Balbriggan - Barons Hall Rise + Bremore Castle

gemasha

Hey Guys,

My sister is looking at buying a house in Balbriggan. There are two areas in particular she looked at houses: Barons Hall Rise and Bremore castle.

Just wondering if anyone can give me the local info on these places?

• Are the areas safe for a girl living alone?
• Anywhere prone to flooding?
• Is the public transport any good? (ie..on time)
• Would they be the type of estates that you could walk around at night comfortably?

or any other info you have would be fantastic. Just trying to get an idea of the area before any sales are made

Thanks a mil

LeoB

Are they up past the Garda station? Left at lights?

A chap at work was going to buy a house up there but was put off by some things he heard, mainly racist comments from other non-nationals.

Are the areas safe for a girl living alone? Is anywhere?
Anywhere prone to flooding? Does anywhere escape flooding?
Is the public transport any good? (ie..on time) Is it anywhere else?
Would they be the type of estates that you could walk around at night comfortably? Can they anywhere else?
Seriously, The public transport appears ok to me but I dont rely it. Attacks on men and women happen from time to time everywhere

I dont know the area any more but the "Native" Balbriggan folks are very decent people. well the ones I know are anyway

Eoineo

Are the areas safe for a girl living alone?
As Leob has pointed out - as safe as any other area
Anywhere prone to flooding?
Not in either estate as far as I know because they are both built on an incline - higher than most of the rest of Balbriggan
Is the public transport any good? (ie..on time)
Most residents depend on the Train - it's a good 20 mins downhill walk to the train and 25 mins uphill home. The train itself generally runs on time but getting a seat is a problem. There is a local area bus which services those 2 estates.
Would they be the type of estates that you could walk around at night comfortably?
I don't know - I don't live in either estate.

Helmet

I dont know the area any more but the "Native" Balbriggan folks are very decent people.

You make it sound like Balbriggan has been colonised......I can vouch for a lot of the "Non-native" Folks!!!

Grigio

Firstly Balbriggan is a great town that has a good sense of community and is in general a safe decent place to live. Public transport is good , trains busses and taxis are available and fairly effecient . I dont know of any area of the town that is prone to flooding.
Barons Hall or Bremore castle would not be top of my list if I were buying ,too many of these houses are rented and in general once a landlord is getting his rent he has no other interest in that property .Also this area seems to have a lot of car break ins.
If your sister were to buy in this area and she found that it didnt suit her , I think she would find it very difficult to sell on.
For an older house I would recommend Derham Park, Craoibhin Park or Fancourt Heights these areas are safe after dark .
If she wants anew house or an apartment I would recommend Castleland Court or Castleland Park (turn at the Church roundabout) I think O Connor estate agents on Dublin Street handle this developement.

Morgans

Living in Bremore Castle and also friends with someone who did substantial research before buying in the estate a few years after us. Not influenced by us, but having looked extentively over Balbriggan and others, chose Bremore Castle. I am very surprised at the last post from Grigio as it doesnt tally with my experience of living here for 5 years. So surprised that Im finding myself somewhat suspicious about the advice given above.

I'm sure that all places have their problems, and I'm not sure how these reputations are gained by estates, but in five years Ive never seen any trouble in the estate or heard of any trouble that I would class as out of the ordinary. In fact, I think Ive been very lucky to be here, given the lack of research I did when buying off the plans. No management fees of course is a definite plus

There were residents association meetings started up last year and the focus of them was on the council taking over the estate, the idea of slowing down drivers through the estate, the fixing of cobbled squares and other "admin". There seemed to be very little talk of ASBO type behaviour or hints that more serious issues raised by the previous post.

Myself and my neighbours have had no problems and it would be strange if it was restricted to one section. Also, I cant speak for Barons Hall Rise, but myself and my girlfriend have never felt any threat any time in the five years we have been here. Would never think twice about it. I cant see how it could be construed to be any better or any worse than other estates.

There is probably some merit in looking at the pros and cons of rented houses and resell value of the houses. There is one rented house along our near neighbours of ten/twelve, so not sure how this translates across the estate and if this above or below average. I also am not sure if the houses resell value compared to other Balbriggan estates. If your sister does struggle to sell her house in the future, she might have to resort to some unconventional selling tactics perhaps!

Public transport - 15/20 minute walk to the train station from Bremore Castle, 5 minutes to the Bus Eireann stop, there is the town service which I cant comment on, but it doenst seem to be one that you can set your watch by, but that might be unfair.

