Some 36% of first-time buyers would like a mortgage that covers the asking price but by the time their income and employment status have been vetted, just over half actually qualify, according to Frank Conway, director of the Irish Mortgage Corporation.

Despite the popularity of the 100% mortgage, Conway says buyers must be cautious about their debt levels and warns that even though some people are eligible for loans which cover the full price, it is still important to continue saving.

Conway's Irish Mortgage Corporation has just announced a new series of seminars for first-time buyers which start again next month.

Hosted by the Irish Mortgage Corporation, new homes sellers Hooke & MacDonald, together with a number of solicitors' firms, they are a popular forum for novices in the property market to get expert advice.

Conway says that the vast majority of first-time buyers still get about 9092% mortgages, but even those who do qualify for larger loans must continue to save.

There are extra costs involved such as stamp duty if it is a second-hand home worth over 317,5000 . . . legal fees, surveyors' fees, as well as furniture. It is very important that people save for these costs rather than buying everything on credit and using store cards and credit cards to buy the necessities they need for their new home.

These forms of credit are very expensive. We have worked out that it could take a person 13 years to pay off a 2500 credit card debt just paying the minimum payment of 3% or 136 every month. By that time, the person will have paid off almost twice the amount they owed. That is why it is important that people continue saving for items they may want to buy for their home, rather than relying on credit cards.

Conway says a lot of people use large, longterm mortgages of 35 years or more as a means of getting onto the property market.

Within a couple of years, they shorten the term of the mortgage or restructure the loan as their own means allows, " The seminars will cover important issues for first time buyers, especially the benefit of having mortgage approval-inprincipal (AIP) before starting to look for a property.

It will also detail the advantages and disadvantages of the various fixed, variable and tracker mortgage interest rates, the necessity of stress-testing your ability to repay probably rises in interest rates over the next 18 months and what sort of future is in store for the property market.

Reservations: 01 676- 3654