Independent.ie - Personal Finance RSS Feed
10/25/2017 01:30 AM
Angry mortgage holders contact Garda fraud squad
Furious mortgage holders who lost valuable tracker rates due to the actions of the banks have been contacting the Garda fraud squad in a bid to have the lenders investigated.
10/24/2017 01:30 AM
Apartments now cost more to build than houses: experts
The cost of building a two-bedroom apartment is way in excess of the selling price, meaning few developments are likely to go ahead unless the Government tackles Vat, levies and other costs, a new report claims.
10/23/2017 01:30 AM
Lessons from abroad
A decade ago I worked with IBM as an economic consultant, part of their team serving governments and public sector clients around the world. One of my more unusual trips involved a stop in the city of Saskatoon.
10/22/2017 05:00 PM
Social housing hit by immigrant investor rules
Plans to build thousands of new social housing units have been put in jeopardy and at least €60m of planned foreign investment has been lost after rules governing Ireland's 'invest for residency' scheme were changed without consultation with stakeholders, a number of senior Irish property sources have claimed.
10/22/2017 05:00 PM
Pay and file: step-by-step guide to filing tax returns
Preparing and filing your annual self-assessed tax return can be a daunting task for any taxpayer. Year after year, the Form 11 self-assessed tax return grows longer and more complex, with the 2016 version being 34 pages long with 15 panels and hundreds of data points for the anxious taxpayer to complete.
10/22/2017 05:00 PM
Time in the market, rather than timing, is key to investor returns
Investing in markets is an emotionally-uncomfortable activity regardless of market conditions. Periods of high volatility with markets lurching downwards may be the most obvious fear for most investors, but the truth is that, in far more sanguine periods, it doesn't get much easier.
10/22/2017 05:00 PM
Jewellery business shows how to create a brand from scratch
As the economy returns to growth, the jewellery industry in particular is a sector that has emerged changed immensely. When global markets and currencies fluctuate, investors divert their investment and seek safe havens such as gold and other metals. As a result, spot gold has doubled in price in the last 10 years.
10/22/2017 05:00 PM
Nama would be a big winner from Murphy's high rise Dublin plan
Housing minister Eoghan Murphy delivered what many will see as welcome news at the recent Irish Planning Institute Annual Autumn conference. At it he said he would tackle the "faintly ridiculous restrictions" on using scarce land in an effective and efficient way.
10/22/2017 05:00 PM
Banking on the Germans: Can the Sparkasse model really put manners on Irish banks?
German bank Sparkasse faces many hurdles if it is to fulfil its ambition to bring its community-focused, regionally-based lending model to Ireland. With public opinion of banks at an all-time low, one element of the model in particular may prove difficult to explain, said a supporter of the plan, half in jest: "Irish people are going to struggle with the concept that a bank would actually want to do something that doesn't involve profit."
10/20/2017 01:30 AM
What happens if my loan is sold?
If your loan is sold to a vulture fund or another bank all of the original contracts remain the same - though that includes the obligation to make repayments.
10/20/2017 01:30 AM
Ask and you shall receive
As you pore over the miserable fiver a week (or was it a tenner?) that Minister Donohoe bestowed on you in this month's Budget, don't fret.
10/19/2017 01:30 AM
You must pay new staff and make a profit from them
Q: I run a medium-sized training business and find myself on an endless cycle of travelling around the country, delivering workshops etc. I am keen to grow my business but unsure as to whether to take on other trainers. Can you offer any advice?
10/19/2017 01:30 AM
What happens if newly-built houses cannot find buyers?
If only there was a simple formula for predicting market crashes, we'd all get rich. (Well, those who knew it would). But there isn't. Except that, just maybe, there might be when it comes to housing.
10/19/2017 01:30 AM
How to tell if you are affected
Thousands of people may be entitled to a good-value tracker mortgage, but may not even be aware of this.
10/19/2017 01:30 AM
Fresh hope for families in tracker loans nightmare
Families have been given fresh hope that their tracker nightmare will end this year, after the Government threatened to hit banks with massive tax bills if they do not rectify the mess.
