Comparing a 7.27% three-year fixed mortgage quote near Dublin

A

AmesQuinn

Property investor
The difficulty is comparing offers on the period I am likely to keep them, rather than on the lender's headline measure. The purchase is around €726,800, and one quote shows 7.27% fixed for three years, but its fees and loan-to-value band make it hard to compare directly with the alternatives.

Should I calculate the payments, upfront charges and remaining balance after year three for each offer? For example, a cheaper rate may not save money if its arrangement fee is large and I refinance when the fix expires. I also need to compare overpayment limits, exit charges, portability and the follow-on rate without assuming that refinancing will necessarily be available on good terms.
 
For a three-year decision, I would compare each offer over exactly those three years: upfront fees, monthly payments, interest charged and the balance remaining at the end. Use the same loan amount and mortgage term for every lender. APR can be a useful warning signal, but it does not answer that narrower comparison by itself.
 
What loan amount and mortgage term are behind the quote, and is 7.27% the actual fixed rate or an APR-style figure? The €726,800 purchase price alone is not enough because the deposit determines the loan-to-value tier and the monthly repayment.
 
I would not push APR too far down the list. A cheap-looking three-year period can lead into an expensive later rate, and APR is at least trying to capture more than the introductory window. My preference would be two comparisons: the first three years and the longer scheduled life, with all assumptions shown.
 
Also separate “best value” from “affordable each month.” A fee spread across 36 months may make offers easier to compare, but it does not change when the money is actually due. Check the real payment, upfront cash requirement and whether the household budget could absorb a higher payment after the fix.
 
The treatment of the arrangement fee matters. Is it paid in cash or added to the mortgage? If added, it increases the balance on which interest is charged. Put both the timing and financing of each fee into the spreadsheet rather than listing one headline total.
 
Portability is not just a yes-or-no feature. Ask what would happen if you moved during the fixed period, needed a different loan amount or bought a property the lender would not accept. The useful comparison is the cost and process in those actual scenarios, not merely the word “portable.”
 
The missing loan amount raised by dublin_haruto is crucial. Compare offers using the same deposit, term and expected drawdown timing. Otherwise one quote may appear cheaper simply because it assumes a different LTV band or a different amount borrowed.
 
I agree on matching assumptions, but a fixed-period-only table can still flatter an offer with an unattractive reset. Keep Nicolas's three-year cash-flow table, then add a second scenario where no refinance happens and the mortgage continues under the quoted post-fix terms.
 
For early repayment, decide which event you actually care about: occasional overpayments, full repayment after a sale, or refinancing before the three years finish. Ask the lender to explain how each would be treated. The wording and cost can differ, so a general statement about early repayment is not enough.
 
Do not make the purchase work only on the assumption that refinancing will be easy in three years. Your income, property circumstances and available products may all be different then. The current payment needs to be comfortable, with some room for a less favourable reset.
 
The €726,800 price matters mainly through the amount borrowed and resulting LTV. I would keep purchase costs in the overall affordability budget, but outside the lender-to-lender mortgage comparison unless a particular offer changes them. That prevents unrelated buying costs from obscuring the financing difference.
 
Dividing an upfront fee by 36 gives a quick monthly equivalent, though it is only a rough presentation tool. The proper comparison still needs the actual payment dates and remaining balance. A euro paid now is not identical to a euro paid near the end of year three.
 
How close is the purchase to completion? If the quotes were produced at different times, confirm that they will remain available for the expected timeline. A carefully calculated comparison is not much help if one offer cannot be drawn down when needed.
 
On portability, I would specifically ask whether the existing balance keeps its fixed terms and how any extra borrowing would be priced. People sometimes use “portable” to mean the mortgage can simply follow them unchanged, when the practical outcome may depend on the new application and property.
 
Exactly. Portability should be treated as conditional until the lender explains those conditions. I would also ask what happens if there is a gap between selling and buying, rather than assuming the fixed rate can wait indefinitely between properties.
 
A workable spreadsheet would have columns for fixed rate, APR, loan amount, term, LTV tier, upfront fees, fees added to the balance, monthly payment, total paid by month 36, interest to month 36, balance at month 36, post-fix terms and early-exit treatment. That should expose why the advertised and quoted figures differ.
 
Nicolas's remaining-balance point is easy to overlook. Two offers can require similar cash during the fix but leave different balances afterward. I would therefore avoid ranking them solely by “36 payments plus fee”; show both cash leaving the account and equity built through principal repayment.
 
Before doing any more calculations, get the 7.27% label clarified. If it is not the nominal three-year fixed rate, using it directly to estimate payments or interest will produce the wrong result. Compare like with like: nominal rate to nominal rate, then the broader cost figures separately.
 
If a larger deposit reaches a better LTV tier, compare the marginal benefit rather than assuming more deposit is automatically best. Work out how much extra cash is tied up and what it saves in interest and fees, while preserving enough liquidity for the purchase and unexpected expenses.
 
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