Deciding on a mortgage amount.
The table below will give you a broad indication of how much you could borrow based on your income:

Single Applicant
Annual Salary - €40,000 - €35,000
Maximum Loan Amount - €200,000 - €175,000

Joint Application
Annual Salary: Applicant 1 €40,000 - €35,000
Annual Salary: Applicant 2 €25,000 - €35,000
Maximum Loan Amount: €295,500 - €350,000

Figure out how much your mortgage will cost you each month.
The amount you repay each month will depend on the amount you borrow, the term of the load and the rate of your loan. Here are a few examples:

€150,000
€564.23 - 35 years
€619.79 - 30 years
€699.15 - 25 years

€200,000
€752.31 - 35 years
€826.39 - 30 years
€932.19 - 25 years

€250,000
€940.39 - 35 years
€1032.99 - 30 years
€1165.24 - 25 years

TAX Relief Schemes

Mortgage Interest Relief
You will be glad to hear you can get some of your hard-earned cash back by claiming Mortgage interest Relief or Tax Relief at source (TRS). In year one and two of your Mortgage, you can claim Mortgage interest relief at a rate of 25%; 22.5% in years three, four and five and 20% in years six and seven.

Once you have applied for mortgage relief, it automatically gets lodged to your account every month. So, for example, if every month you pay €100 interest, your mortgage lender will reduce your monthly mortgage payment by €25.

The table below will show you the difference mortgage interest relief can make to your monthly repayments.

A typical first time buyer mortgage of €200,000 over 35 years based on our 2 year fixed rate of 3.1% APR.

Monthly Repayment in years 1 & 2 without Mortgage Interest Relief: €785.61
Monthly Repayment in years 1 & 2 with Mortgage Interest Relief: €654.36

This relief for first time buyers is available for seven years. To apply, simply log onto www.revenue.ie or contact the TRS helpline at 1890 463 626.

Rent A Room Relief
If you wanted to let one of the rooms out to someone, you will be happy to know that so long as your living there too, you won't have to pay tax on any rent you receive up to €10,000 a year - that's €833 a month tax free.