How to get ahead of other buyers

fontanalis

Words fail me.

magentas

hey alicat, some harsh words here! I can totally understand how hard it is to contain your excitement...it's your first home! You're perfectly entitled to be busting at the seems with excitement!!!
In terms of "getting ahead" on possible competitors(?!) I know you said getting mortgage will be no prob but trust me...GET AN APPROVAL IN WRITING!
If you're pretty set on this house go in with all the details and get that approval. Your word on being able to get it means nothing to developers and they will want someone serious who is all set up and ready to go.

We were told by our bank BOI mortgage would not be a prob. Put a booking deposit on house (no more than yourself we had our hearts set on this house and had been looking for a while) to be told few days later (after I made many phonecalls) that they wouldn't be able to give it to us after all. I was devastated and thought we lost house. Got approval within 2days from EBS and was over the moon.

So get your approval in writing for that house, have solicitor arranged and put down your (fully refundable if doesn't work out) booking deposit.
Remember NOTHING is definate until final contracts are drawn up.
Try to act swiftly, don't complicate things. If you go around squeeling like a kid in a candy shop you may not be taken seriously! Try to remain cool, calm and collected!:cool:

Good luck and let me know of any developments

Alicat

MaceFace wrote: »

Seriously?
You picked a house that has not even been built yet and are unwilling to listen to people who are trying to explain to you that your making a huge mistake.

I've taken their comments on board but I did not ask for any opinion on whether we should buy or not. There has been nothing said yet to put me off buying, but some comments have given me some things to consider.

Otherwise you would know that there is no such thing as a perfect house.

It is perfect for us. I am well aware no house is perfect,all will have their flaws, but a house can be perfectly suited to a particular person/couple/family.

Let me ask you a few questions:
* What are your neighbours like?

Have no idea seeing as the estate is new. I am well aware of the problems neighbours can cause.

* Are there trucks parked outside your door/on your road?

I presume you mean 'would there be' if we purchased the house. There very well could be if/when the further phases get started. As long as they don't block or damage my property I don't mind. If work has to be done, it has to be done.

* Any gangs of teenagers hanging around the place?

I have no idea yet but I have someone checking it out for me

* Is there a history of flooding in the area?

Excellent question that we have no yet looked into. Will do that a.s.a.p.

* What is traffic in the estate like?

Should not be heavy. The plot we have picked is quite near one entrance. All going well there will be another entrance at the other end of the estate.

* How many more houses are due to go in over the next 10 years?

10 years? I couldn't say. I doubt even the builder could swear to it because it depends on how well the first phases sell. I have seen the plans for the whole development though.

* What are the chances the developer going bust in the next 10 years?

Well that is always a possibility, as with anything and anyone.

* What is the build quality of the house like?

Appears to be good but we will be having someone look into it for us.

* Any social/affordable housing in the estate/next door?

None in the estate as far as I'm aware but will dig a little bit more. There is an estate which has affordable housing, but it's not beside ours.

Like seriously, these are the type of things that can turn an ideal home into a nightmare and while during the boom we were led to believe we had to take these chances before they were priced out of our range, in a falling market (with no signs of it stopping), there is no excuse for being so nieve.

However, if you want to ensure your at the top of the list, go in and tell them the plot you want and offer 10k more to guarantee it.

I have no issues with the above questions so far, and if it continues that way, I would see no problem?

Calina wrote: »

The house does not exist yet. How you can claim to prefer it to all other houses, including a bunch of houses that do exist is beyond me.

No way in hell would I buy a house or an apartment off the plans. I have seen enough complaints about snag lists not completed, completion dates slipping, specfications changing prior to completion. While I understand that it suits the finances of developers to sell from plans, it is not necessarily in your interest to buy from them.

Firstly, we would not buy solely from plans. The plans have us extremely interested. I know what the house will be like, as there are similar ones in the estate. So I know that I prefer it to all the other houses we've looked at. It's quite simply really.

I have no advice to get you further up a popularity list with an estate agent. You are talking lots of money and there is never only one house. If this is the only house for you then I am sorry. There is no point in anyone offering you any advice because you will not heed any of it.

I have acknowledged all of the opinions, but it doesn't mean I agree with them.

I never said this was the 'only' house for us. I have yet to see one that competes with it.

Alicat

triskellion wrote: »

As loan offers have a finite time line, if you are looking to buy from plans, even if you're approved at the time you agree to buy, the offer will most likely have expired by the time the house is ready to move into, so it's essential any contract that issues has a subject to loan approval clause. That was if the value drops in the interim and your attached loan offer follows suit, you can get your deposit back or renegotiate the deal.

