Ghost Estates in Ireland

mail4liam

Rte showed a program last night about these half built estates all over Ireland.

With the crash of the housing market, I watched in horror to see people all over Ireland in these so called ghost estates.

Half finished houses, no street lighting at night grass and weeds growing up through the cobble lock, it was scary to say the least. In one estate in Cork there were two people living in a half finished estate, one of the guy's produced his purchasing brochure saying, hurry there was only one house left, he purchased his 3 bed home for €280K.
These people have no one to turn to for help or guidance over these over priced houses in these ghost estates. Prime property's, over valued and people left to carry the can for paying well over the market value for bricks and mortar.

Some people said they'd be happy to walk away and suffer the loss but for the fact that they'd still owe the Bank's over €100K and more in some cases.

Did you watch this program? what are your thoughts? did you get caught up in this madness ?. Is it all going to end up in tears?

orourkeda

How I laughed.

Imagine indebting yourself for the whole of your adult life to live in an unfinished estate.

People really are stupid.

biko

Hindsight is 20/20.

digme

well said orourkeda

orourkeda

biko wrote: »

Hindsight is 20/20.

So should foresight when youre shelling out a substantial 6 figure sum for the biggest investment of your life.

patwicklow

Yes i saw the programme very shocking with young couples with young children
and they have no were to turn, no NAMA for them there stuck in these empty housing estates paying through the nose. Bertie and co, really have alot to answer for what there putting people through and so is the current FF/GRNS
and the best of it is you will still see these bankers as high flying as ever.
its just a disgrace really

orourkeda

patwicklow wrote: »

Yes i saw the programme very shocking with young couples with young children
and they have no were to turn, no NAMA for them there stuck in these empty housing estates paying through the nose. Bertie and co, really have alot to answer for what there putting people through and so is the current FF/GRNS
and the best of it is you will still see these bankers as high flying as ever.
its just a disgrace really

I have some sympathy for their plight. However, if there was no nama or bailouts for the bankers\developers I would have no sympathy.

Degsy

The whole idea of a "property ladder" was being sold to people hammer and tongs by thge crooks in government,the property developrs themselves and to some extentthe media.

The whole country was in the grip of a giant pyramid scheme and everybody wanted to jump on the bandwagon or be "forever priced out of the market"...it seems when there's money to be made and indeed money to be borrowed,common sense goes out the window.

I remember 6 years ago jsut after i bought my house two guys i knew bauying another two apartments each on the basis that the only way property could go was up...a huge number of thses estates were built in completely unsuitable areas and tehy were aimed at the buy to let marklet,amatuer landords who were encourageed to "realease teh equity" in thier principle properties and use it to mortage more places that they could then rent out to foreiign nationals or whatever.
The chickens have come home to roost now and these peopel are mortaged up to thier tits with not ahope in hell of ever getting thier money back,much less any kind of profit...welcome to the bottom line of any pyramid scheme.
Houses were supposed to be dwelling places for people and thier families,the government,bankers and investors turned them into chips on a giant poker table..when it turned up snakeyes the shiit will be hitting the fan for a long time yet.
Did Bertie or any of his cronies face any action over this situation?
Did any senior bank officals or property developers have to face the music for sharp practise?
did they shiit,its the joe soaps,the gullible fools who fell for the spin who have to pick up the pieces,in many cases they'll be doing it for the rest of thier lives.

casio4

I saw the programme and it was an eye opener, the young kids playing in the derelict houses and the parents not able to do anything about it what a nightmare. No shops, banks or garages near them, what can they do? nobody would buy their house or the one next to them

Voodu Child

That would be sweet living in an empty estate, you could walk the dog in the nip without getting arrested. Again.

walshb

casio4 wrote: »

I saw the programme and it was an eye opener, the young kids playing in the derelict houses and the parents not able to do anything about it what a nightmare. No shops, banks or garages near them, what can they do? nobody would buy their house or the one next to them

Eh, ever hear of parenting, discipline, being aware of where your children are and what they are up to. **** me, quit the moaning and be responsible for your children; that is the bloody advice I would give to them

DonJose

mail4liam wrote: »

These people have no one to turn to for help or guidance over these over priced houses in these ghost estates.

