🏠 RSU (Restricted Stock Units) Mortgage Ireland: How Tech Professionals Can Maximize Their Borrowing Power

If you work at a multinational like Alphabet, Meta and Salesforce, Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) probably make up a significant chunk of your total compensation. The problem? Walk into a high-street bank in Ireland and they’ll likely ignore them entirely.

Standard retail banks are notoriously cautious with variable income. RSUs are often excluded from your borrowing calculations altogether — meaning the bank sees a much smaller salary than you actually earn, and offers you a much smaller mortgage than you deserve.

At Park Financial, Ireland’s specialist RSU mortgage broker, we do things differently. We have exclusive access to broker-only lenders who fully understand tech compensation — and know exactly how to assess your RSUs as real, borrowable income.

❌ Why Banks Get RSU Mortgages Wrong

Banks like to see simple, predictable income. A monthly salary that never changes. RSUs don’t fit that model — they vest on a schedule, fluctuate with share prices, and vary year to year. Rather than take the time to properly assess them, most retail banks in Ireland simply discount them or leave them out entirely.

The result: tech professionals with total compensation packages worth €150,000+ are being assessed as if they earn €90,000 — and being offered a mortgage to match.

If you’ve been told by a bank that your RSUs don’t count, you haven’t had the full picture yet.

🎯 The Broker-Only Advantage: Why Park Financial Is Different

The most flexible RSU mortgage criteria in Ireland are only available through broker-only lenders — specialist institutions that don’t have high-street branches and don’t deal with the public directly. You can only access them through a licensed, accredited mortgage broker like Park Financial.

These lenders were purpose-built for complex income situations. They understand vesting schedules, stock averaging, front-loaded grant models, and multi-year compensation structures. Crucially, they have specific, tested formulas for calculating exactly how much your RSUs are worth as borrowable income.

Working with Park Financial means:

• Access to the full Irish mortgage market including exclusive broker-only lenders
• A specialist presentation of your RSU compensation to underwriters
• Maximum borrowing capacity based on your actual total compensation — not just your base salary
• Faster approvals through our 100% digital application platform

❓ Do Lenders Take RSU as Income?

The short answer is yes, but it depends entirely on the lender. While retail banks pass on variable stock options, our specialized broker-only panel evaluates your RSUs using two primary assessment models:

📈 How Broker-Only Lenders Assess RSU Income in Ireland

Not all lenders treat RSUs the same way. Here is exactly how our two primary broker-only lenders calculate your RSU income for mortgage purposes.

Lender 1 — The Weighted Average Model

Best for: Established tech professionals with at least 3 years in their sector.

• Minimum 3 years of continuous industry experience required
• Up to 75% of vested RSU value recognised as income
• Applies a weighted two-year average — meaning rising income trajectories are rewarded, not penalised
• Ideal for professionals whose RSU grants have been growing year on year

📊 Lender 2 — The Two-Year Average Model

Best for: Tech professionals with stable, consistent RSU distributions.

• No cap on variable income as a percentage of basic salary — unlike retail banks
• Up to 75% of a two-year average of vested RSUs fully counted
• Explicitly accounts for different vesting structures, including Alphabet’s front-loaded model: 33% / 33% / 22% / 11% across four years
• Works across standard 3, 4, and 5-year vesting periods

🧮 RSU Mortgage Ireland: Real-World Worked Example

To show exactly how this works in practice, here’s a case study using Lender 2’s two-year average performance based RSUs with an average share price of €106.58 and a 3-year vesting period:

The result: an additional €35,971 added directly to your borrowable income — which at standard Irish mortgage multiples can translate to €125,000+ in additional borrowing capacity.

💡 The One Document That Speeds Up Your RSU Mortgage Application

When preparing your RSU mortgage application in Ireland, the single most valuable document you can provide is your original RSU award letter from your employer. This letter must clearly state:

• The exact number of RSUs granted
• The vesting schedule and timeline
• The grant date and expiry

Having this document ready at the outset avoids delays with underwriters and significantly speeds up your Approval in Principle (AIP). Park Financial will guide you on exactly what to gather before we submit.

❓ RSU Mortgage Ireland — Frequently Asked Questions

❓ Can I use RSUs to get a mortgage in Ireland?
Yes — but not through every lender. High-street banks typically exclude or heavily discount RSU income. Broker-only lenders, accessible exclusively through specialists like Park Financial, have specific formulas that fully recognise RSU income as part of your borrowing calculation.

❓ How much of my RSU income will a lender count?
Broker-only lenders typically count up to 75% of a two-year average of your vested RSU income. The exact formula depends on the lender and your specific vesting schedule.

❓ What is a broker-only lender?
A broker-only lender is a specialist wholesale lender that does not operate retail bank branches and cannot be approached directly by the public. They accept applications exclusively through licensed mortgage brokers like Park Financial, which allows them to offer more flexible and bespoke criteria for variable and complex income types.

❓ Can unvested RSUs count towards my mortgage?
No. Lenders will only consider RSUs that have already vested or are actively vesting based on a proven track record. Future, unvested grants cannot be included in your borrowing calculation.

❓ What happens if my share price has dropped?
Lenders typically take a conservative average of your stock price over the past 12–24 months, or use the current market price if it is lower — whichever is more cautious. A specialist broker ensures your stock is valued as fairly as possible within those parameters.

❓ How is an RSU mortgage different from a standard mortgage application?
The application process is the same, but the income assessment is more complex. RSU mortgage applications require specialist document preparation, a detailed income narrative, and submission to the right lender. Park Financial handles all of this on your behalf.

❓ Which tech companies’ RSUs do Irish lenders recognise?
Broker-only lenders recognise RSUs from a wide range of multinational tech firms including Alphabet (Google), Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, Stripe, Apple, Amazon, and similar publicly listed companies with established vesting programmes.

🔗 Find Out Exactly What You Can Borrow

If your RSUs have been ignored by a high-street bank, you may be eligible for significantly more than you’ve been told. Park Financial specialises in structuring and presenting complex tech compensation packages to the right lenders — the ones who actually understand how you’re paid.

→ Try our Advanced Mortgage Calculator
→ Read our First Time Buyer Guide
→ Book a consultation with an RSU mortgage specialist

📞 Take the Next Step

Ready to find out how much equity you can release or what Green mortgage rates your home qualifies for?

Get started with Park Financial today and let our licensed team unlock the best deals on the Irish market for you.