House buying in Drogheda

Harry Tasker

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice here. Have been renting for quite a while and am looking to buy a house on south side of Drogheda.

What is Bryanstown Manor like? There are two 3-bed houses for sale with quite a bit of difference in price - one is 290k and the other 260k. I think the second has been priced to sell as it is a very good reduction!

I know Bryanstown Manor is close to the station which is what I need as a commuter but does anyone know the pros and cons of the estate?

Thanks

Whiskey Devil

I'm no property expert but isn't this a terrible time to buy? Prices are still falling. You could lose a fortune in the space of a few months...

aquascrotum

I'm in a similar position to you in S. Drogheda and have been watching things quite closely. I'm very much inclined to hold off and continue to rent as the arse is falling out of property in Drogheda generally, imo it is probably one of the toughest hit areas in the country in terms of price drops, but there is definitely more to go. Demand is falling, and there are entire estates of rentals that people are or will shortly be trying to offload.

Given that rents have dropped (from what I've seen) probably on average about E200/month on just about everything in the last 6-8months, it makes increasing sense to just rent another year and reevaluate then. When I was moving last April, a 3bed semi in Grange Rath was looking at E1200/m, now they're on for E950 and there are lots of them so you have plenty of negotiating room.

Harry Tasker

Thanks for the replies/opinions but is there ever a good time or a bad time to buy? A couple of years ago, things were too expensive and out of my reach! Now the property market is falling so I could end up getting stung!

I'm no estate agent either but I don't honestly think that prices will fall that much further but only time will tell. One house is extremely lower priced than the other so maybe the sellers have taken that into account, I don't know.

I just want to get a foot on the property ladder, so it may be worth the risk! Who's to say that if the prices fall, they won't go back up again.....!

aquascrotum

Harry Tasker wrote: »

Thanks for the replies/opinions but is there ever a good time or a bad time to buy? A couple of years ago, things were too expensive and out of my reach! Now the property market is falling so I could end up getting stung!

I'm no estate agent either but I don't honestly think that prices will fall that much further but only time will tell. One house is extremely lower priced than the other so maybe the sellers have taken that into account, I don't know.

I just want to get a foot on the property ladder, so it may be worth the risk! Who's to say that if the prices fall, they won't go back up again.....!

Have you ever detected as negative a feeling on the streets about the economy as there is right now? People don't spend big tin when they think the world is about to come apart at the seams. The country is on the brink of banking meltdown. You'll know when things are on the turn when people start talking about holidays instead of how insecure their jobs are, and the news at 6 has nothing more important to talk about than fluffy bunnies.

I think you're mad, but if you do go in, bear in mind that the rule of thumb is that if you aren't embarassed by your 1st offer, it isn't low enough. Especially in Drogheda - get out of the property boom mindset where any house anywhere is a good house, and remember that it is essentially an oversized commuter town, with little or no employment in the town, and if things do continue to go t*ts up it will be one of the first places to be hit and hit hardest (with assoc. drops in house prices).

Personally I think approx 12k for another 12 months of renting "dead money" is far preferable to *insert figure here* of negative equity. You won't find anyone other than estate agents and developers predicting a bottoming out of the market this year, and even they are starting to shut up because they realise just how foolish they look. Visit the Accomo and Property section on this forum for a laugh.

Quick edit.....is this the house? http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?search=Search+%BB&s[cc_id]=c9&s[a_id][0]=3171&s[mnb]=&s[mxb]=&s[mnp]=100000&s[mxp]=300000&s[pt_id]=1&s[house_type]=&s[sqmn]=&s[sqmx]=&s[mna]=&s[mxa]=&s[search_type]=sale&s[transport]=&s[advanced]=&s[price_per_room]=&s[furn]=&s[refreshmap]=1&offset=10&limit=10&id=421246

Its been on for 40 days. There are 3 bed semis in Grange Rath which has always been a more desirable estate IMO for similar money (saw one for 270k) - the houses in GR were fetching 330k+ 8 months ago. That would lead me to believe that the 290k Bryanstown house is having a laugh, the 260k is still overpriced (as proven by the fact that it hasn't sold in 40+ days), and there are better houses in better areas on similar money that still can't sell. All of which are indicators that the market has nowhere near bottomed out.