Stupid cnuts should call... GHOSTBUSTERS!!!

Dravokivich

walshb wrote: »

Eh, ever hear of parenting, discipline, being aware of where your children are and what they are up to. **** me, quit the moaning and be responsible for your children; that is the bloody advice I would give to them

I second this... I was brought up with construction going on around me all the time for additional housing estates around mine. Parents have to hold responsibilty for their kids...

CreepingDeath

It's Finglas all over again !

mail4liam

I felt so sad for these people who took their chance to put a roof over their family's heads. How could you get up in the morning knowing your living in a place like that. There was one of the estates where the kids lived in, a total of 48 houses with about 10 family's living there. I think it's a shame and no one will or can't do anything for them.

There's a lot to be said for these so called surveyor's engineers who report back to the Bank's and pass these houses for loans on these estates .

casio4

walshb wrote: »

Eh, ever hear of parenting, discipline, being aware of where your children are and what they are up to. **** me, quit the moaning and be responsible for your children; that is the bloody advice I would give to them

the parents knew exactly where the kids were they were next door in the neighbours attic having a great time, as i'm sure you or I would have done if we had houses to play in when we were 12 or 13.They weren't doing any wrong cycling their bikes around someones sittingroom or kitchen because the so called play area that was meant to be built for them was abandoned along with the buildings when the money ran out and the builders left

mail4liam

Voodu Child wrote: »

That would be sweet living in an empty estate, you could walk the dog in the nip without getting arrested. Again.

My dog won't go for a walk in the nip?

walshb

I am no expert, but isn't it the norm for houses to be sold in phases and for
people to move in first, second, third and so on and so on? So, the first few in may be living in an estate that is far from complete? They were never to know that the bubble would burts quite the way it did.

Degsy

CreepingDeath wrote: »

It's Finglas all over again !

Now now,dont get bitter because you're trapped in negative equity yourself.
You should've been a lot more carefull where you bought.

walshb

casio4 wrote: »

the parents knew exactly where the kids were they were next door in the neighbours attic having a great time, as i'm sure you or I would have done if we had houses to play in when we were 12 or 13.They weren't doing any wrong cycling their bikes around someones sittingroom or kitchen because the so called play area that was meant to be built for them was abandoned along with the buildings when the money ran out and the builders left

Ah, that's great then; they weren't doing any wrong? No, the kids were simply being kids, but to listen to that woman moaning about TWO trips to the hospital when she knew damn well of the potentail problems yet still allows her young son to be out in the dark on his bike with no lighting and potholes on the street?:rolleyes: And, the kids should NOT have been allowed into derelict houses, and that is a parent issue.

orourkeda

mail4liam wrote: »

I felt so sad for these people who took their chance to put a roof over their family's heads. How could you get up in the morning knowing your living in a place like that. There was one of the estates where the kids lived in, a total of 48 houses with about 10 family's living there. I think it's a shame and no one will or can't do anything for them.

There's a lot to be said for these so called surveyor's engineers who report back to the Bank's and pass these houses for loans on these estates .

Why on earth would anyone take a chance or gamble with their own and their familys future. It's madness.

yoshytoshy

The country is turning into a ghost town ,we're all kind of in the same boat.
We've loads of graduates and college goers that need jobs ,where are they going to go?

Noffles

There's a shocking estate like this in Rosslare Harbour, right on the cliff overlooking the sea, would of been a great place to live, now there are about 4 maybe 5 houses with families in and the rest is a derelict building site... I actually do feel sorry for them, awful situation!

Degsy

yoshytoshy wrote: »

We've loads of graduates and college goers that need jobs ,where are they going to go?

They can get jobs demolishing these houses for a start.

Forest Master

DonJose wrote: »

Stupid cnuts should call... GHOSTBUSTERS!!!

