wanting to buy on my own..

violent*sky

i've tried looking through other posts to see if there were answers for what i'm going to ask, but couldn't find any, so apologies if i'm repeating anything already answered.

i have recently moved back into the parents house after living in dublin city centre for two years. i was renting a room in an apartment on parliament street and loved every second of it. i eventually got sick of knowing the money i was paying each month wasn't going to leave me with anything once i moved out. So i'm at home now and saving, with the intention of buying my own place.

i guess what i'm asking is, if i went to a bank and looked for a mortgage, at 24,male,employed full-time, no debts (small balance on credit card which will be cleared up) will i be laughed out of the place?

what do i need to have to make my case more plausible, how much of a savings history do they have/need to see.

i'm also looking into the affordably housing scheme, has anyone got good or bad things to say about it?

thanks for any help/comments.

ciaran

amtc

you left out the important thing - how much you earn and what type of job!

bren2002

Make sure you are fully aware of the market so that you know what you're buying. Plus banks are running a mile from 100% mortgages so you'd be better off having a deposit.

For a counter argument to the current spin being put out by Estate Agents and the CIF check out www.thepropertypin.com (Although some of the posters on that site are very bearish, but a sensible read should get you an idea of the middle ground)
Personally I think house prices have another 20% or so left to fall, at which point I will reassess my view of the market and consider buying or holding. Lots of variables have to be considered, plus what ever you do, don't buy an apartment.

starky

violent*sky wrote: »

i've tried looking through other posts to see if there were answers for what i'm going to ask, but couldn't find any, so apologies if i'm repeating anything already answered.

i have recently moved back into the parents house after living in dublin city centre for two years. i was renting a room in an apartment on parliament street and loved every second of it. i eventually got sick of knowing the money i was paying each month wasn't going to leave me with anything once i moved out. So i'm at home now and saving, with the intention of buying my own place.

i guess what i'm asking is, if i went to a bank and looked for a mortgage, at 24,male,employed full-time, no debts (small balance on credit card which will be cleared up) will i be laughed out of the place?

what do i need to have to make my case more plausible, how much of a savings history do they have/need to see.

i'm also looking into the affordably housing scheme, has anyone got good or bad things to say about it?

thanks for any help/comments.

ciaran

In regard to affordably housing, loads of pro’s loads of cons about the scheme which you will find in the relevant posts on here. While it does not really suit every one, it seems that single people with no immediate family plans, who are looking for a place to live for 10 or so years are very well suited to it, due to the various conditions of it.

If you want to say in the city centre then you should definitely get on the List. The closing date for the next lot of draws is on the 11th of April so if you want in you will need to get into Dublin city council and get your name on the list (€50). The nest draw may not be for 6/8 months so you should definitely give this one a shot.

You can then tick apartments that you would like to be entered into a draw for. You might get lucky and get a place in the city centre.
I only got offered a place in D2 on the second draw that I entered though. For me the lead time between joining the list and moving in is looking like it will be about two years.

starky

bren2002 wrote: »

…. plus what ever you do, don't buy an apartment.

The decision of weather or not to buy an apartment definitely should come down to location. If you are thinking about buying one on the open market.

Under the AH scheme you will be protected against negative equity in the short term, so you can factor negative equity out of your decision to buy an apartment on the AH scheme.

OP your motives for wanting a place are the same as mine, just some where to live in a good city location and not really a money making thing, so an apartment on AH in a decent area would not be all that bad of a move for you, based on your current personal circumstances.

An apartment on the open market in a bad location would most definitely be a no no in my opinion too.

Do-more

violent*sky wrote: »

i eventually got sick of knowing the money i was paying each month wasn't going to leave me with anything once i moved out.

I know the lack of freedom when renting can be a real pain in the ass but when you rent you are paying for shelter it's not a waste of money as some people would have you believe.

What is a waste of money is paying money for a depreciating asset. And that's what property is at the moment, even the most bullish of our so-called economists are forcasting property prices to continue to drop this year. (I think 8% is about the lowest estimate many predict greater drops)

Apartments and one-bed apartments in particular are expected to be the worst hit as the "property ladder" turns into the "property snake"

Think about it, would you consder walking into a BMW dealer tomorrow and buying a 316 on 35 year finance, drive it for a year and then set fire to it? That's an approximation of the financial loss you are likely to experiance if you were to buy an apartment in Dublin now.