Grigio

Advice given is my honest opinion, I have no agenda hidden or otherwise .
I have friends in Barons Hall who regret having bought there and are unable to sell.The areas I mentioned as being safe I know to be safe .
The good thing is that now is a good time to buy as there seems to be value out there , surely you can admit that it is wise to check out whats available out there .

Morgans

I certainty hope that the OP's sister was aware that there were houses available in other estates.

I presumed that someone asking for advice on buying in a particular estate would have realised that there are houses in thousands of other estates available. But, was now looking for local impressions of the two estates that interested her in as a result of reviewing all available estates.

The impression you gave of Bremore Castle wildly differed to mine, someone who has lived here happily for 5 years. I have no experience with Barons Hall, although I know a few people living there who were unhappy with the management company - havent been in touch for a while. I'm happy living in Bremore Castle and find the area where I live quite neighbourly and in five years never felt that I lived in an estate where I needed to take any more care than standard when walking home in the dark or any greater precautions as standard when locking cars or property etc. I certainly dont think that I'm naive.

I see you concur with the estate agents who are saying that now is a great time to buy due to the value in the market. I'm far from sure myself, but each to their own of course. The issue has been debated at length on other forums.

LeoB

Helmet wrote: »

I dont know the area any more but the "Native" Balbriggan folks are very decent people.

You make it sound like Balbriggan has been colonised......I can vouch for a lot of the "Non-native" Folks!!!

Bad choice of words on my part. No offence meant to natives, born, bread and buttered for 5 generations or new people to the area making a new life for themselves.
Like every town in North Dublin there have been huge changes. There was a time you would know everyone in your own town and a lot in the neighbouring towns, not now with all the new houses.

I actually know quite a few who have moved to Balbriggan through work and sport and they all like it with the exception of 1.

B.T.W It has been said to me and others that Balbriggan has taken more than its fair share of people just "passing through", be they migrants or Irish people. As Grigio says when a landlord has his house rented they dont really care who is in it or what they do once the rent is paid. This happens everywhere and I have seen it happen recently in Rush in sought after estates. But it appears to be more frequent in estates where house prices are a bit lower.

Anyway o.p I would suggest talking to some friendly locals, (there are loads of them) who know the lie of the land and not an estate agent who might just want to make a sale.

gemasha

Morgans wrote: »

I certainty hope that the OP's sister was aware that there were houses available in other estates.

I presumed that someone asking for advice on buying in a particular estate would have realised that there are houses in thousands of other estates available. But, was now looking for local impressions of the two estates that interested her in as a result of reviewing all available estates.
.

...ha ha....thanks Morgans. Yes she has done extensive research on looking for a house to buy and as you said she just wanted some local info on those estates.

I've taken all comments on board and passed them on to her, hopefully more people will comment if they see this thread. Its great to hear peoples opinions. Thanks so much guys for all comments.

aniascor

Grigio wrote: »

Firstly Balbriggan is a great town that has a good sense of community and is in general a safe decent place to live. Public transport is good , trains busses and taxis are available and fairly effecient . I dont know of any area of the town that is prone to flooding.
Barons Hall or Bremore castle would not be top of my list if I were buying ,too many of these houses are rented and in general once a landlord is getting his rent he has no other interest in that property .Also this area seems to have a lot of car break ins.
If your sister were to buy in this area and she found that it didnt suit her , I think she would find it very difficult to sell on.
For an older house I would recommend Derham Park, Craoibhin Park or Fancourt Heights these areas are safe after dark .
If she wants anew house or an apartment I would recommend Castleland Court or Castleland Park (turn at the Church roundabout) I think O Connor estate agents on Dublin Street handle this developement.

I'm living in Bremore Castle and was very surprised to read this post because it doesn't tally at all with my experience of living there. Yes there are some rental properties in the estate bur I don't think they are in the majority. Every one of my immediate neighbours (on both sides of my house, across the road from me, and the neighbours whose garden backs on to mine) are owner occupiers. I find it a friendly estate but like every place, it is what you make it. I got involved with theresidents association and got to know many people in the estate through it. Your sister could check out bremorecastle.com to see what types of things the association have been dealing with. Given the current property market and the fact that it's highly unlikely she'll lose out by waiting a few months she could consider renting in one of the estates she's interested in for six months. At least that way if it wasn't for her she wouldn't have to worry about selling up.