Whiskey Devil

aquascrotum wrote: »

Have you ever detected as negative a feeling on the streets about the economy as there is right now? People don't spend big tin when they think the world is about to come apart at the seams. The country is on the brink of banking meltdown. You'll know when things are on the turn when people start talking about holidays instead of how insecure their jobs are, and the news at 6 has nothing more important to talk about than fluffy bunnies.

I think you're mad, but if you do go in, bear in mind that the rule of thumb is that if you aren't embarassed by your 1st offer, it isn't low enough. Especially in Drogheda - get out of the property boom mindset where any house anywhere is a good house, and remember that it is essentially an oversized commuter town, with little or no employment in the town, and if things do continue to go t*ts up it will be one of the first places to be hit and hit hardest (with assoc. drops in house prices).



Personally I think approx 12k for another 12 months of renting "dead money" is far preferable to *insert figure here* of negative equity. You won't find anyone other than estate agents and developers predicting a bottoming out of the market this year, and even they are starting to shut up because they realise just how foolish they look. Visit the Accomo and Property section on this forum for a laugh.

Quick edit.....is this the house? http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?search=Search+%BB&s[cc_id]=c9&s[a_id][0]=3171&s[mnb]=&s[mxb]=&s[mnp]=100000&s[mxp]=300000&s[pt_id]=1&s[house_type]=&s[sqmn]=&s[sqmx]=&s[mna]=&s[mxa]=&s[search_type]=sale&s[transport]=&s[advanced]=&s[price_per_room]=&s[furn]=&s[refreshmap]=1&offset=10&limit=10&id=421246

Its been on for 40 days. There are 3 bed semis in Grange Rath which has always been a more desirable estate IMO for similar money (saw one for 270k) - the houses in GR were fetching 330k+ 8 months ago. That would lead me to believe that the 290k Bryanstown house is having a laugh, the 260k is still overpriced (as proven by the fact that it hasn't sold in 40+ days), and there are better houses in better areas on similar money that still can't sell. All of which are indicators that the market has nowhere near bottomed out.

Great post aquascrotum! Pretty much every expert in the country is predicting significant price drops in the next 12 months. I'd wage huge bets that this time next year those propertys will have lost value far exceeding the cost of a years rent.

Until you see things take a complete u-turn steer well clear of property!!

andrew1977

A friend of mine bought a house in Forest park Drogheda at the peak of the boom for 315k
Similar house on daft.ie is now on the market for 229k and offers considered

Personally i would wait another while , all ecomonic experts expect a further decrease in economic conditions and no possible upturn until mid 2010

Harry Tasker

Thanks for all the opinions, will take them on board. I wouldn't go near Grange Rath though, I think its a jungle of houses with a stunning view of the new shopping centre. Too far away from the train station for me as well.

I'll hold fire on the purchasing for a while, see what happens. I like the Bryanstown/Wheaton Hall area! Sure I'd probably never get a loan anyway!

delly

Since I first moved to the 'jungle' of Grange Rath four years ago, I have always kept an eye on prices just to see what's out there.

There has never been such a massive variety of prices at the moment for the same types of houses. This is because nobody really knows what to ask for, and people know unless they drop the price, they won't get a quick sale.

For years people have predicted a property price crash, so it was inevitable, but it seems that one day it just arrived. I would predict the same with the prices bottoming out, it won't happen too soon, but will slowly occur when the time is right.

All you can do is keep an eye on the prices and monitor them. And in saying that, don't go on what they are priced for on websites, what you need to do is find out the prices of houses that have been sold. To do that your going to have to get friendly with some estate agents, and hopfully they will pass on what they have gone for. You can always say your going to buy, but waiting for the right time.

In relation to Drogheda being classed as a commuter town, well obviously it is, but taking 25 mins to get to Dublin airport isn't really that long. There are many other towns two hours out from Dublin that will be hit harder, and with most people actually working in Dublin the lack of jobs in the area isn't really a deal breaker tbh.

chemicalfred

Anybody know which is the best/most professional estate agent in Drogheda?

aquascrotum

delly wrote: »

In relation to Drogheda being classed as a commuter town, well obviously it is, but taking 25 mins to get to Dublin airport isn't really that long.