Another way to look at it is that if you get a 92% mortgage on an apartment now the 8% deposit will probably have been completely wiped out by this time next year.

There are already thousands of people who have bought on 100% mortgages in the past few years who are in negative equity. Their position is dire, they can't sell without coming up with the balance to pay off their mortgage, they can't even swap to a new lender with lower interest rates because their asset is worth less than what they need to borrow so they are locked in with their current lender and are completely at their mercy regarding interest rates. Without being able to absorb their losses they are also completely powerless to move into a larger property should they decide to start a family etc.

Do you want to add yourself to their number?

Please take previous posters advice on educating yourself to the other side of the story. Read some "real" economists opinions on the housing market, independant ones such as Alan Aherne from NUI Galway.

And good luck with the saving!

mydarkstar

as someone before me said, the Affordable Housing scheme has many pros & cons well covered in other thread here. It is worth looking into and making up your own mind up if it suits you or not. Whether or not a bank will laugh at you will depend on your earnings.

On a personal note, I bought an apartment 3-years ago by myself.
I considered the Affordable Housing list but for my own reasons decided against it. I did however apply to Dublin City Council for a Shared Ownership mortgage- they gave me a mortgage which I used to shop around to choose my own apartment (rather than going on a list for a particular area). DCC were happy to offer me 70k more of a mortgage when other financial institutions. The repayments on the SO mortgage were as high as if I'd borrowed from a 'real' bank but the catch was that a bank wouldnt offer me that much- the thing is that the repayments were 50% mortgage & 50% rent, so at the end of the term I would still have to pay off 50% of my mortgage if I hadnt bought them out in the meantime. Luckily last year I was able to apply to a bank to buy out DCC. In my opinion the key for anyone entering the SO scheme is to use it to get on the property ladder but to buy out of it as soon as possible. In remortgaging I managed to lower my repayments significantly, and at the end of the mortgage this place will be 100% mine, not just 50%

Raskolnikov

The first thing you need to do is to get on the Affordable Housing waiting list.

Ignore all the property doom and gloomers, because the fact is, that Affordable Housing will allow you to buy a property that's often at 50% of market value. Even in the event of a property crash, buying through Affordable Housing will insulate you from the worst of things.

Even if you get offered a place and decide not to take it up, for the poxy fee of €50, you'd be foolish not to apply and at least have the option.

Moonbeam

See how much you can borrow and then have a look at what is available in your price range.

Though some of the thinks you may want to think about are :

Are you prepared to compromise on size/location to suit your price range?
Are you prepared to take on maybe a 2nd job to save up enough to pay a deposit or get your earnings high enough for the mortgage.

beeno67

violent*sky wrote: »

i eventually got sick of knowing the money i was paying each month wasn't going to leave me with anything once i moved out.
ciaran

Remember though, when you have a mortgage most of the money you pay out in the first few years goes on interest, which also, isn't going to leave you with anything once you move out. Even on a 20 year mortgage you will only havve paid off half the mortgage after 15 years. In most places you should be able to rent for a lot less than you will buy. Remember your costs are not only mortgage but also legal fees, furniture, upkeep and possibly service charge for apartment. Why not wait a year or 2, let the market settle and live in a place you want to live in the mean time.

violent*sky

thanks everyone...some very good points i hadn't thought about.

i reckon the first stop is to get on the affordable housing list or the shared ownership scheme.

i'll see what's offered and can always just let them go by if they're not the right option and keep saving (and playing the lotto)

thanks for taking the time to reply!

starky

violent*sky wrote: »

thanks everyone...some very good points i hadn't thought about.

i reckon the first stop is to get on the affordable housing list or the shared ownership scheme.

i'll see what's offered and can always just let them go by if they're not the right option and keep saving (and playing the lotto)

thanks for taking the time to reply!

Dont forget DCC AH for the current round of draws closes on 11th of April! you could be waiting 8/9 months for the next draw so make sure to get into it quick!