This article is from page 48 of the 2009-09-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 48 JPG
EMER O’Reilly, the straight-talking manager of the EBS in Ennis, ad- vises those considering a self-build project or property purchase not to be afraid to ask for money.
‘People are taking everything they hear on the radio and in the media at face value and they think none of the financial institutions are lending. Well, I have news of my own, we are most definitely lending at EBS, so please come and talk to us, if you are in the market for a loan,’ invited ioe
EBS Ennis, which had _previ- ously been housed in shared offices with Philip O’Reilly Property Plus, opened its standalone branch, located at Central Buildings, Abbey Street, last October with Emer O’Reilly, who has an impressive track record in banking and finance, at the helm.
Emer finds it frustrating that peo- ple are so reluctant to seek advice about loans. “I know that people are afraid to cross our threshold to seek finance, but those who do are invari- ably pleasantly surprised.”
She added, “We all know that the days of the 100 per cent mortgages are gone, but if buyers have saved a deposit and they can show that they
have been in continuous employment for 24 months, not even necessarily with the same employer, then there is no reason why their application for a mortgage will not be taken ser1- ously.
“With interest rates so low and it being a buyers’ market, with lots of bargain properties to chose from, it is a good time for those first-time buy- ers in employment to consider taking out a mortgage.”
Emer pointed out that apart from low interest variable mortgages, people who want some certainty can choose to fix their mortgage for one, two three, four, five or 10 years. Many of those who have taken out mortgages in recent months have opted for a five-year fixed term, sim- ply because they want to know where WSToAYAREDOLOB
The EBS team works closely with Clare County Council to help those who qualify for Affordable Hous- ing to acquire the necessary finance. Said Emer, “On the plus side we take lone parents allowance and social welfare payments into account as regular income. In fact they are of- ten vital when assessing affordable housing cases.”
According to Emer, EBS is the only financial institution offering struc-
tured financial support to those pur- chasing affordable housing.
“We are also helping people to fi- nance self-build, one-off housing projects. We are facilitating them in the purchase of the site and provid- ing the actual finance of the build. We don’t just provide the money, we also are able to give sound advice. Because EBS has a strong record in financing self-builds, we know the cost of construction and are able to recommend engineers and reliable builders etc.”
Now almost a year since opening the new EBS office, Emer reflected, ‘Because we are in a more promi- nent site, we have succeeded to at- tract more customers. In fact our in- vestment base is up a very healthy 40 per cent.
“The pace of life has slowed a lit- tle, and our excellent team, who are really on the ball and who take time to get to know their customers, are able to give our customers what they need — good, honest-to-God advice, be it about savings, pensions or mort- gages, at no charge.”