Minor point, but at commuting times (unless it's Friday) it takes 20mins getting from Donabate jct to the airport never mind from Drogheda.

Hopefully when extra lanes open on the M50 problems ease, but at the mo I'm rarely able to get from Bettystown to the Blanch M50 junction in under an hour, thats leaving at 7.10am. For me it's teetering on the brink of just not being worthwhile living that far away from Dublin any more. With rents dropping in Dublin and especially in closer commuter towns like Ashbourne and Ratoath, it's looking much better in terms of both cost and quality of life (not spending 2hrs a day in a car) to get out of Drogheda/Bettystown area. Obviously that depends on what part of Dublin you're working in though.

delly

aquascrotum wrote: »

Minor point, but at commuting times (unless it's Friday) it takes 20mins getting from Donabate jct to the airport never mind from Drogheda.

Hopefully when extra lanes open on the M50 problems ease, but at the mo I'm rarely able to get from Bettystown to the Blanch M50 junction in under an hour, thats leaving at 7.10am. For me it's teetering on the brink of just not being worthwhile living that far away from Dublin any more. With rents dropping in Dublin and especially in closer commuter towns like Ashbourne and Ratoath, it's looking much better in terms of both cost and quality of life (not spending 2hrs a day in a car) to get out of Drogheda/Bettystown area. Obviously that depends on what part of Dublin you're working in though.

The reason that the M1 is so slow at the moment is due to roadworks being carried out on the old N1 with lots of temporary traffic lights. This means that a lot of the traffic are jumping on early at Balbriggan resulting in big tailbacks. Once these works are completed, it should return to some form of normailty.

Either way tho', I have found an easier and quicker way to get to work in the morning. I head down towards the cement factory and past Duleek, then swing onto the N2/M2 straight to the M50 at Finglas. From start to finish it takes about an hour to get to work in the Ballymount Industrial Estate.

delly

chemicalfred wrote: »

Anybody know which is the best/most professional estate agent in Drogheda?

I would recommend Sullivan or Milton.

http://www.sullivan.ie/

http://www.milton.ie/

Cpt Tremendous

Why would you want to live in drogheda?

Mr Magnolia

Cpt Tremendous wrote: »

Why would you want to live in drogheda?

Leave it out please.

No Dundalk v's Drogheda trainwreck threads here thanks.

Cpt Tremendous

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Leave it out please.

No Dundalk v's Drogheda trainwreck threads here thanks.

Oooooh someones a litle touchy, chill out just a small joke

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

I know a few people renting there. Pros. It's a good area on the right side of Drogheda with plenty of good facilities ie shops/resturants/pubs and good access to transport. Cons are that the houses are badly built and there are a lot of younger people renting there. Thus alot of noise. The partition walls between the houses are paper thin and you can hear alot of noise from next door. For that kind of money you'd be better off buying in Bettystown/Laytown area & get a car or the train from Laytown or build.

BubbleWrap85

Rented in Bryanstown Manor last year and found the house to be okay. Many foreigners living there [not a racist, just stating facts], and the walls are paper thin. Can hear almost everythingn that goes on next door. Grange Rath is lovely, and with the new Dunnes there, you've got your food and drink sorted. I think a bus goes to the trainstation also and the Matthews bus also goes to Dublin from outside.

tweety76

delly wrote: »

I would recommend Sullivan or Milton.

http://www.sullivan.ie/

http://www.milton.ie/

You may already have sorted out your estate agent but if you haven't....

I have used Gunne ( absolutely would not recommend- they are now closed anyway) Sullivan's- would not recommend but would however recommend DNG, If you PM me I can give you the name of the agent I dealt with I would really recommend him.

positron

I would agree with delly about Drogheda - Airport - it is actually around 25 mins non-peak. In peak-hour traffic, things starts to slow down couple of miles before Swords/Donabate exit, and its bumper to bumper from there on. I hope the finished M50 improves it. I get the train myself daily to City Centre, and the Belfast service back in the evening. Its takes just 30 mins - Its a fabulous service with proper seats and air conditioning etc compared to the green tin cans tied together, I think they call them 'commuter trains' or something. Anyway, how far would you get in 30 mins from Dublin driving? Probably up to Phoenix park!!

