okay….because if you have such an employment you can now apply to a credit union for a mortgage.
St Raphael’s Credit Union in Dublin 22 is essentially a financial institution of the Gardaí Siochana and they now are the first credit union in Ireland to offer mortgages under new legislation. An Gardaí employees who are members of their credit union for at least 12 months can now apply for a mortgage, minimum loan € 40,000 maximum € 300,000, over 25 years at 3.75% interest rate. The mortgage also comes with FREE life cover. For first time borrowers, the usual criteria apply
- 90% loan to value up to € 220,000 – over this 80%…so you would need € 38K on a € 300K purchase price.
- 3.5 times joint income as per Central Bank guidelines
- Valuation required ( usually € 130 plus VAT )
The credit union interest rate does compare well with the high street lenders… at 90% most offer 4.3% Only when your loan to value is less than 50% would it be worth your while looking at the competition – KBC Bank offer 3.25% if you open a current account with them ( 0.2% reduction off their 3.45% under 50% loan to value rate )
Interestingly this week St Raphaels CU announced they were seceding from the Irish League of Credit Unions (remember they are the BIGGEST credit union in Ireland ) as they feel they are strong enough to stand on their own feet… the saving of the membership fee of € 150,000 every year would clearly also have been a consideration.
Certainly if you are in the gardai, it’s good to be in St Raphaels Credit Union…