One in five homeowners could save money by switching mortgage lenders. The Central Bank says 27,000 mortgage holders could save up to €10,000 over the lifetime of their loan.

Research from the Central Bank says that more than 100,000 people on variable rate mortgages could make savings on their loans by switching to a lender with a lower interest rate.

We spoke to Michael Dowling who runs Michael Dowling Mortgage & Financial Services - here's his top tips to save:

1. Ring your Bank and find out these three things:

• What the balance on your mortgage is.

• The interest rate

• What term is remaining on the mortgage.

2. If you are on a Tracker Rate, are in negative equity (value of your mortgage exceeds the value of your house) or have arrears, you should /or cannot move lender.

3. You can ring an estate agent and find out the value of your house or check www.propertypriceregister.ie to see the value of recent sales in your area.

4. If the value of your mortgage is 80 percent or less of the value of your house, you should consider moving if you are on a Standard Variable Rate, which ranges from 4.3 to 4.5%.

5. Ring your Bank and ask them what options they will offer for you if you were to consider moving. Some will negotiate on the Variable Rate and all will offer better fixed rates from 3.5%.

6. If you do not want to do this work yourself, check The Central Bank Register for Authorised Intermediaries and they will do the work for you. Check if they charge a fee, most will not.

7. Four Banks are covering the cost of switching, KBC will pay €2,000, Ulster Bank will pay € ,500 and PTSB will pay €1,000. Bank of Ireland will pay 2% of the mortgage amount.

If you decide that you want to switch - here's how the process of switching works:

1. Complete a Mortgage Application Form.

2. You will need your P.60, 3 pay slips from your employer, 6 months current account statements, 3 months credit card statements, mortgage statements and a copy of your passport.

3. Mortgage is assessed, if approved, in principle,a valuation report is arranged by the broker or bank.

4. Loan offer is issued.

5. Solicitor arranges legal work to transfer to the new mortgage provider.

6. This process will take 4-8 weeks.

There are 157,00 mortgage holders who should check and see as they definitely can save money