Cork · West Cork · Clonakilty
Local mortgage advice from Francis Howard QFA — a Cork-based broker who checks your situation against the real criteria of each lender on our panel before you speak to anyone.
Find out how much I can borrow →Free eligibility check · 60 seconds · No registration to see your result
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Offices in Cork and West Cork — serving clients nationwide by phone and Microsoft Teams.
IWantAMortgage.ie is run by Francis Howard, a Qualified Financial Adviser (QFA, RPA, SIA) regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, with a practice based in Clonakilty, West Cork.
We work for you — not the banks — and compare across our lender panel to find the mortgage that's most suitable for your circumstances. Whether you're buying in Cork city, Carrigaline, Midleton, Ballincollig or out in West Cork, you deal directly with Francis, not a call centre.
The headline limits are set centrally, not by where you buy: most lenders lend up to 4× your gross annual income, and first-time buyers need a minimum 10% deposit (90% loan-to-value). A small number of exemptions to the 4× limit are available each year and we'll tell you honestly whether you're a realistic candidate.
What changes locally is the price you're competing at — so the right question isn't just "how much will they lend me?" but "which lender fits my income, deposit and the home I'm buying?" That's what the free eligibility check answers.
First-time buyers in Cork can combine the Help to Buy incentive (up to €30,000 toward the deposit on a new build) with the First Home Scheme, whose price cap in Cork is €400,000 and which can provide up to a 30% equity share. The two together can't exceed 30% of the purchase price.
We factor both schemes into your full assessment and match you to the lenders who support them — so you know what's achievable before you start viewing.
Yes. Francis Howard is a Cork-based mortgage broker with a practice in Clonakilty, West Cork. We work with clients across Cork city and county — in person locally and by phone or video wherever it suits you. Most of the process can be completed online, so you don't need to take time off work to visit an office.
Most lenders lend up to 4× your gross annual income, subject to affordability and the Central Bank loan-to-value limits (a minimum 10% deposit for first-time buyers). On a €70,000 joint income that's roughly €280,000, plus your deposit. Our free eligibility check checks your exact figures against the panel lenders' criteria before you apply.
The First Home Scheme property price limit in Cork is €400,000 for both houses and apartments. FHS can provide up to a 30% equity share (combined with Help to Buy, the total cannot exceed 30%). We'll factor the First Home Scheme and Help to Buy into your full assessment.
Yes. Self-build and one-off rural homes are common across West Cork, and they're assessed differently to a standard purchase — staged drawdowns, site value, and build cost all matter. We arrange self-build mortgages with the lenders who genuinely support them and guide you through each stage payment.
The free eligibility check costs nothing and needs no registration. Our fee is €300, paid once when you proceed to a full assessment — and that's it: it covers your full assessment, preparing and submitting your application, and support at every step through to the day the keys are in your hand, with no second fee at any stage. The lender also pays us a standard procuration fee of 1% of the mortgage amount on completion, disclosed to you in writing before submission.
We advise clients across Ireland — online and by phone — wherever you’re buying:
See where you stand across our lender panel in about 60 seconds — free, no registration, no credit check. Then speak to Francis whenever you're ready.
Warning: If you do not keep up your repayments you may lose your home.
Howard Financial Services Limited T/A IWantAMortgage.ie is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland (C430229). Member of Brokers Ireland.
Registered in Ireland, Company Registration No. 659301. Registered Office: 2 Mountain Common, Ardfield, Co. Cork. Director: Francis Howard.
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