Daft Property - Irish Property News

House buyers were given 100pc loans during crash... Irish banks agreed to provide 100pc mortgages to one-in-four young first-time buyers last year despite a collapse in the property market. Thousands entering the property market for the first time took out mortgages with loan-to-value ratios of over 95pc with up to 5,000 taking out the 100pc housing loan. The Department of the Environment's Housing Bulletin 2008 also revealed that the average age of those who successfully obtained a 100pc mortgage was 31 years. These loans were taken out for between 31 and 35 years, which would indicate that people would be paying back the cost of their home until they retire. Banning Earlier this year, the Financial Regulator said it was considering banning 100pc mortgages and restricting lenders offering homebuyers loans greater than three times their annual salaries. This followed the publication of a report by the British financial regulator which said there was a case for limiting the size of

Budget cuts of 2 billion euro as economic crisis deepens... But property developers seek hundreds of millions in refunds due to value losses ... FINANCE minister Brian Lenihan is looking for fresh spending cuts of around €800m for next year, on top of the €1.3bn reduction that has already been signed off by ministers in estimates negotiations. The grim news comes as it emerged this weekend that Ireland's property developers, who made millions in the boom, are seeking tax refunds of hundreds of millions of euro after writing down the value of their land banks and other assets. This threatens to drastically reduce the corporation tax receipts the Revenue Commissioners were banking on. With September tax returns expected to be very bad and the economic climate rapidly deteriorating, a further 1.5% reduction in 2009 spending is now up for debate. This would bring planned cutbacks in current expenditure for next year to more than €2bn . " It's very grim. Two weeks after finan