Unlike a mortgage or personal loan, there will be no fees or charges applied to your equity facility for the first five years. The FHS will apply a service charge to your account from year six.
Managing your service charge payments
Under the terms of your FHS Customer Contract, service charges become payable from year 6 following the drawdown of your FHS Equity Facility for services related to the provision, maintenance, and servicing of your equity facility.
Service charges are calculated at the following rates per annum:
| Years | Service Charge Rate |
|---|---|
| 0-5 | 0.00% |
| 6-15 | 1.75% |
| 16-29 | 2.15% |
| 30+ | 2.85% |
The service charge rates are fixed for the life of the equity facility.
Service charges accrue daily and are applied to your account monthly in arrears, so your monthly service charge may vary depending on the number of days in the month. We will contact you before the service charge is due to be applied to the equity facility to confirm your preferred payment option.
You can choose whether you want to:
- Pay the full monthly service charge by monthly Direct Debit, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), or via a debit card facility
- Pay a reduced amount if you can’t afford the full monthly service charge
- Make a once off payment against any accrued service charges
- Defer payment until another date
There is no additional cost associated with deferring the payment of service charges, however, the service charge will continue to accrue against your equity facility and will need to be paid in full at a later date.
Setting up or changing your monthly Direct Debit
You can set up or change your monthly direct debit through the FHS customer portal by completing a Direct Debit Mandate form, or by calling us on 0818 275 662.
Making service charge payments via debit card or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
You can make service charge payments via debit card or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) by calling us on 0818 275 662.
Deferring service charge payments until a later date
You can defer service charge payments until a later date through the FHS customer portal by completing a Defer Service Charges Payments Request form, or by calling us on 0818 275 662.
This section explains how service charges are calculated.
The rates and terms of service charges are set out in your Customer Contract. Service charges accrue daily and are applied to your account monthly in arrears from the beginning of year 6 after the date of equity facility drawdown.
Service Charge Rate Table
|
Service Charge Rate Table |
|
|
Year 0 – 5 |
0.00% |
|
Year 6 – 15 |
1.75% |
|
Year 16 – 29 |
2.15% |
|
Year 30+ |
2.85% |
Service Charge Calculation where no Redemptions have been made
The annual service charge is calculated by multiplying the original property purchase price by the First Home Scheme Equity Share and multiplying the result by the service charge rate for the year in question.
In the example below, service charge = (€400,000 * 10%) * 1.75% = €700 for year 6.
|
Service Charge Calculation – No Redemptions |
|
|
Property Purchase Price |
€400,000 |
|
Original First Home Scheme Equity Share |
10% |
|
Annual Service Charge Rate for Year 6 |
1.75% |
|
Annual Service Charge |
€700 |
Note: above assumes no partial redemptions have been made prior to the end of Year 6
Service Charges where Redemptions have been made
If a redemption has been made on an equity facility, the service charges are calculated by multiplying the original property purchase price by the Original First Home Scheme Equity Share minus the redemption percentage and multiplying the result by the service charge rate for the year in question.
In the example below the property valuation has increased to €410,000 and the customer has made a redemption payment of €10,000 against the equity facility.
The redemption percentage equals (€10,000 / €410,000) * 100% = 2.44%
The updated First Home Scheme Equity Share is the Original First Home Scheme Equity Share minus the redemption percentage (10% - 2.44%) = 7.56%
In the example below, service charge equals (€400,000 * 7.56%) * 1.75% = €529.20 for year 6.
|
Service Charge Calculation – With Redemptions |
|
|
Original Property Price |
€400,000 |
|
Updated Property Valuation |
€410,000 |
|
Redemption Amount |
€10,000 |
|
Redemption Percentage |
2.44% |
|
Updated First Home Scheme Equity Share |
7.56% |
|
Annual Service Charge Rate for Year 6 |
1.75% |
|
Annual Service Charge |
€529.20 |
Note: The above example assumes any previous partial redemptions were made prior to year 6 commencing
This section explains how service charges are calculated.
