Chapter 1 of 10 · Borrowing · Can I afford this home?

Can I afford this home?

Does a home I have seen fit my approval and my savings?

Checked 21 Oct 2026the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48) (Housing Loan Requirements) Regulations, as amended by S.I. 141/2026, the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999, section 31A and Schedule 1, as amended by the Finance Act 2024, the scheme operators' terms and typical fees, each with a source and a date.

You have an approval letter, some savings and a home in mind. This tool works out the cash that price really needs: the gap a lender cannot cover, the stamp duty and the fees nobody can skip, with Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme counted where they apply. It tells you whether the home fits your figures, is close, or is outside them, and the most your figures reach.

The home

The home you have seen

PriceThe asking price, or the price you would bid. Homes often go above asking, so try both.Link to the listing (optional)Kept in your share link only, so you can find the home again. Nothing is fetched from it.County of the homeSets the First Home Scheme ceiling and the recent sale prices shown below.It is a new buildBought from a builder or developer. Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme apply to new homes only, and a snag list replaces the survey.

Your figures

What you have been approved for, and what you have saved

Who is buying?

A first-time buyer has never owned a home anywhere. The loan-to-value limit is the same for both; the schemes are for first-time buyers.

Mortgage approval in principleThe figure on your approval letter. A lender can use it only up to 90% of the price.Savings for the deposit and the costsEverything you can put in: savings and any gift. The costs come out of this too.

Nothing you type here leaves your browser. The share link keeps your figures in the link itself, not on this site.

The tool does not say what the home is worth, what you should bid or what a lender will offer: a lender applies its own tests and may lend less than your approval. The fees are typical figures, not quotes. The sale prices are the Property Price Register's, which records sales after they close.

The home you have seen

What you have been approved for, and what you have saved

Get quotes from the people you need