Help returning emigrants buy a home in Ireland
Fianna Fail call to allow first-time buyers relief
RETURNING emigrants should be helped to get on the property ladder even if they have bought a home abroad, Fianna Fail has claimed.
Finance spokesman Michael Mcgrath said the law should be changed to allow them to enjoy firsttime buyers’ relief.
He added it would be fair and would help entice our fellow citizens home after many were forced to leave during the recession.
First-time buyers enjoy preferential treatment from the banks and only have to produce a deposit of 10% for a mortgage – everybody else has to save up 20%.
Additionally, the Help to Buy scheme provides a loan of an extra 5% to qualified applicants, making it effectively a 5% deposit first-time buyers have to stump up.
Mr Mcgrath explained: “At a time when the State is trying to attract emigrants back to Ireland, this is exactly the type of issue that needs to be addressed.
“An emigrant may have owned an apartment or house abroad for a period of time and then sold it.
“They may not have the type of lump sum needed to meet the 20% deposit requirement.
“In my view, the fact they never owned a home in
Ireland means they should be regarded as a first-time buyer here.
“The reality is the Revenue Commissioners, the Central
Bank and the Department of Housing all have different definitions of first-time buyer.
“For example, under certain circumstances, a person who is divorced or legally separated and who previously owned a home, may be treated as a first-time buyer for the purposes of qualifying for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan Scheme.
“However, the Revenue and the Central Bank allow no such exemption. The definition of first-time buyer needs to be reviewed. “I raised this issue recently with the Governor of the Central Bank at the Oireachtas Finance Committee.
“He undertook to write to me on the matter.”