The rates and terms of service charges are set out in your Customer Contract. Service charges accrue daily and are applied to your account monthly in arrears from the beginning of year 6 after the date of the equity facility drawdown.
Service Charge Rate Table
|
Service Charge Rate Table |
|
|
Year 0 – 5 |
0.00% |
|
Year 6 – 15 |
1.75% |
|
Year 16 – 29 |
2.15% |
|
Year 30+ |
2.85% |
Service Charge Calculation where no Redemptions have been made.
The annual service charge is calculated by multiplying the build cost by the First Home Scheme Equity Share and multiplying the result by the service charge rate for the year in question.
In the example below, service charge = (€300,000 * 10%) * 1.75% = €525 for year 6.
|
Service Charge Calculation – No Redemptions |
|
|
Original Build Cost |
€300,000 |
|
Original First Home Scheme Equity Share |
10% |
|
Annual Service Charge Rate for Year 6 |
1.75% |
|
Annual Service Charge |
€525 |
Note: above assumes no partial redemptions have been made prior to the end of Year 6
Service Charges where Redemptions have been made.
If a redemption has been made on an equity facility, the service charges are calculated by multiplying the build cost by the Original First Home Scheme Equity Share minus the redemption percentage and multiplying the result by the service charge rate for the year in question.
In the example below the property valuation has increased to €410,000 and the customer has made a redemption payment of €10,000 against the equity facility.
The redemption percentage equals €10,000 / (€410,000 - (€410,000 * 25%)) * 100 = 3.25%
The updated First Home Scheme Equity Share is the Original First Home Scheme Equity Share minus the redemption percentage (10% - 3.25%) = 6.75%
In the example below, service charge equals (€300,000 * 6.75%) * 1.75% = €363.13 for year 6.
|
Service Charge Calculation – With Redemptions |
|
|
Original Build Cost |
€300,000 |
|
Updated Property Valuation |
€410,000 |
|
Site Value Percentage |
25% |
|
Property Valuation discounted by Site Value % |
€307,500 |
|
Redemption Amount |
€10,000 |
|
Redemption Percentage |
3.25% |
|
Updated First Home Scheme Equity Share |
6.75% |
|
Annual Service Charge Rate for Year 6 |
1.75% |
|
Annual Service Charge |
€363.13 |
Note: The above example assumes any previous partial redemptions were made prior to year 6 commencing
WARNING: We strongly recommend that you seek advice from an independent financial adviser and legal adviser if applying for a First Home Scheme product.
WARNING: Property prices can go up and down. As the equity facility is linked to the value of your home, any change in property prices will affect any partial or final redemption amounts. If property prices increase/decrease over time, the percentage equity you have to redeem will remain the same but the € amount will increase/decrease. See examples in the case of a price increase below:
Example 1: Home Purchase (private development)
Customer purchases a property for €350,000, availing of €35,000 from the First Home Scheme (FHS) which means the FHS has a 10% FHS Equity Share in your home.
Sometime in the future you decide to buy out the FHS Equity Share. The home is now valued at €400,000. As the FHS Equity Share is unchanged at 10%, you will now need €40,000 plus any accrued service charges payable, to redeem the FHS Equity Share in the home
Example 2: Self-build (own site)
Customer owns a site valued at €100,000 and builds a house on that site at a cost of €300,000.Customer avails of €30,000 from the First Home Scheme (FHS) which means the FHS has a 10% FHS Equity Share in your house built on the site.
Sometime in the future you decide to buy out the FHS Equity Share. The property, including both house and original site is now valued at €500,000.
At the time of build, the site value represented 25% of the total value of the home (i.e.€100,000) and this 25% will now be discounted from the current value before calculating the FHS equity amount to be redeemed (€500,000 less current site value of €125,000, equals €375,000). As the FHS Equity Share is unchanged at 10%, you will now need €37,500 (10% of €375,000) plus any accrued service charges payable, to redeem the FHS Equity Share in the home.
WARNING: The First Home Scheme is not regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and the equity product is not governed by the Central Bank and its statutory codes of conduct and/or other regulations to include the Consumer Protection Code. However, this does not affect your rights under consumer law.