Worried about your finances ? 

We’re here to help you to find a solution. 

If you are worried about keeping up your repayments, we are here to help. The sooner you take the first step to call us, the better, as this will give us the best chance to work together to find a solution for your circumstances. Remember, speaking to us doesn’t impact your credit rating, but missing a repayment might. Our dedicated team will review your situation and look at the options available to you – whether that’s giving you a hand in the short term or setting you up for long term support. Call us on 0818 274 089. Lines are open Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays) from 09:00 to 17:30.

Home Loan Mortgage Repayment Difficulties

What do I do if I fear missing a repayment?

If you have missed a mortgage repayment or are worried that you might not be able to make repayments in the future, we are here to help. If you have missed a payment, and you are able to repay the missed repayment, it’s best to do so as soon as you can to avoid any impact to your credit rating. We understand that our customers may face challenging times so if you are finding it difficult, your first step is to call us on 0818 274 089, where we have an experienced team available to help you from 09:00 to 17:30 Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Managing Money – Household Budget

If you are finding it a struggle to manage your money, you may find it useful to draw up a budget based on your current income and spending patterns. Using a budget planner to work out what you are spending your money on and comparing this with your income can help you keep control of your spending effectively and help you feel more in control of your money.

Budgeting strategies can be done on paper but there are many handy calculators now available online which can make managing money easier. The Competition & Consumer Protection Commission have an easy-to-use budget calculator ) and the Money Advice & Budgeting Service (MABS) My Budget tool is also helpful (www.mabs.ie/money-tools/my-budget). If you have several debts, you may prefer to use MABS’ My Full Financial Picture - MABS which includes information about each debt. Budgeting is just a matter of adding up your total household income for a typical month and then take off your bills and other expenses, then see what’s left for savings and the unexpected.

Before you use these tools, gather your bills, expenses, and income figures so you can accurately estimate your household’s incomings and outgoings.

Having your online account or monthly statements in front of you, or having household bills to hand, can save time, as you won’t have to stop halfway through to search out amounts and charges.

This exercise will help you understand where you are spending money today, identify potential savings and adjust your outgoings so that you can continue to manage your obligations. Having the full picture can also be far more reassuring than wondering whether everything is OK financially. And if you do spot some shortfalls, you’ll also see where you can make savings that will get everything back on track.

If you continue to feel that you are having or facing financial difficulties, please contact us as soon as possible and speak to one of our advisors. We have a dedicated helpline you can ring if you want to discuss any aspect of your mortgage.

0818 274 089 (Mon-Fri 0900 to 17:30 excluding Bank Holidays) to speak to one of our team.

Standard Financial Statement (SFS)

If you do need our support then the next step will be for you, with our help, to fill out a form called a Standard Financial Statement (SFS). On this form you will need to set out details of your financial circumstances, including borrowings, income, and expenditure. This gives us, and you, a clear picture of your financial situation allowing us to assess your situation and work with you to find a resolution.

After you complete the SFS, we will assess your information as part of the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP). We will then explore what type of Alternative Repayment Arrangement (ARA), from the options we offer, that is appropriate and sustainable for your individual circumstances. While it may look like a lot of information to provide, we only ask for the information we need to help us to assess your financial situation and find, where possible, a suitable solution for you. We will ask you to provide some supporting documents such as bank statements and payslips also.

This form is available to download at www.avantmoney.ie/mortgages/marp or you can call our dedicated Arrears Support Team on 0818 274 089 and we will organise for this to be sent to you. If you need help in completing this document, just call our helpline on 0818 274 089. Our team of advisors will guide you and help in completing the form if you need further support. Alternatively download the Central Bank of Ireland’s Guide to completing the Standard Financial Statement. You can also refer to our MARP Guide.

Once we have gathered and assessed all the information relating to your financial circumstances, we will work with you to explore all our possible options. We are committed to finding an appropriate resolution for you, wherever possible.

We have several arrangements that may be appropriate for you, depending on the outcome of our assessment. These Alternative Repayment Arrangements (ARA) fall into three categories.

1. Short Term Alternative Repayment Arrangments : These will allow you a period, within 12 months, to adjust your expenditure or address your unsecured debt or deal with an unexpected event and enable you to return to full repayments. 

2. Long Term Alternative Repayment Arrangements : These will allow you a period longer than 12 months to restruture your finances or address your unsecured debt or deal with an unexpected cost event and enable you to return to full repayments. 

3. Other Options : In some circumstances it may not be possible to offer a short- or long- term alternative repayments arrangements. In these circumstances there are several other options which may be available to you.  

Details of our range of ARA’s are available in our MARP Guide which can be found here. Some of the options that may be available to you include a repayment Moratorium, Interest Only Repayments, or a Term Extension.

If we are unable to agree a short-term or long-term arrangement with you, and depending on your individual circumstances, there may be other options available to you, including Trade Down Mortgage etc. We will do whatever is possible to support you and will continue to work with you to find an appropriate resolution.

Mortgages Arrears Resolution Process

The Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) is a process that all financial institutions must use under the mandate of the Central Bank’s Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA). Under this process we aim to engage with, support and find resolution for our mortgage customers who are in arrears or at risk of going into arrears. If you are experiencing mortgage difficulties and reach out to us for help, we at Avant Money are committed to;

• providing clear and transparent information,

• treating all customers fairly and equitably, and

• finding a solution that suits you and your circumstances.

If you would like to find out more about our Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) please download our MARP guide here or if you would like to get the process started, come and talk to us today.

For independent debt advice, you may find the services below of help.

Insolvency Service of Ireland 

The Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) is an independent government body with a range of solutions to problem debt. It has a network of qualified professionals that can help you get back on track. Visit www.backontrack.ie , call 01 7644200 or text GETHELP to 50015.

MABS

MABS (Money Advice and Budgeting Service) is the State’s money advice service. MABS offer free and confidential independent advice and assistance with managing your finances. If you wish to seek assistance from MABS they can be contacted at Telephone 0818 07 2000 (Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm), or online www.mabs.ie

Abhaile

Abhaile is the State-funded service for people whose home is in mortgage arrears. It provides a range of services to help you deal with your situation, including financial advice (panel of accountants), legal advice, and insolvency advice. It provides vouchers for free financial and legal advice and help from experts, which are available through MABS. Please see www.mabs.ie/en/abhaile for further details.

More information on our mortgage options

Information about our mortgage loans and interest rate options can also be found here or by calling our team on 0818 274 089. Our offices are open 09:00 to 17:30 Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). We would be delighted to assist you at any stage.

Fees and Charges

Avant Money has produced this booklet to inform you of any fees and/or charges relating to your Avant Money mortgage account. Where these fees are changed, we will notify you accordingly.

We are here to help get you back in control of your finances. The sooner we know about

any difficulties you’re having, the sooner we can work together to get you back in control.

Our dedicated team are available to help. Call us on 0818 274 089 from 09:00 to 17:30

Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).