Mortgages

The largest loan that most people will take out in their lives is the mortgage to buy their home.
Mortgages are a financial instrument used to purchase your home or a investment property. The property you buy is held by the lending institution as security against the funds advanced.
Remember: your home can be re-possessed if you do not keep up your mortgage payments.

When dealing with any financial institution whether depositing money with them or seeking funds from them, one must be very careful in ensuring they have a license to operate. Dealing with other people’s money is an area fraught with danger.
Of course, when you are doing business directly with the major brand banks and building societies, you can be fairly sure that they are bona fide.

However, a huge amount of mortgage transactions in Ireland is done through Mortgage Intermediaries. These promote themselves as mortgage brokers, financial consultants and a variety of other terms. They may be independent operations offering services from all the lending institutions are be what is known as tied agents.
Mortgages are offered by building societies, banks and are also available through what are known as mortgage brokers or intermediaries who are agents for one or many institutions

You are dealing with an individual or company who is merely a sub-contractor or agent for a major institution. They should have a license from the Financial Regulator to operate and an agency agreement from their principal. If they do not possess this then your money that you place in their hands is at risk.
Unfortunately, there are many unlicensed operators on the Irish market, often seducing people to invest or deposit monies with them.
If they are not licensed, they are breaking the law. And if they are doing this then it for ulterior purposes and you carry a grave risk of losing your money.
The only way to be sure that a business is reputable is to check that they have a license from the Financial Regulator. Your money is then protected from fraud.
Below is a list of all the licensed Mortgage Intermediaries in Ireland. When dealing with any financial agent, check that they are on the list. If they are not, report them and do not under any circumstances deal with them.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS REPRODUCED FROM OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS PROVIDED BY THE FINANCIAL REGULATOR. IT IS RE-USED WITH THE CONSENT OF THE OFFICE OF THE FINANCIAL REGULATOR AND ACKNOWLEDGED WITH THANKS BY WREN INNOVATIONS LTD, OWNERS OF THIS WEBSITE. WREN INNOVATIONS LTD IS LICENSED TO REPRODUCE THIS AND OTHER PUBLIC SERVICE SECTOR INFORMATION UNDER PSI GENERAL LICENCE No.: 2005/08/01 LICENCE TO RE-USE PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION UNDER THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (RE-USE OF PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION) REGULATIONS 2005 (SI 279/2005)