KBC follows rivals in providing cash incentive to first-time buyers

KBC Bank Ireland is to offer a €1,500 cash incentive for certain first-time buyers and movers as the war for customers between Irish banks continues to ramp up.

The new offer is designed to support mortgage expenses such as legal and valuation fees, and follows the introduction of similar incentives from rival lenders.

The offer came into effect on August 17th and will be available to customers applying for fixed-rate mortgages over three, five or 10 years. Customers who apply for a home loan before the end of the year will be able to avail of the incentive on drawdown.

The bank was already offering a €3,000 cash-back offer to mortgage switchers, which ends on December 31st.

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Almost every other bank bar AIB offers cash incentives of one sort or another to first-time buyers and switchers. KBC's new offer comes just a week after the revised help-to-buy scheme opened for applications.

The incentive scheme, announced by the Government in the €7 billion stimulus plan late last month, allows first-time buyers buying a newly built home – or building one themselves – to claim back up to €30,000 in income tax and Dirt paid on bank deposit interest over the four years prior to the year they buy their home.

This marks a substantial increase on the previous rules, which enabled home buyers to claim back a maximum of €20,000.

In addition, the enhanced relief sees a doubling of the amount of the purchase price that the scheme covers. This means buyers can now claim up to 10 per cent of the cost of a home priced up to €300,000, and €30,000 on more expensive properties up to a maximum value of €500,000.