We are in constant contact with the lender and will be discussing all of these things. As I said we're not going to put any money down for something that only exists on a piece of paper. Thanks for the advice

Raskolnikov wrote: »

You just cannot understate the risk of buying in an uncompleted development at this point. If the builder goes out of business, you will be stuck living on a building site, in a vastly depreciated house that you can't sell. I am not scaremongering; this is a reality that thousands of people are already facing.

I do understand that, we will be keeping a close eye on the development. My only other options are to not buy at all or buy a house I hate just because it's risk free. Not very appealing options as I don't want to be renting for the next 20 years.

dan_d

OP...setting aside everyone's opinions, the big thing for me here is that the house is not yet built, and won't be for quite some time.

What you have been approved for now, may change in 6 months time.

But..the bigger worry is firstly, will the house ever get built, and secondly, if it does, will the estate ever get finished?

You might have your perfect house...in an estate that's half finished, with no street lights, unfinished sewers and unfinished roads. When you say "they'll be built soon".....what do you mean?You could be waiting another 2 years, the way "soon" works around here.

There are loads of houses out there and it's a first time buyers markets. Look a bit more - another perfect house might appear in the next 6 months.DON'T put money down, or sign your name, or promise deposits. Just don't. I could link you to so many sites that would show you how badly wrong that has gone for some people and how much money they've lost.Why do you have to have this house or no house? How much time and effort have you put in looking?? You need to look for a good year, to get a really good idea of what's available and where.

All you can do is harass the agent, and make sure you're first in line when the house is actually made available, but for the love of god, don't hand any money over. And bear in mind that EA's tend to stretch the truth a bit.

Alicat

whippet wrote: »

The reality is: if you sign contracts now for a house off the plans, by the time you move in you will already be in negative equity (unless you have a whopper of a deposit cashwise, probably 30%) House prices are going one direction and one direction only for the next 12 - 24 months.

Again, we wouldn't buy solely from plans. No money will pass hands until/unless we are totally confident in the house.

Also, you have mentioned that you will be buying at the top of your budget. Take note that interest rates from the ECB are still at historically low levels, again these can only go in one direction.

Closer to the top end, but definitely not at the top. We will be discussing these things in further detail with the lender.

Buying in an uncomplete estate now really is madness. There are hundreds of estates all around the country which are incomplete and the likelyhood is that they will remain like that for years to come, building sites.

I have seen absolutely no houses or estates that suit us, in price or location, compared to this one. So if we don't buy in this phase, will we still be looking for a house that may not appear for us for years to come? What good is it to me to finally find a house in ten years time or later? Recession or no recession, we still have our lives to live and I refuse to spend it having to ask my landlord everytime I want to stick a nail in the wall to hang a picture.

Also, when you look to draw down your mortgage the bank will be doing their own valuation of the property and if they feel the same as most people posting here they will not approve your mortgage!

Sure we'll see what happens If they won't do there's not much I can do to change it.

Thank you for sharing your personal experience though

Alicat

dan_d wrote: »

OP...setting aside everyone's opinions, the big thing for me here is that the house is not yet built, and won't be for quite some time.... When you say "they'll be built soon".....what do you mean?You could be waiting another 2 years, the way "soon" works around here... Look a bit more - another perfect house might appear in the next 6 months.

The estimation for this phase is six months. We are in no rush so if it takes that time to get finished it's fine. We are still actively looking for other properties but have seen none that compare yet.

DON'T put money down, or sign your name, or promise deposits. Just don't. I could link you to so many sites that would show you how badly wrong that has gone for some people and how much money they've lost.Why do you have to have this house or no house? How much time and effort have you put in looking?? You need to look for a good year, to get a really good idea of what's available and where.

All you can do is harass the agent, and make sure you're first in line when the house is actually made available, but for the love of god, don't hand any money over. And bear in mind that EA's tend to stretch the truth a bit.

We have been looking for just under a year now, and had been 'scanning' the year before, more than actively searching. I have property sites bookmarked that I check reguarly and email updates for new properties in our desired areas. We have other options, but given the distance they are from family, friends and work, they are not at the top of our list.

As I said before, we definitely wouldn't be handing over any money until things were completely set in place.

BrownianMotion

What was the point of this thread if you're not going to commit to anything until it is finished?

To answer your question "How to get ahead of other buyers" - offer more money.
Given that you don't plan on doing that for 6 months you may have been a bit premature asking for advice.

You seem to be genuine but I have to say if I was going to try and troll this forum this is exactly how I'd go about it.

Alicat

daltonm wrote: »

I think there is one thing you can be sure of Ali - and that is you are definately top of the agents list. The spin has worked on you - you are completely hooked - as the EA intended.

