Have you ever been offered a split deal in order to qualify for Help to Buy?

Have your say: What arrangements or incentives have you come across while house-hunting?

Illustration: Paul Scott
Illustration: Paul Scott

One of the largest estate agents in Ireland has launched an internal investigation after a home buyer was offered a “split” sale for a new build home in order for it to qualify for the Help to Buy scheme, Niamh Towey reports today.

We’d like to hear about your experiences trying to buy a home. Have you ever been offered a split deal in order to qualify for Help to Buy?

The Help to Buy (HTB) scheme is administered by Revenue, and provides a refund on income tax of up to €30,000 to first-time buyers on new-build properties up to a value of €500,000.

The tax refund that the buyer qualifies for is paid directly to the contractor, who must be approved by Revenue.

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What other arrangements or offers have you come across while house-hunting? Tell us using the form below.

Locked out of Help to Buy despite State clawing back the reliefOpens in new window ]

In this case the home buyer was asked by the estate agent for €25,000 for flooring to bypass the Help to Buy scheme cap.

We’d like to hear of readers’ experiences of buying property and any encounters with those offering similar unofficial deals. Did you end up going ahead with the purchase?

You can let us know what you think using the form below. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less. Please include a phone number for verification purposes only. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, please indicate this in your submission – we will keep your name and contact details confidential.

We will curate a selection of submissions for an article, but please note we may not publish every submission we receive.

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