NEW! Green Mortgage Makeover
Irish banks are required to demonstrate sustainable lending to the European Central Bank, and one of the ways they do this is by offering Green Mortgages, which can be up to 1.0% cheaper than variable or standard fixed rates. Green Mortgages are here for the foreseeable future. Different lenders have different offers, with the most lenders offering disounted Green Mortgages for houses that have a BER rating of A or B.
How can I check my BER rating?
BER ratings are valid for 10 years, and you can check the status of your property by entering the MPRN from your electricity bill here
How can you avail of a discounted Green Mortgate if your house currently does not have a BER rating of A or B?
If your house was built from 1990 onwards, it likely has a BER Rating of C or D rating depending on a range of factors.
The Green Mortgage Makeover is a premium, white-glove service designed to guide you through the most cost-effective path to a B-rated home—and unlock the benefits of a Green Mortgage.
The service goes well beyond just providing a BER (Building Energy Rating). This expert-led process evaluates your home's current energy performance, identifies the smartest upgrades, and supports you through planning and implementation—every step of the way.
Using this process, your home can qualify for a Green Mortgage faster, enabling you to access significantly lower interest rates. The result? Tens of thousands of euro saved
Here's a current real-world example:
Kevin and Aoife bought their house almost three years ago. It is a four-bedroomed semi-detached house in suburban Dublin, built in 1993, with a C3 energy rating.
Their mortgage balance is €375,000 with 27 years remaining on their mortgage. When they drew down their mortgage, the 'new business' 3-year fixed rate available was 4.2%.
As they are exiting this 3-year period, their bank is now offering: -
-a variable rate of 3.95%,
- or a fixed 3-year rate of 4.7%.
-a 3-year green rate of 3.1%, for which the house doesn't YET qualify due to its C3 BER rating.
Kevin and Aoife have two children and use 6000 units (kWh) of electricity and 18,000 units (kWh) which are both approximately 25% above the national household average.
What are their options?
Firstly , let's look at their currect combined mortgage and energy spend for 12 months.
As their current fixed-rate mortgage term is coming to an end, the available options are as follows, where the total figure shown in each case is for mortgage and energy for 12 months.
In this case, combining a Green Mortgage with a few simple energy upgrades can provide real peace of mind—a fixed rate for 3 years and an impressive combined annual saving of
€5,652.36
If you could switch to a Green Mortgage, just imagine what you could do with that extra money....
A dream holiday? Home improvements? Extra savings or investments? With lower repayments and a more energy-efficient home, the possibilities are wide open.
