Dublin · Greater Dublin Area
Mortgage advice for Dublin buyers and switchers — handled online and by phone, with the real criteria of each lender on our panel checked before you apply.
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. We advise Dublin clients the way most people now want to work — online, by phone and by video — so you're not taking half-days off to sit in an office.
You still get a named adviser who compares across our lender panel for you and handles the paperwork end to end. The technology does the legwork; Francis does the advice.
The lending rules are national: up to 4× gross income and a minimum 10% deposit for first-time buyers. What's different in Dublin is the price you're borrowing against, which makes two things decisive — your deposit, and which lender stretches furthest for your profile.
A limited pool of exemptions above 4× is released by each lender annually and tends to go early in the year. We'll tell you plainly whether chasing one is realistic for you, rather than letting you pin a plan on it.
Dublin carries the country's highest First Home Scheme cap — €500,000 — and combined with Help to Buy (up to €30,000 on a new build) it's often what closes the gap between the 4× income ceiling and a Dublin asking price. The two schemes together can't exceed 30% of the purchase price.
If you're looking at the commuter belt instead — Kildare, Meath or Wicklow — the FHS cap there is €400,000. We model whichever applies to where you're actually buying.
Yes — and most of our Dublin clients do. The whole process runs online and by phone or video: the free eligibility check, document upload, lender comparison and application all happen remotely. You deal directly with Francis Howard QFA throughout, on a schedule that fits around work.
Lenders apply the same national rules everywhere: up to 4× gross annual income and a minimum 10% deposit for first-time buyers (90% loan-to-value). Dublin prices are higher, so deposit and affordability matter more here — a limited number of exemptions above 4× are available each year, and we'll tell you honestly whether you're a realistic candidate before you apply.
Dublin has the highest First Home Scheme price cap in the country at €500,000 for both houses and apartments. FHS can provide up to a 30% equity share; combined with Help to Buy the total can't exceed 30%. For many Dublin first-time buyers FHS is what bridges the gap between the 4× income limit and the asking price.
Yes — Dublin city and county, plus the commuter counties where many Dublin buyers end up looking: Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, which share the €400,000 First Home Scheme cap. We compare across our lender panel for wherever you're actually buying.
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 1% procuration fee on completion, disclosed to you in writing before submission. Our recommendation is never driven by which lender pays the most.
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. Then talk it through with 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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