Thanks whore fail.

mail4liam

I think in some of these cases there were people who managed to make a killing in the early part of the boom by selling their homes at big profit. They re-invested their money in these projects country wide. In some cases there were houses built and there was no chance of anyone ever occupying them, because there were really only villages. Who or what mad man gave permission for these estates to be built?

yoshytoshy

Degsy wrote: »

They can get jobs demolishing these houses for a start.

Yeah ,it does sound like the best thing to do alright. But where does this type of thing end and who decides what stays ?

Where I live there are several completed office buildings ,completely empty. They're nicely built etc ,but they resemble a ball and chain at the moment.

fontanalis

http://atoast2toast.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/belmayne1mr41.png?w=300&h=223

mail4liam wrote: »

I felt so sad for these people who took their chance to put a roof over their family's heads. How could you get up in the morning knowing your living in a place like that. There was one of the estates where the kids lived in, a total of 48 houses with about 10 family's living there. I think it's a shame and no one will or can't do anything for them.

There's a lot to be said for these so called surveyor's engineers who report back to the Bank's and pass these houses for loans on these estates .

The problem is that alot of people who should have been thinking about ptting a roof over their families head tried to be property speculators and there was an environmen/culture that confused debt with wealth. The pictures below show how crazy it was.

From a house in Mullingar, think it was on the aftershock program last night.

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/8781/zs8i4xy55cvxavenjgohswq.jpg


From a brochure for a new Dublin development.

http://atoast2toast.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/belmayne3gw6.png

http://atoast2toast.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/belmayne1mr41.png?w=300&h=223

ItsAWindUp

It was on the way:D

ItsAWindUp

Damn Youtube embedding, this was the video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ2oXzrnti4

Degsy

ItsAWindUp wrote: »

Damn Youtube embedding, this was the video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ2oXzrnti4

The comments are pretty good too,especially the ones relating to detroit etc.
That bastard Bono should write a similar song about the country he helped to bankrupt.

Forest Master

fontanalis wrote: »

From a house in Mullingar, think it was on the aftershock program last night.

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/8781/zs8i4xy55cvxavenjgohswq.jpg

I don't get it - 3 clocks? What's your point?

unamused

I have had to rent since moving out of my family home 10 years ago when the property boom hit the banks still wouldnt give me a mortgage as I was on less than 30k...I am now unemployed and living in private rented accommodation and having to deal with a landlord who is a complete d*ck....I would love to own my own home in any sort of estate
I watched the programme last nite and did feel sorry for one or two of the ppl however I do think that eventually their issues with their estates will be sorted out and they will all live happily ever after with the only downside being that they have to pay more for their house than its worth but realistically anyone with half a brain cell could see that the house/apartment prices where too high for what you where getting and I am getting tired of hearing ppl moan about it are these not the same ppl who keep voting in FF thus letting them and their buddies - the banks/property developers over price everything while rubbing their greedy little hands together people need to take responsibility for this mess and how they contributed to it

Degsy

Forest Master wrote: »

I don't get it - 3 clocks? What's your point?

Pure fcucking pretension..equating mullingar with paris or new yourk.

ocokev

Degsy wrote: »

Pure fcucking pretension..equating mullingar with paris or new yourk.

Mullingar. Castlebar. Dundalk. So

Degsy

ocokev wrote: »

Mullingar. Castlebar. Dundalk. So

No no.
Mullingar.Magadan.Ulan Ude.

Oafley Jones

Will this be on the RTE player at some stage?

DonJose

Whats the name of this programme?

casio4

DonJose wrote: »

Whats the name of this programme?

Aftershock: Ghostland

DonJose

casio4 wrote: »

Aftershock: Ghostland

Cheers, crap thats its not on RTE player!!!

stovelid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E28-bkeL5k

DonJose

Searched the Sky listing and its on again on RTE 2 on Friday at 8pm.

casio4

DonJose wrote: »

Searched the Sky listing and its on again on RTE 2 on Friday at 8pm.

it's worth a watch:)

starbelgrade

unamused wrote: »

I have had to rent since moving out of my family home 10 years ago when the property boom hit the banks still wouldnt give me a mortgage as I was on less than 30k...I am now unemployed and living in private rented accommodation and having to deal with a landlord who is a complete d*ck....I would love to own my own home in any sort of estate
I watched the programme last nite and did feel sorry for one or two of the ppl however I do think that eventually their issues with their estates will be sorted out and they will all live happily ever after with the only downside being that they have to pay more for their house than its worth but realistically anyone with half a brain cell could see that the house/apartment prices where too high for what you where getting and I am getting tired of hearing ppl moan about it are these not the same ppl who keep voting in FF thus letting them and their buddies - the banks/property developers over price everything while rubbing their greedy little hands together people need to take responsibility for this mess and how they contributed to it

The two assumptions you made in this post are incorrect, or at the very least, over assumptuous.