When I went into Grangerath, my initial impressions were the same that of the OP - massive and too many houses. But once you get your bearings, I think its a really nice estate with plenty of green, really nice looking houses etc. They even have tennis courts etc at the back of the estate! Its a bit away from the station, but its perfect biking distance (if you bike).

I live in Wheaton Hall myself, which is a comfortable walk to/from railway station (except on these freezing mornings..), and I am very happy with the estate so far. Very quiet, and very little noise and plenty of greens and very young kids playing on their own etc.

BubbleWrap85, how do you know? May be they are just more "foreign looking" Irish people?

mairead_or

chemicalfred wrote: »

Anybody know which is the best/most professional estate agent in Drogheda?

Don't have particular opinion on most professional but definitely can tell you who to avoid!!!!!

Arranged to vew a property in Bryanstown Manor with Sherry property consultants...recptionist mentioned 2 others in near by estates so I said I'd view all 3 on saturday.....
Friday I received 5-6 phone calls attempting to change my agreed time... none of the other options suited so we decided to stick to the original plan.
Arrived on time and was greeted by an empty handed Estate agent...yes he had no details of any of the properties I was about to view with him! He proceeded to inform me that he was nearly sold out of properties in drogheda....:rolleyes: should have known then that it would b a disaster!
Went in to the house and started in the sitting room. While there (for all of 3minutes) he sussed out my job, asked me what my budget was and, as we left the sitting room for the kitchen declared "Between you and me I see Bryanstown as a commuter area, for people working in Dublin. You're a teacher so you'd want to be living somewhere more like Fountain Hill or Tullyallen...":eek:
GRRRRRRRRRR.....no body tells me where I want to live thank you very much...especially not in the arrogant manner in which this 'gentleman' chose!
Annoyed as I was with him personally for his attitude with me (like I was a silly little woman who knew nothing, least of all what I wanted!) I decided I may as well have a look at Fountain Hill as I had seen the houses online and thought they looked nice.... and so began the drive to Mell...
I wasn't given a house number of the property I was goin to view, just to follow him....... he broke 3red lights and just about scraped through 2more amber sets, didnt believe in indicating (thank god I know where the estate is located), and when we arrive greeted me with the words " So you wouldn't chance the red lights no?" grinning like an a**h*le!:mad:
House was nice but I wouldn't buy a bag of crisps from him! Unprofessional, rude and condescending from the second we met I'd strongly reccommend you avoid Sherry Property Consultants like the plague.

musicfan

mairead_or wrote: »

Don't have particular opinion on most professional but definitely can tell you who to avoid!!!!!

Arranged to vew a property in Bryanstown Manor with Sherry property consultants...recptionist mentioned 2 others in near by estates so I said I'd view all 3 on saturday.....
Friday I received 5-6 phone calls attempting to change my agreed time... none of the other options suited so we decided to stick to the original plan.
Arrived on time and was greeted by an empty handed Estate agent...yes he had no details of any of the properties I was about to view with him! He proceeded to inform me that he was nearly sold out of properties in drogheda....:rolleyes: should have known then that it would b a disaster!
Went in to the house and started in the sitting room. While there (for all of 3minutes) he sussed out my job, asked me what my budget was and, as we left the sitting room for the kitchen declared "Between you and me I see Bryanstown as a commuter area, for people working in Dublin. You're a teacher so you'd want to be living somewhere more like Fountain Hill or Tullyallen...":eek:
GRRRRRRRRRR.....no body tells me where I want to live thank you very much...especially not in the arrogant manner in which this 'gentleman' chose!
Annoyed as I was with him personally for his attitude with me (like I was a silly little woman who knew nothing, least of all what I wanted!) I decided I may as well have a look at Fountain Hill as I had seen the houses online and thought they looked nice.... and so began the drive to Mell...
I wasn't given a house number of the property I was goin to view, just to follow him....... he broke 3red lights and just about scraped through 2more amber sets, didnt believe in indicating (thank god I know where the estate is located), and when we arrive greeted me with the words " So you wouldn't chance the red lights no?" grinning like an a**h*le!:mad:
House was nice but I wouldn't buy a bag of crisps from him! Unprofessional, rude and condescending from the second we met I'd strongly reccommend you avoid Sherry Property Consultants like the plague.

