Barrack Homes - Whats the catch?

Victor

Victor wrote: »

Sounds like you, your snagger and your solicitor didn't do a very good job.

Hi, I was a bit harsh in saying the above. However, in making what is likely to be the biggest investment of your life, one really does need to be careful and get professional advice.

lollypop23

Bought a house there this year. Fantastic house and the builders are still on the site if we needed anything small done. We were looking around for a house in newbridge and found one for 180K in a lovely estate at the time and went to view and there was a severe problem with dampness so that's why we opted for a new house, at least we'd have some come back. They were very helpful and as they say 3 bedroom houses, they really are regarded as three bedroom with storage - storage being a MASSIVE third floor bedroom or home office.. My neighbour even has it split into two rooms so she has a 5 bedroom house!

Best of luck in whatever you do..

lollypop23

sobaga wrote: »

Various allowances were there, the sum of which depended on the developer's or one of his associates' mood: allowance for appliances is 2500. No, it's actually 2200 and you have to pay us the difference. Was it really 2500? Do you have it in writing? Allowance for lights is 250 euro. (I asked someone living in a 3-bed, theirs was 250, so ours should be slightly more, after all we have one more bedroom and one more bathroom, don't you think?) No, it is the same for 3 and 4 bed. Allowance for the bathrooms? 1200. For one? No, for all of them (5 in total). Laughter!

That is crazy! As I have just said in an earlier post, I live in the Meadows and when we were buying we were sent to pick out out tiles and bathrooms, kitchen, carpets, wardrobes, even light fittings.. No expense spared. Even chose marble tile and nothing said.. Must be just the difference in time. When you bought yours it was a sells market - now the tables have turned.

Victor

lollypop23 wrote: »

Bought a house there this year. Fantastic house and the builders are still on the site if we needed anything small done. We were looking around for a house in newbridge and found one for 180K in a lovely estate at the time and went to view and there was a severe problem with dampness so that's why we opted for a new house, at least we'd have some come back. They were very helpful and as they say 3 bedroom houses, they really are regarded as three bedroom with storage - storage being a MASSIVE third floor bedroom or home office.. My neighbour even has it split into two rooms so she has a 5 bedroom house!

Best of luck in whatever you do..

Unless there is appropriate fire protection (primarily that the stairwell is protected by fire doors), using the attic as a bedroom may not be appropriate.

sobaga

wyndham wrote: »

Was your contract drawn up on a beermat or on the back of a cigarette packet? Seriously, did you have a solicitor?

Oh, yes, we did have a solicitor. Recommended by the poxy company, as we did not know how to go about it and according to them, most of the people who bought the house from them used that solicitor. I am not familiar with the legal stuff, this is the first house I have ever bought, if the solicitor tells me the contract is OK, it is OK. Turned out in the end that the solicitor was actually working for them. Long story. That is why I am warning people so that they do not make a similar mistake.

sobaga

Victor wrote: »

Hi, I was a bit harsh in saying the above. However, in making what is likely to be the biggest investment of your life, one really does need to be careful and get professional advice.

No, you were not harsh, I was stupid.

The person who did a snag list for us was not bad, he noticed lots of things before we actually moved in and spent a lot of time chasing the workers to do things right. What was discovered afterwards was included on the snag list that was given to the company, but there is still a lot to be done off it. And since there was a High Court ruling against them recently, I do not think they even intend to do anything about the snag list at this stage. They have not paid their employees for the last 3 weeks and they don't pay their subcontractors, so it looks like they are planning to wind up or something...

sobaga

lollypop23 wrote: »

That is crazy! As I have just said in an earlier post, I live in the Meadows and when we were buying we were sent to pick out out tiles and bathrooms, kitchen, carpets, wardrobes, even light fittings.. No expense spared. Even chose marble tile and nothing said.. Must be just the difference in time. When you bought yours it was a sells market - now the tables have turned.

@lollypop23 Where in The Meadows are you? Will be happy to meet up and have a chat, obviously it was not the same company we bought from

No cost spared, you say? We were told to pick our tiles, so we did, without looking at prices. The next day we are getting a phone call saying that we need to pay a lot extra because the price of tiles exceeds the allowance. Well, Joan did not mention any allowances in the beginning, she just said go and pick your tiles from this and that company, which we did. That was when we started to ask about the amounts of allowances for other stuff to avoid paying extra, and they were different every time, depending on their moods. And no, when I bought mine it was definitely a buyer's market (end of 2010), so I do not believe there was much difference in time.

Neadyk22

sobaga wrote: »

And since there was a High Court ruling against them recently

Did the High Court ruling result in a wind up of the company, we were interested in buying one of their homes.

macshean

..........bought an apartment in Newbridge from Barrack, ......... houses and apartments build to a very poor standard, ............ bought for 280k, now only worth 80/90k..........................:mad:

The_Conductor

macshean wrote: »

..........bought an apartment in Newbridge from Barrack, ......... houses and apartments build to a very poor standard, ............ bought for 280k, now only worth 80/90k..........................:mad:

Macshean- I've had to edit your post- please be aware that some of what you posted was potentially libellous. If you have any facts that are in the public domain and can be posted in support of what you're saying, fine. Otherwise- wide sweeping comments, are not permitted.

With regard houses and apartments built at the height of the boom being a poor standard- unfortunately taking any development in the country and imagining its somehow worse than anywhere else- simply isn't the case. Standards did slide as the boom went on- yes, shoddy buildings went up, and finishes were poor (to say the least). This is a commonality though- it is not unique to your development.

If you bought an apartment for 280k at the height of the boom and its now worth 80-90k- this infers a fall in value from peak of 67-70%. Once again- for apartments in the greater Dublin catchment area- this is also fairly typical. Prices for apartments in particular, have plummeted. You can go all the way into Kilmainham- and see prices falls akin to what you're suggesting- it may be shocking- but its entirely normal (and while I don't mean to scare you- they are continuing to fall, regardless of what any economic commentators or other vested interests say- prices have not stabilised- if anything, price falls have accelerated again, and are now falling faster than at any time over the past 36 months.

If you need to get work done- then you need to galvanise the Management Company and organise to bring the development up to standard. It is the duty of the Management Company to manage the development and ensure its safety alongside the structural integrity of the buildings vested in it.

I understand your frustration- I live in townhouse in a development too- but you're not going to achieve anything at all by flinging accusations willy nilly around the place- if you have a legitimate issue that falls under the remit of the Management Company- bring it to them and allow them rectify it. If they don't rectify something for which they have responsibility- that is another matter entirely.