When Brian Whelan and his friends Alex Moynihan and Gavin McCarron decided to buy a house together they found the idea so popular that Whelan is now setting up business as a mortgage broker. The three former school friends were thrown together by rising property prices and a conviction that paying rent was dead money. So they joined forces and bought a house in Elford Terrace, off Dublin's South Circular Road, in 1998.

The three took out a mortgage and drew up a contract detailing how the best rooms would be rotated, methods of paying off the mortgage, running costs, and what to do when it came to selling up. The initial agreement was for five years, but part of the contract was that it could be reviewed at any time as long as everyone agreed. Things have changed for each of them with one of them opting to go to Australia and another taking a different look at the market.

So Whelan has now bought out the other two. "Everything ended as amicably as it had begun," he says. "We had all promised each other first option if anyone wanted to cash in their share of the house and I was the only one still interested in keeping the place," he says. They each got separate valuations on the property and took the average figure. Deducted from the bill was the cost of fees if the property had been sold on the open market. "The downside of buying out the other two was that I had to pay stamp duty again," says Whelan.

But they still made money since they had bought the house for £170,000 and the agreed valuation for it was £300,000. In the meantime, they had also undertaken some improvement. "We had drawn up a contract assuming the worst would happen," says Whelan. "It didn't of course, none of us died, but we had an agreement that was more airtight than that between most married couples."

Buying properties jointly has become a bit more common. "A lot of people came to us and asked for advice. I became quite interested. I had been working in Friends First Assurance, and though I am still there on a consultancy basis three days a week, I am spending four days a week setting up business as a mortgage broker." His business is called quote4it.ie and offers web-based financial solutions and all the services of a traditional mortgage, life and pensions brokerage. "I am in the business of introducing quality business to banks. It won't cost the clients anything. The banks aren't throwing money at people so it helps to have someone negotiate the best deal. The company offers all the services of traditional mortgage, life and pensions brokerage mixed with the convenience of the Internet."

Many Irish investors are now looking to properties in Manchester for longer-term gain. He has recently been negotiating the sales of two-bedroom apartments there for an average price of around £85,000.

The financial market has become a minefield of competing facts, figures and interest rates. Whelan, who is 27, finds that young people in particular can be confused. "It is in the nature of the Irish person to own property rather than to rent. Rising prices hasn't changed this," says Whelan. "More and more people are still prepared to spend a pretty penny just to get on the bottom rung of the ladder." He has been dealing with some couples who have bought properties jointly. Any growth in the value of the home can then be used as a deposit for individual homes in the future, says Whelan. "One set of couples bought a three-bedroom house in Lucan and another set in Navan. They were in their early to mid-twenties. The financial institutions were very open about it and they made sure to cover all angles in the contract. The more incomes involved in a mortgage, the better for them." Two individuals buying together can often get a better deal than a married couple since calculations are not based on the possiblity of one person giving up work. Whelan assists people in all age brackets. About 70 per cent of the business are individuals or a couple, while the rest are friends buying together. "It is still hard for people to get the deposit together so parents are taking out a loan on their homes. They often decide to buy a place abroad at the same time so it is all part of the same deal."

The advantage of employing a mortgage broker is having someone shop around on your behalf. Whelan makes his money from the institutions who pay him for introducing clients. He can often get a preferential rate for introducing a number of clients. He sees the mortgage broker playing an increasing role in the market. "I also have a number of clients who had been working abroad and are coming back. They haven't the time to make telephone calls from all over the place and they aren't sure where the market is at right now either." Apart from organising mortgages, the broker deals with pensions, saving plans and selling other financial products. Whelan is also interested in establishing affinity groups, which are relationships with other groups around the country. "An accountant in Dingle, for instance, can get a client to apply for a mortgage through quote4it.ie and team up with the lender that way."

quote4it.ie can be contacted at bmwhelan@quote4it.ie or at tel 087 4195490