10/18/2017 01:30 AM
Returns on investment in property stable in Q3
The latest JLL Property Index shows that overall returns from investment in the Irish property market increased by 3.8pc in the last three months and by 13.1pc in the last 12 months. This combined capital and income return is made up of stable growth in both capital and rental values.
10/15/2017 05:00 PM
Who is better off: the family with one or two breadwinners?
The squeezed middle are still worse off than at the height of the Celtic Tiger in 2006 when it comes to take-home pay - but next year some families with two working parents will almost take home as much of their pay after tax as they did in 2006.
10/15/2017 05:00 PM
High earners hit hardest because of USC and PSRI
High earners are probably the biggest losers of the Budget measures announced since the recession. These people will come home with less pay after taxes next year than they did at the height of the Celtic Tiger in 2006.
10/14/2017 01:30 AM
Explained: Why women are losing out on their pension payments
Changes to the way the State pension payment is calculated were introduced in 2012. The rules hit women hard. They are typically losing €35 in payments. They will not get the full €5 rise in the State pension announced in the Budget.
10/14/2017 01:30 AM
Charlie Weston's top tips to Beat the Budget
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe's Budget this week delivered puny gains to workers, pensioners and others getting social welfare payments. Many will gain just €5 a week.
10/13/2017 01:30 AM
Home economics: Sinead Ryan answers your property questions
Q. We have been in arrears on our mortgage for nearly two years. We tried to pay some of it back but my husband lost his job and we had no option but to tell them. They have initiated proceedings to repossess the house and we are trying to find a solution, but they say this may be the only one.
10/13/2017 01:30 AM
What's driving down motor insurance?
Is it finally time to say motor insurance premiums are falling? After being on a one-way trajectory for the last three years (up 60pc), it seemed as if even the careful, safe driver couldn't get a break. Recent events should mean prices start falling, but is it actually happening?
10/12/2017 01:30 AM
Investors set to pile into PTSB auction
Permanent TSB is expected to attract strong interest from debt markets when it refinances another €500m tranche of performing loans next week as bond market investors swoop on deals offering a positive yield.
10/12/2017 01:30 AM
The downright misogyny of the State makes me furious
Sometimes, it's not nice to be right. I'm afraid I didn't expect the Government and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to right the deliberate wrong against mainly women in this week's Budget.
10/11/2017 01:30 AM
No proof Help-to-Buy fuels prices - report
There is no evidence that the controversial Help-to-Buy scheme for first-time buyers is leading to an increase in house prices or new supply, a report commissioned by the Government says - but it will be "vital" that prices are carefully monitored.
10/08/2017 05:00 PM
Poor protection from pussyfooting regulators one reason cost of living is so high here
Is it any wonder consumers are cynical about energy companies, banks, insurers, airlines, and their regulators? Businesses that feel they are unfairly criticised need to pause and consider just how unreasonable their actions are at times. Take energy companies. In the last three years wholesale gas and electricity prices were at record lows. Wholesale gas prices were down 40pc in March compared with the same month a year previously.
10/08/2017 05:00 PM
Will husband's pension provide for family?
Q: My husband, who is in the civil service, pays into a spouse and children's pension scheme. I don't have a work pension myself as I have looked after our children full-time for the past 20 years. What am I and my children entitled to under this scheme? Would we be entitled to a pension once my husband retires - or is that pension only payable if my husband predeceases me? Gemma, Leixlip, Co Kildare
10/08/2017 05:00 PM
KBC working towards three-hour approvals for mortgages
Prior to September, KBC Bank's app took 26 steps to open an account. A new and improved app launched last month reduced that process down to five steps. Next on the horizon is mortgages which can be approved in three hours.
10/06/2017 01:30 AM
Huge build-up of tax appeal cases
THERE has been a call for changes to the tax appeals regime after it emerged that thousands of taxpayers are in dispute with Revenue.