The spin made me worry, I've no problem admitting that! Sure that's why I posted my OP, looking for people with experience who could give their opinion on it and reassure me that it was indeed a spin. However, we happened to be at the first viewing weekend for this estate a few months ago, and immediately took a liking to it without hearing any spins or talking to EA's so I do know that our interest is genuine. The 'spin' was only plonked on us recently and I have no shame in admitting that it caught us as we have no previous experience.

Can you be 100% certain you will be with your b/f in 5 years?

Absolutely not! What person could swear 100% that they would definitely be with their current partner for the rest of their lives? Not even marriage can do that now.

Can you and your b/f afford the mortgage by yourself?

We will be breaking down all of the possible repayments for certain loan amounts and seeing where it starts to become uncomfortable, but as of tonight, we have not done it yet.

In the event one of you loses your jobs?

One our jobs is not at risk at all, unless we commited a serious crime! The other job is quite secure but who knows.

Or in the unlikely event that you split up - can you or he afford the mortgage and pay another rent somewhere else if you both cannot live under the same roof?

Yes, there are possible arrangements that won't disrupt the payments.

There is no "balance" between head and heart - this is first and foremostly a business transaction. I say that because in the event of any of the issues above then business prevails - the banks won't care about your "emotions" they'll simply want their money.

Absolutely. As banks, that is their perogative and rightly so. However I think it is 'bad business' on our part to invest long term on something that means nothing to us. I appreciate the viewpoint that 'emotions' should not influence a business transaction but then we may as well buy any old box on the side of the road as long as it's handy for work. I refuse to spend the money on a property that I do not like.

It is merely an unfinished house in an unfinished housing estate. The completion of which is completely dependant on luring as many naive FTB's in as they can, the banks are playing their roles with their "teaser" rate mortgages on low interest rates that will rise in 5 years leaving you very exposed.

On a typical 250k mortgage after 5 years there is still approx 230k to be paid off (using 5% rates) if that rate is higher then your mortgage in 5 years could be several hundred euro more per month than what it is now.
Will you have the pay increases to cope with that? Will you have kids and creche fees in 5 years?


Have you fixed the mortgage for 5 years? If so you need to believe that the 5% (*approx) interest rate will certainly NOT apply in 5 years time - will it be lower when you are coming out of it? I very much doubt it - so you need to stress test for at least 2% over that rate.

Take a step back, stress test yourself and your boyfriend as a precaution and limit your risk and exposure.

Good Luck

We are working on all of that at the moment! We have some meetings set up with our lender for more of that discussion. We want to run through all of our options now so that if and when the time comes to make a move we know exactly where we stand and what we need to do.

Ortiz wrote: »

Alicat when making a bid on this property don't be afraid to go very low at first and see what feedback you get. I agree with a post above that many of these lists simply have people that just enquire and get put on a list or just go on a list for the craic. Don't worry too much. I wouldn't be surprised if you're the only serious buyer out of the lot so keep that in mind.

Prices are going to fall further there's no doubt about that but you didn't start this thread to ask should I buy. Unfortunately this forum has many idiots that just spit the same stuff out at every opportunity even though they weren't asked.

Good luck with it

Thanks for the post. We will try to go as low as possible

Alicat

BrownianMotion wrote: »

What was the point of this thread if you're not going to commit to anything until it is finished?

To answer your question "How to get ahead of other buyers" - offer more money.
Given that you don't plan on doing that for 6 months you may have been a bit premature asking for advice.

You seem to be genuine but I have to say if I was going to try and troll this forum this is exactly how I'd go about it.

Of course it's genuine! Do you think I would submit myself to this crap for fun? :pac:

If/when we want to do this, I want to be fully prepared. If/when this goes ahead in 6 months I want to know exactly what we should be doing. How stupid would it be to only start asking these questions weeks before? I want to get my head around ALL of our possibilites. I don't think six months is all that early to be honest!

Alicat

iguana wrote: »

How do you know those houses have sold? Have the new owners moved in already? There have been recorded cases of EAs/developers putting sold signs on unsold properties, and even going so far as to park cars out front/hang curtains/etc, in order to make it look as if there is demand where none existed so potentially interested buyers feel under pressure to put down deposits.

That is actually something we hadn't considered! Good point Might try popping up one of the evenings to see what activity there is and how many lights are on etc.

Thanks

fontanalis wrote: »

Words fail me.

Excellent contribution, thanks very much!

magentas wrote: »

hey alicat, some harsh words here! I can totally understand how hard it is to contain your excitement...it's your first home! You're perfectly entitled to be busting at the seems with excitement!!!
In terms of "getting ahead" on possible competitors(?!) I know you said getting mortgage will be no prob but trust me...GET AN APPROVAL IN WRITING!
If you're pretty set on this house go in with all the details and get that approval. Your word on being able to get it means nothing to developers and they will want someone serious who is all set up and ready to go.

