Bank of Ireland launched an interesting regular savings account back in 2016 for first time buyers called the “Mortgage Saver “. It originally started with just a 10% bonus – but later it was amended and now savers can get a free bonus of €2000 on a deposit of just €5000. This account is still available in 2019.
Qualifying Conditions:
- You must be a First Time Buyer and have a personal current account in the Republic of Ireland.
- You must save a minimum of €200, maximum of €2,500 per month for at least 6 consecutive months in the BOI Mortgage Saver Account. (minimum of €5,000 in total).
- You must draw down a Bank of Ireland First Time Buyer mortgage within 30 months of opening your Mortgage Saver account and use the money saved in your Mortgage Saver account to help purchase your first home.
So if you manage to lodge €5000 in 6 months and get the €2000 bonus – that would work out equivalent to an interest rate of 40% in 6 months. Equivalent to 80% APR
The Bonus Interest will be a fixed payment of €2,000, and you will qualify once you have €5,000 or more saved in your MortgageSaver account.
The €2000 bonus interest is paid after your BOI mortgage has drawn down.
The €2000 bonus is subject to DIRT at 39% – but currently first time buyers can also claim that back under the Help to Buy Scheme –
You also get 1.35% interest on the regular savings balance (upto €15k).
When you drawdown a Bank of Ireland mortgage you can also take advantage of the Bank of Ireland cashback offer of at least 2% on your mortgage.
An example (First Time Buyer) buying a €300,000 house with a €255,00 mortgage)
- Save at least €5000 in a BOI Mortgage Saver Account. (get €2000 bonus)
- Also get €5100 cashback on a BOI mortgage (2%)
- Total of €7100 cashback from BOI
- Also eligible for €15,000 from the Help to Buy (depending on income)
- Total possible help towards first home = €22,100
Information on Help to Buy Scheme for First Time Buyers