Mortgage for Airbnb in Northern Ireland?

[Ciara148]

Hi,

We recently bought a house with an annex in the back garden. We'd like to AirBnB it, but already had great difficulty getting a mortgage for the property, due to living in Northern Ireland. The mortgage companies told us that we needed a commercial mortgage if we wanted to let out the annex, but a residential mortgage for the house, meaning we needed a mixed mortgage, but these don't exist in Northern Ireland! (We tried so hard - they're just not a thing)  So we had to go with a residential mortgage and they made us promise we wouldn't let it out. Obviously we'd like to in the long run, but if the Tourist Board inspect it etc then they might highlight this as being an issue, and we'd like to remain legal.

Has anyone else got experience of letting out a self-contained annex in Northern Ireland? How did you get round the mortgage issue? Or if you're on a residential mortgage, did that come up as an issue? Thanks for any advice! 

[Helen744]

@Ciara148 I think Ciara the issue is as you realise ,the type of mortgage that you have. Two main types are Investment or as you have a residential or possibly 'first home owner 'loan.Well thts the way it is in Australia and I imagine most loans are a variation of that or a straight commercial loan for a building designed to house a business. They do not like to mix them up as you requested for the simple reason that different loans for different reasons attract different mortgage rates . It is in fact a form of fraud to take a 'home ' mortgage and use it as an investment loan , but with a first home owner mortgage , there are generally limits to this ,like twelve months when you must live in the house and only after that can you rent any part of the house. Tax law is different to mortgages and federal law so before you rent the annexe or any part of the house ,which you are now the owner of ,make sure you understand the requirements of your mortgage ,the tax department and local ordinances. Good luck . the bank wanted you to say you would not rent out the property because you applied for a homeowners loan , with cheaper mortgage rates , not because the counties have different rules, although they might have , they will have no interest in your mortgage. Neither will Airbnb, they will take your word for it that you are allowed to Airbnb your property. Sorry if that is too long but there are other Irish hosts here . H

[Ciara148]

Thanks Helen! This is just a residential mortgage (not first-time buyer). We have read the restrictions and we're restricted for the duration of the mortgage, but the issue is actually to do with the area - mixed/semi-residential mortgages literally haven't appeared in N Ireland yet, unlike the rest of the UK, so there's no chance of us getting one. Thanks again for your reply! 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ciara148 Could you split the annex from the deeds leaving the house mortgaged?

[Ciara148]

Do you mean separate mortgages for each building? I guess that's a possibility! They have separate rates/council tax bills, but both come under the same address, but we could potentially change that....