uk apartment... is it worth losing irish first time buyer status?

isolde

hey

i have just put a bid on an apartment in the uk that i like a lot. it makes financial sense taking my current situation into account.

however, i am irish and reckon that i will probably return to ireland at some point, probably in 4 or 5 years time (this is of course not completely guaranteed...)

i am concerned now that by losing my first time buyer status in Ireland, I may be shooting myself in the foot when I return.

Comments and /or advice welcome

lomb

isolde wrote:

i am concerned now that by losing my first time buyer status in Ireland, I may be shooting myself in the foot when I return.

dont worry about it, first time buyer status isnt worth alot maybe 10 grand or so. thats 7 grand in sterling. when u think about it, inflation alone will be more than that. dont let it stop u from buying. if u are really worried u could buy in the name of a ltd company or the other option is tell ur solicitor that u are first time buyer when u return (which u are in the state at least )

Culchie

Don't woory about it, if it's a sound investment it will more than outperform any perceived benefit of a first time buyer.

Don't forget any benefit handed to the first time buyer one hands is taken away by the builder on the other hand anyway.

Good Luck with it.

Afuera

If it makes financial sense for your circumstances then you'll probably be ok. Maybe you should think about a Plan B on the off chance that in 4-5 years time the market is bad and you want to move back to Ireland. Is it in a good area for renting out, would rent cover the mortgage etc. ?

As for lomb's advice of falsely claiming you're a FTB if/when you come back to Ireland, I would ignore that. This could land you in a lot of trouble and could take years to catch up with you in which case you would end up playing lots of penalties and interest when found out.

Also, one thing that I'd like to highlight is that FTB grants are easily changable by government. It doesn't really amount to much now but who's to say what it might entitle in 4-5 years time? If there was a slump in the property market then the government could start offering 50% discounts to FTBs to try and get houses sold and thus support an ailing construction industry. Just something to think about...

isolde

thanks, guys. food for thought.

r3nu4l

I'm in a similar position to the OP, I haven't bid yet but was thinking of doing so in the next 12 months. Hard to tell really, I think at teh end of the day, just bite the bullet and go for it. I'm only sorry I didn't buy at home three years ago. The place would be worth a fortune now and I would probably have a massive deposit instead of what I have now.

Hindsight eh? :rolleyes:

isolde

r3nu4l wrote:

I'm in a similar position to the OP, I haven't bid yet but was thinking of doing so in the next 12 months. Hard to tell really, I think at teh end of the day, just bite the bullet and go for it.

yea i am going through moments of "oh my god am i doing the right thing" panic. i dont really like the idea of tying myself to one place. but i think sometimes you just need to go for it. there's only so long you can second guess things for!