Think I know who you mean! Sounds like the same guy that showed us around a place a couple of months ago!€

He met us outside the house - empty handed, no brochure or anything. Sat down in the sitting room told us what a wonderful modern house it was (even though it was old fashioned and smelly!) Hello, we are not stupid!!!

He kept asking us questions to try to find out how much we had to spend. Proceeded to tell us the owner but not budge an inch on the price. House still on the market months later!

The house advert said it had two bathrooms - even though it had only one - he dismissed this as an error and told us sure we could put one in ourselves! Sorry, but if I make an appointment to view a house with 2 bathrooms, I do not want the hassle of putting in one myself!!

He was rude and arrogant through out the viewing - told us he was selling 4-5houses a week himself cos he was so great (even though this was a time that no-one was selling houses)! Kept telling us we had to make up our mind immediately as there were so many offers in on the house. He then proceeded to phone me every day even though I told him we were not interested.

DAMO@ARC

THE BANKS JUST HAPPY TO TALK TO FTB'S,ANYONE ELSE CAN FECK -OFF.
EG.LOOK AT ALL BANK ADDS AT MOMENT ,ALL FOR FTB'S.
SO ANYONE TRYING TO GO UP THE LADDER WILL HAV TO WAIT HAS BANKS FEEL PROPERTY PRICES ARE GOING TO KEEP FALLING FOR ANOTHER 12 MONTHS,SO ANY PROPERTY U OWN IS CONSTANTLY DE-VALUING,SO THE COLATERAL U HAVE IS LOSING VALUE ALL THE TIME.
SO IF U PUT AN OFFER ON A HOUSE MAKE IT 25-35% BELOW THE ASKING PRICE AND SEE WHAT REPONSE U GET.THAT IF UR A FTB WITH A LOAN OFFER.ESTATE AGENTS ARE RUNNING SCARED AND WILL DO ANYTHING FOR A SALE,THE WORM HAS TURNED -ESTATE AGENTS DON'T DICTATE THE PRICE -BUYERS DO.3 BED SEMI'S ARE GOING TO COME BACK DOWN TO AROUND 150K(THE PROPER PRICE)BACK TO PRICE LEVELS OF 7-8 YEARS AGO,EVERYTHING IS BEING RE-ALIGN ,THEN TO A GROWTH FACTOR OF 4-6% A YEAR,
WE ALL LOST THE RUN OF OURSELVES.BUT WE'VE ALL BECOME REALIST AGAIN THANKFULLY,
WE WILL COME OUT OF IT IN GOOD HEALTH,AND BE STRONGER FOR IT

GOOD HUNTING EVERYONE

SummerDude

Originally Posted by mairead_or
Don't have particular opinion on most professional but definitely can tell you who to avoid!!!!!

