Getting a first-time mortgage on a relatively low income is a headache - but three first-time buyers in their early twenties solved the problem by doing it together. The idea literally struck home when they went looking for a place to rent. Brian Whelan, Alex Moynihan and Gavin McCarron were friends from Gonzaga College days and decided early last summer to move out of their respective family homes in south Dublin.

After scouring the rental market, and in the light of rising prices, it took only one week for them to take the plunge. "Quite frankly," says Alex, "we balked at the idea of renting a place together and paying off someone else's mortgage when we could be paying off our own. I had rented for a time as a student. It really was dead money."

The three had just started work - Brian as an accounts executive with Friends First, Gavin as a graphic designer, and Alex as a computer programmer. In the past, they might have expected to save enough to buy their own properties but with house prices booming, each knew they couldn't do it alone, especially if they also had to pay rent. "We made up our minds to buy in a week," says Brian. "We wanted to live in a decent house close to town and we knew each other well enough to know that we could share a house. The only difference was that we decided to be owners rather than tenants."

The three drew up a financial plan and presented it to the former First National building society. "The society was initially dubious," says Brian "because the branch we chose had never previously lent money to three people buying for the first time but we put everything on paper and showed how we intended to repay the loan."

It didn't take long to convince the society which did not ask for personal guarantors. The three knew the kind of house they wanted which had to be solid and have good re-sale potential. They looked at only three houses before finding 98 Elford Terrace, on Donore Avenue, off Dublin's South Circular Road. They surmised it was an area where prices were bound to rise. The house had three bedrooms, two reception rooms, a bathroom, kitchen and front and back gardens, as well as a garage.

"We figured we might want to settle down and go our own way by the time we were 30," says Gavin, "so we drew up a contract with this in mind."

They only spent 10 minutes viewing the house, had a survey carried out and were the only bidders at auction. They then negotiated and closed the sale at £170,000. They took out a 20-year endowment mortgage of £150,000, which meant monthly repayments of £825. They would not have rented the house for much less and at a conservative estimate, the house is worth close to £250,000 at today's prices.

Most of their friends had thought them mad. "People kept warning us about all the things that could go wrong," says Alex. But families were supportive and they had scraped together the deposit. "None of us could have done this alone," said Alex. "By having a mortgage we were being forced to save for the future." With a joint mortgage, the three owned the house together and the building society had the security of three salaries. If one fell down, there was the expectation that the other two would cover the repayments.

The legal contract was crucial - and the three paid a good deal in legal fees. Conveyancing, which should have cost around £500, cost nearer £2,000. "We wanted an air-tight agreement. Each individual had to be totally protected and the group had to be protected even in the event of one of us dying," says Brian. "It meant taking out mortgages on each other."

None of them wanted to end up owning the house with, say, a relative of one of the others, so if one dies, not only is the mortgage paid off but the other two are sole owners. "We were all in agreement," says Alex. "We saw things the same way. This was the advantage of knowing each other. None of us would have entered into such an arrangement with strangers."

A game of poker was played to decide who would have the best bedroom but there is an annual rota. They share a bank account to cover household costs and general repairs. "We're not dependent on landlords fixing things and we would have had to learn to live with each other anyway if we were renting," says Brian.

Although the three have agreed to sell the house in five years - unless they all decide to the contrary - any one of them can leave in the meantime and rent out his bedroom to cover his share of the mortgage - but the tenant must be selected by the two remaining in the house. Thir contract is tighter than one involving most cohabiting partners, not to mention married couples. "We drew up a contract assuming the worst would happen," says Alex.

The house needed superficial decoration which they undertook themselves. They had no difficulty getting a home improvement loan once they had the house. One year on, they are planning to renovovate the kitchen and bathroom and convert the attic. They agree that investing in property has forced them to take care of the house, more so than if they were renting. "We're not into wild parties," says Brian. Neither would they rent out the attic room when it's ready. " The tenant would hate us," he adds. "And we'd be watching him in case he'd damage the house . . ."

Not merely did buying the house make practical sense - but it is an investment as well.