Avant Money Head of Mortgages speaks to Paul Merriman of AskPaul on Dublin City FM

Brian Lande, Head of Avant Money Mortgages, recently appeared the AskPaul show on Dublin City FM. The interview took place on Saturday, 23rd November and Brian discussed with host Paul Merriman a number of items affecting the mortgage market, first time buyers, and those looking to switch mortgages.

This interview followed the announcement of Avant Money’s new mortgage offering, with a new 1% cashback incentive on all new mortgages drawn down from January 1st to 31st December 2025 (1), as well as an overall reduction in fixed mortgage rates starting from 3.40% (3.70% APRC) (2). Brian said “We run a very lean model and give the benefit of that lean model to our customers… Every one of our rates, for example, are under 4%. We’ve constantly sought to bring that kind of value right across the board to all customers, not just pick a niche. Just go and be fair and transparent in our pricing to everybody”.

On Avant Money’s journey in the Irish market over the last 25 years and release of a mortgage offering in 2019, Brian said “Avant Money is an Irish lender, but we are owned by a Spanish bank…This year we will do almost 1 in 10 mortgages in Ireland, and we expect that to grow with our proposition, with our rates, everything being under 4%.”

Brian also spoke about Avant Money’s mortgage offering including being the only provider of an interest rate which can be fixed for the duration of the mortgage loan term, via the unique One Mortgage Product (3). A One Mortgage offers a single fixed rate for the full term of the mortgage, up to 30 years. On Avant Money’s One Mortgage product Brian further expanded that this product may suit a variety of different customers who wish to fix their housing costs for the long term and not have to anticipate future interest rates. “That’s the big advantage you can go to sleep at night. You know exactly how much to budget and that suits a lot of people. People like that certainty. The other big advantage we have and its again relatively unique to us, you can overpay. So, it’s a great idea to overpay your mortgage if you earn a bonus, you have extra saving. And we have that as a feature that you can overpay by up to 10% a year (on the capital).”

The key features and restrictions of Avant Moneys One Mortgage product offering include:

• The ability to “fix and forget”, fixing your mortgage rate for the full term, so you need never think of it again. Up to a term of 30 years.
• The ability to overpay up to 10% of the balance owed on your mortgage and not just the monthly repayment amounts (4). There may be a redemption fee payable if you repay your mortgage in full or overpay above the allowable limits.
• The ability to keep your fixed rate should you move house and ultimately require an update to your mortgage.
• The ability to break out of the fixed rate if your circumstances change, with a max of 2% on the breakage fee.

The interview also focused on those looking to switch mortgage and Avant Money’s switcher mortgage offerings. “We charge the same fixed rates to our front book customers, the new customers and those switching to us, and our existing customers. And what we’ve done is make that journey as easy as we can”, said Brian.

Whether you’re looking for your first home or looking to switch and save on your current mortgage, Brian and Paul agreed taking the time out to review your options could be the best paid hour you ever do, potentially saving you tens of thousands over the lifetime of your mortgage.

Listen Back

You can listen to the interview on Dublin city fm here.

Important Regulatory Information:

(1) Cash back offer: 1% cashback is paid into your account within two months of your drawdown. For phased drawdown mortgages, the 1% incentive amount will be calculated based on the initial mortgage drawdown amount.

(2) Rate of 3.40% (3.70% APRC) applies to a 4-year fixed rate with a loan to value (LTV) of 70% or less. APRC is the Annual Percentage Rate of Charge. Following the fixed rate period the customer will revert to our follow on variable rate at that time or may choose another fixed rate.

(3) One Mortgage unique/only claim based on comparison against competitor mortgage products as advertised on their websites at 7 November 2024. One Mortgage is designed to give a fixed rate for the full mortgage term (between 5 and 30 years), whereas competitor fixed rate mortgage products are designed to provide a fixed rate for a set number of years (between 1 and 10), following which they revert to a managed variable rate or a new fixed rate.

(4) A 10% overpayment allowance is based on the balance at the start of each year. An early redemption fee may apply for overpayments above your allowance. A maximum of two overpayments per calendar year are allowed.

Lending criteria and terms and conditions apply. The monthly repayment on a 20-year mortgage with Loan to Value (LTV) greater than 80% with variable borrowing rate of 3.95% on a mortgage of €100,000 is €603.35 for 240 months. Total amount repayable is €145,028.74. If interest rates increase by 1% an additional €53.85 would be payable per month. For this example, Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APRC) of 4.0% applies and consists of variable borrowing rate of 3.95%, valuation fee of €185, and security release fee of €40. LTV is the amount borrowed as percentage of the value of your home. Information correct at 7th November 2024 and subject to change. You mortgage your home to secure the loan. Maximum loan is generally 3.5 times gross annual income (4.0 for first time buyers) and 90% of the property value (80% for switchers). The cost of your monthly repayments may increase – if you do not keep up your repayments you may lose your home. Applications from residents of ROI over the age of 18 only, and subject to repayment capacity, financial status and property valuation. We require property and life insurance.

Avantcard DAC trading as Avant Money is Regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.