Arranged to vew a property in Bryanstown Manor with Sherry property consultants...recptionist mentioned 2 others in near by estates so I said I'd view all 3 on saturday.....
Friday I received 5-6 phone calls attempting to change my agreed time... none of the other options suited so we decided to stick to the original plan.
Arrived on time and was greeted by an empty handed Estate agent...yes he had no details of any of the properties I was about to view with him! He proceeded to inform me that he was nearly sold out of properties in drogheda.... should have known then that it would b a disaster!
Went in to the house and started in the sitting room. While there (for all of 3minutes) he sussed out my job, asked me what my budget was and, as we left the sitting room for the kitchen declared "Between you and me I see Bryanstown as a commuter area, for people working in Dublin. You're a teacher so you'd want to be living somewhere more like Fountain Hill or Tullyallen..."
GRRRRRRRRRR.....no body tells me where I want to live thank you very much...especially not in the arrogant manner in which this 'gentleman' chose!
Annoyed as I was with him personally for his attitude with me (like I was a silly little woman who knew nothing, least of all what I wanted!) I decided I may as well have a look at Fountain Hill as I had seen the houses online and thought they looked nice.... and so began the drive to Mell...
I wasn't given a house number of the property I was goin to view, just to follow him....... he broke 3red lights and just about scraped through 2more amber sets, didnt believe in indicating (thank god I know where the estate is located), and when we arrive greeted me with the words " So you wouldn't chance the red lights no?" grinning like an a**h*le!
House was nice but I wouldn't buy a bag of crisps from him! Unprofessional, rude and condescending from the second we met I'd strongly reccommend you avoid Sherry Property Consultants like the plague.

Well driver I must agree with you totally I have had my own experience with them and it certainly wasn't a pleasant one.There business ethics are way off they believe the customer comes secondly while in actual fact the customer comes first.
When choosing an auctioneer there is many things you have to consider and one thing is for sure they promise the sun moon and stars and bring down the other fellow auctioneers in Drogheda.
I would not recommend them in the property market at all.
If you need any help in regard to auctioneers pm me and I will give you info.
I was very disapointed in the way that business is dealt with in 2009.

Driver100

Have been viewing houses with a number of Drogheda Estate Agents and I have found one firm that to me were up front and honest that was Sherry Fitzgerald Lannon they told me straight up how the market is were professional in how they showed me the properties I viewed always had details of the houses with them and were always on time for apointments

SummerDude

I would have to agree with you Sherry Fitz are absolutely fantastic I would recommend them 100% as for Sherry property I just wonder how there actually allowed sell houses as they bring the rest of the agents down.
I have had a few dealings with them and too be honest I would not recommend them to anyone.
The girls in the office are just doing there job and I am sure they get plenty of **** from clients every day.

Glad you found an auctioneer that will help you with your house hunting.
I think too many ppl are afraid to speak out in the way there treated on the property maket.

zac8

i had dealings with <snip> last year as both a buyer and seller. he's some piece of work. everytime i spoke to him he'd go on about how many properties he sold the week before even though it was clear nothing was selling. he used to be a developer and it's his wife who owns the agency.

he treats buyers and sellers with the same disdain. it's hard to believe there's a man out there who gives estate agents a bad name.

i would recommend o'brien collins and sherry fitz.

Harry Tasker

I have been dealing with Sherry Fitzgerald Lannon and have found them to be the most professional, honest and down-to-earth estate agents. When we spoke they give their honest opinion about how the market was going and have worked very hard for us!

I had one meeting with said <snip> of Sherry Property. I was disinterested in viewing the property. He was as disinterested in showing it to us!

First Class Service from Sherry Fitzgerald Lannon - Mr O'Neill and Mr McGuirk so I'd highly recommend this estate agent if anyone wants to buy or sell a house.

jollyc

wow I know what you mean about sherry - so unprofessional. Viewed a house in Tenure with them - they asked all sorts of personal Qs. Told us owner would accept 300 - got loan approval and then said it was off market. now they are advertising it as sold even though theres no movement on it. BTW talking about Sherry Property NOT Sherry Fitz. I found Sherry Fitz very professional

Stealdo

I've nothing to do with Sherry Property or the gentleman mentioned above, but have dealt with them in buying and selling and met with several other local agencies during that time.

While nothing printed above is surprising to me in the least I would say if you want someone to be nice to you contact any of Sherry Fitz/Sullivans/OBC. If you want someone who will only deal with people who are seriously interested then Sherry Property ain't so bad.

The guy just has no time whatsoever for tyre kickers. I would say he knows that estate agents don't sell houses, houses sell houses, you either like it or you don't and he can't be arsed trying to sell to someone who he thinks won't buy. But he will do the deal in terms of getting agreement on price.

(all the lateness stuff, not having in depth knowledge of the houses when viewing aside is pretty bad though)

Tofu

Has anyone had any experience with ReMax Boyne Valley? Thanks