A chara, – If the Government is serious about stimulating the construction industry without creating a property bubble, then it will need to keep a tight rein on the banks' lending practices ("Coalition dismisses claims of property bubble risk", Front Page, May 15th, 2014). One of the ways lenders helped fuel the boom was by taking into account bonuses, overtime, the possibility of renting a room, etc, when they were calculating the size of a mortgage, instead of basing it on a low multiple of the borrower's basic pay. Conservative policies strictly enforced now will help prevent the misery caused by the flahulach practices of the past happening again. – Is mise,
Rev PATRICK G BURKE,
Castlecomer,
Co Kilkenny.
Sir, – We bought a house in Dublin in 2004, paid a sizeable chunk of stamp duty, and remortgaged to update our house so we could raise a family. In 2012 we took the decision to sell our lovely home as our mortgage was becoming too much, and we did not want to get to a position of default. Hands up, yes, we may have overstretched ourselves, but with the best of intentions to create a safe home for our children. A raft of government-imposed levies didn’t help the situation. We are left with arrears from the sale which we are paying off over the next six years with our mortgage provider, so nobody got burned but us.
We are now in the unstable situation of renting, with a major lack of suitable properties and rising rents, and with little wiggle room as we need to be close to our children’s school. It would make sense for us to buy a modest house with a modest mortgage and we could get approval. But raising a deposit for wildly increasing house prices due to lack of supply is impossible. And we must factor in the impending water charges.
Although it is admirable for Minister for Finance Michael Noonan to support first-time buyers, when is he going to help the thousands of struggling families who do not fall into the first-time buyers bracket, and who are either stuck in boom-time apartments with small children or throwing money down a black hole renting a family home? – Yours, etc,
PHILIP KEENAN,
Ardmeen Park,
Blackrock, Co Dublin.