There’s something about owning your own home. It’s not the apartment you rent or the house you buy, it’s the home you make.

Even the word home can connect us warmly to the important people around us. From buying your first home, moving to another, extending and improving, making sure these big decisions run smoothly takes planning.

If you'd like a chat about better money management, you can call our help only line on 01-7715625.

Extending your home

Sean and Deirdre have a growing family. They’ve been thinking how a bigger kitchen and an extra bedroom would take the pressure off the space they had. They spent quite a while getting quotes from builders and shopping around until they had a good idea of how much it would cost. In the end they paid for the extension through savings and a personal loan for home improvement spread over 10 years. We can help you figure out how a loan best fits with your finances. Some of our customers have also found that a Top–Up Mortgage suited their finances better. Learn more about our Top–Up Mortgage here

Your first home

A mortgage loan makes it possible, but to apply you’ll need a track record of earning, paying rent and saving a deposit. Because we can’t lend you all of the money to buy a property, you need to have enough money saved for at least 10% of the house price as a deposit. And like any other complicated transaction there will be other things to pay for and to save for. Budget for solicitor’s fees, valuations, insurance and renovations.

Moving home

If you’re on the property ladder, the possibility of moving comes into play as children grow. Sometimes the best option is to trade up, but this will cost more than you are paying now. Lots of people ask us should they buy first or sell first? It all depends on whether you can afford to pay for two homes. Many of our customers have sold their old home before they take out a mortgage with us for the new one.

As always planning helps. Our mortgage calculators can help you figure out how much you might be able to borrow for that first time home, a move, a self-build or an investment property.

Budgeting for your home

Because of what home means, lots of us invest in making where we live just right. And sometimes a technology or furnishing makeover is just what we need. Think of how to pay for it all, maybe consider saving in advance or taking out a personal loan if you think you can afford to.

If you’re on maternity leave or going back to study you may like to have a look at what options you have to manage your AIB mortgage.

Home budgeting

Running a home can literally run away with itself and before you know it, there’s little left for the things you want. A household is easy to budget for. Think of the regular costs of running a home, energy, entertainment, food and repairs. Then add a little for that fresh coat of paint and the trip to the hardware shop.

We’ve a simple tool that can help you work it all out.

Home savings

Plans for a home make-over? Every once in a while a new look to our home is just enough to keep things fresh and modern. If you have a plan one way to make it real is to save up for it.

Check out our savings options.