Firstly, a lot of the infinished estates will remain unfinished, unless there is some government policy to finish them. A lot of the developers have gone bust, so they will not do the job & the councils will not take unfinished estates into charge. If they ever do get finished, it wil be a long, long time before they are.

When planning permission is granted, developers have to submit a bond to the council - essentially money - to cover any outstanding building works which they may not finish to the council's satisfaction. This often covers roadworks, public lighting, green areas etc. It was never envisaged to have to cover the completion of buildings however, so that insurance back-up is more or less worthless.

Secondly, it is wrong to assume that everyone who bought a house during the property bubble also voted Fianna Fail. Why? Because a lot of them didn't.

Yes, people have to take responsibilty for their actions, but of all the groups who created & eventually burst the property bubble, ie., the bankers, government, bankers & purchasers, the purchasers are the least responsible of the lot, but sadly for them, will be the only ones who have to pay the price for a lesson learned the hard way.

jam_mac_jam

Under the law you have more protection if you bought a toaster than a house yet its the people's own fault who bought them?

Sea Sharp

The property bubble was nothing but a pyramid scheme and the unfortunates living in ghost estates got fecked over the most. Houses won't be back up to 2007 values in the next few years (I'm guessing 2021) so they're proper fecked.

Sanjuro

orourkeda wrote: »

How I laughed.

Imagine indebting yourself for the whole of your adult life to live in an unfinished estate.

People really are stupid.

Wow. Attitudes like this are a prime example of what's wrong with 'stupid' people. God forbid you ever find yourself in a position that causes you stress and consternation only to have dickheads point and laugh at you. Shame on you and all the others who share your sick attitude.

How on earth did they ever get planning permission for all these estates? I read that even if they housed everyone on the social housing list, there would be hundreds of thousands left over. Who did they think was going to live in them? I find these new Irish housing estates creepy anyway. I had an ex who lived on one in Kildare, a whole estate full of cookie cutter McMansions. I wouldn't want to live there even if every house was occupied. Really creepy and soulless, IMO.

starbelgrade

[quote=[Deleted User];65824122]How on earth did they ever get planning permission for all these estates? .[/QUOTE]

The question is not how they got planning. The answer to that is simple - the areas in which they wer built were zoned for housing, so once the planners were happy with the density of the developments, the road layouts, house sizes etc., they were always likely to get planning permission.

The real question, is why so much land was zoned for housing in the first place. The answer to this, was pressure from developers on politicians who pushed through crazy zoning & re-zoning without any thought for planning in any way whatsoever.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Sanjuro wrote: »

Wow. Attitudes like this are a prime example of what's wrong with 'stupid' people. God forbid you ever find yourself in a position that causes you stress and consternation only to have dickheads point and laugh at you. Shame on you and all the others who share your sick attitude.

Agreed, I read and re-read that comment searching for a morsel of sarcastic wit, the amount of thanks that post received convinced me that there was something redeeming there. But people really can be horrible. Lost for words to be honest...

Duggy747

This is what happened to my hometown:

• Boom happened
• Immigrants arrived (Polish, Lithuanians, Czechs, etc) and got jobs on building sites.
• 2 old landmarks were knocked down despite protests (An old mill and a cinema) to make way for apartments and estates.
• Too many estates were built.
• Immigrants went home
• Empty apartment blocks and estates all over the town which are now either being sold off at a loss or been filled by released prisoners / their families, people re-located from Limerick and Dublin.

And that, my friends, is the story of the Celtic Boom.