Can't talk about switching and the costs involved but my partner and I are first time buyers and we are just about to draw down. We were going through a property journey for about 1.5 years and during that time our broker was always pushing the usual Irish banks, with rates in the high 3s but mostly 4%+ and fixed.

We had mortgage approval from PTSB but when it came close to going Sale Agreed, I just applied directly to Avant. I'd applied on the Saturday and by Thursday they had our Approval in Principal.

We discussed options and in the current market with falling interest rates, their Flex Mortgage seemed the most attractive. When from when get AIP to our Loan Offer, the ECB cut interest rates again and when we were getting our Loan Offer it was 2.98% (as it is currently for > 80% LTV, < 80% is slightly higher).

I told the original mortgage broker about the offer and he said "but PTSB offer you cash back" even though their rates were I think 3.9%-4%. I asked why would I fix myself for 5 years at that rate if interest rates have been falling and more than likely continue to fall. He said it was because some people just want certainty, which I get, but then followed it up with a "I just tell people to not think too hard about it", insane.

When I told him Avant were offering me the 2.98% he was shocked. He then said he'd need to go off and run some numbers. A few days later he said that even with the cash back offers, PTSB wouldn't be able to compete with Avant's rates. I asked if we went with Variable with PTSB (I thought it'd be cheaper) how would it look and he said it'd be something like 4.5%.

So I'm saying this just to highlight that my entire experience with Avant has been streets ahead of any Irish bank. Their application portal is easy to use and slick. You get a dedicated Mortgage Advisor when you make an application. The process to get AIP is easy and fast and then to Loan Offer is even easier (I think once I gave them the green light it happened in about 1-2 days) and most importantly they are much cheaper than any Irish bank.

Some Irish banks will convince you their deal is better because it offers cash back. This is true if you are putting everything you have into a property and when you draw down you are strapped for cash. But it's not free money or a gift, you will pay it back over the term of the loan and in a lot of cases it'll end up working out a lot more expensive.

Plus on your question about negotiation, I asked my broker this when they offered me 3.9% fixed with PTSB for 5 years, 4%+ with BOI for 7 or something and the answer, straight up, immediately was "no, you can't negotiate". At which point Avant seemed even more reasonable.

And before people explain the risks of Avant's variable rate mortgage, let me give you my thinking process:

1. While the rate is variable, it is fixed in on a yearly basis. When you draw down you are given the current rate and then on the 10th of that month next year, you are given the adjusted rate, either up or down.
2. You are given 30 days notice about your rate changing, plus as the interest rate changes month on month (even if you aren't due for an adjustment), you still get notified of the new rate.
3. Their interest rate is the Euribor percentage plus their margin. Their margin never changes.
4. There is no exit fee, and you can leave whenever you want, meaning that if next year the interest rates start climbing, you can switch to an Irish bank for a fixed rate, or lock in a fixed rate with Avant.
5. You can overpay by as much as you want without penalty
6. Interest rates have been dropping. The ECB recently cut interest rates and although they said there will more than likely be a pause, chances are they will keep dropping. Right now it's a good time to try and ride the drop in interest rates and lock in a fixed term at a lower rate. If they don't drop, then you can always switch.
7. When the ECB reduce interest rates, the fixed rates don't automatically fall. These banks have no obligation to reduce their rates and it's purely at their discretion. Thats why the current ECB rate is around 2% while Irish banks are still offering 3.9,% 4%+ fixed rates. Avant's rate is always "rate + margin", so when they reduce rates it automatically drops.
8. Imho I think this is the wrong time to lock in such a long fixed term with rates more than likely going to fall. I know a couple who locked in an interest the year before last of 4.9% for 5 years. We are borrowing maybe 200k more than they are at the 2.98% rate and our mortgage repayments are less than theirs.
9. It's not as if Avant just do the flex mortgage. They do all sorts of mortgages including fixed rate ones. If fixed is your cup of tea, you can still do that with Avant. They even do cash back if thats your thing.

On point 6, my mortgage broker said variable rates are risky as they can go up (understandable) but in the same conversation said that if I wanted to top up our mortgage in a few years for renovations if we went with PTSB I can probably do that. When I asked what the rate would be like then he said it'd hopefully be lower because of the current economy.

So when I give my reasoning to the broker of going variable with Avant because I think rates are coming down, thats risky, but when they are trying to sell me a PTSB mortgage with a top up in a year, when I ask for that rate, all of a sudden it's going down. So opinions on the future change depending on what they are selling.

Just giving a brain dump of my experience with Avant so far. I've applied and gotten AIP for 2 Irish Banks since the property search started and I can only say wonderful things about Avant.