Low home loans approval queried by councillors
Galway City Tribune - The low success rate of city applicants seeking to avail of the housing loan scheme administered by the local authorities, was queried by a number of councillors at this week’s meeting of Galway City Council.
In a report presented by the Housing Department, it stated that so far there had been 130 applications under the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loans scheme (RIHL), with just 38 of those approved.
The State-backed loans scheme is aimed at first-time buyers who have been refused finance from two commercial lending institutions – the income of a single applicant must not exceed €50,000 or €75,000 for a couple.
A deposit of 10% is required as well as what the local authority describe as a credible savings record – in the scheme, 90% loans can be secured up to a maximum property value of €320,000.
Fianna Fáil councillor, John Connolly, said that high refusal rate of around 80% represented another policy failure by the Government.
Social Democrats councillor, Owen Hanley, said there needed to be an explanation as why there was such a difference between the number of applicants and the number who actually ended up getting loan approval.
Cllr Peter Keane (FF) said that a key piece of information in all of this was the common theme in terms of the loan refusals. This is a preview only. To read the rest of this article, see this week's Galway City Tribune. Buy a digital edition of this week's paper here, or download the app for Android or iPhone.