We were told by our bank BOI mortgage would not be a prob. Put a booking deposit on house (no more than yourself we had our hearts set on this house and had been looking for a while) to be told few days later (after I made many phonecalls) that they wouldn't be able to give it to us after all. I was devastated and thought we lost house. Got approval within 2days from EBS and was over the moon.

So get your approval in writing for that house, have solicitor arranged and put down your (fully refundable if doesn't work out) booking deposit.
Remember NOTHING is definate until final contracts are drawn up.
Try to act swiftly, don't complicate things. If you go around squeeling like a kid in a candy shop you may not be taken seriously! Try to remain cool, calm and collected!:cool:

Good luck and let me know of any developments

Worthwhile advice there, thanks very much That must have been horrible for you to experience though, thinking you'd lost the house Talk about stress!

Kimia

HI Alicat. I can only imagine how excited you are and congratulations with being approved for a mortgage. I think there are some things you should consider but if you are set on buying and not selling on (ie staying in the same house for years, possibly the rest of your life) well then I don't see why not! First though, can you come back to answer this question: If the below happened, would you still be happy in this dream house:

1. Mortgage interest rates putting an extra 300-500 a month on your mortgage
2. Possible bad finish leading to costly repairs
3. Estate not finished for 10+ years
4. No fencing, lawns, communal areas - more like a building site
5. Holes and unfinished pavements/roads - possible dangers for children
6. Social housing leading to an unsavoury element introduced to the estate
7. Being in negative equity almost immediately so unable to sell / move
8. Builder going bust so no recourse if house is badly finished

If you can genuinely say to yourself if any or all of the above happened (which as you can see is not just possible, but very likely) and you're still happy to go ahead with buying the house, well then I say go for it. Pay whatever it is they're asking right now and just pay it off over 35 years or whatever. Best of luck.

Alicat

Kimia wrote: »

Mortgage interest rates putting an extra 300-500 a month on your mortgage

Well that would be a right pain in the backside but I ever expected this to be easy!

Possible bad finish leading to costly repairs

Well it'd obviously depend on what went wrong...If the house fell down I'd be pretty stuck! I do plan on getting it checked over by someone with experience so that any problems can hopefully be spotted and sorted. I wouldn't purchase if there was uncertainty about the quality of the build.

Estate not finished for 10+ years

Again it would depend on how much was unfinished. I mean, if the builder stopped building after this phase, it would be crap to deal with but not the end of the world. If it was the far end of the estate that was unfinished, and we never saw it from our end, it probably wouldn't bother me visually. Obviously the worry would be that short term it would affect the price of our property, but we're not looking for anything short term.

No fencing, lawns, communal areas - more like a building site

We will keep an eye on the estate as the new phase is going up. The finished the first phase well but I wouldn't be impressed if they left the second phase in a state

Holes and unfinished pavements/roads - possible dangers for children

Again, obviously I wouldn't want that, but until we see how things go we can't possibly know

Social housing leading to an unsavoury element introduced to the estate

It happens unforturnately. My aunt lives in a very nice area and a couple of years ago they landed a load of social housing in it and there's not much she can do about it. It does affect the area a bit, visually, but again not the end of the world

Being in negative equity almost immediately so unable to sell / move

The location of the house is perfect for us to get to all of our family and friends so we would cope fine I think. Again, not something you want to happen but sure we can't hide away from every possible risk. Hopefully we could get the house for a very decent price.

Builder going bust so no recourse if house is badly finished

Again, would be absolutely horrible if that were to happen, but if we have most things covered and checked, hopefully anything left that was wrong would be minimal and fixable.

Even the most organised of people have things go wrong, and have some really bad luck. My opinion would be that there's a way around most problems if you're willing to put the time and effort into it. If we buy a house we love, we'll fight tooth and nail for it. If we buy a house that we're 'settling' for, it will be more difficult to muster up the effort.

mikemac

Give the estate agent a tip of 10% of the purchase price, cash, brown envelope.

Should get you moved up the list of buyers

When you complete the purchase, sure give another tip, they deserve it

Alicat

feelingstressed wrote: »

Give the estate agent a tip of 10% of the purchase price, cash, brown envelope.

Should get you moved up the list of buyers

When you complete the purchase, sure give another tip, they deserve it

Excellent, thanks! I'll go get myself some decent brown envelopes this weekend

username123

OP - here are the things I would seriously consider if I were in your position:

An unfinished estate - there is absolutely no way of telling how nice the place or the neighbours are going to be until its been finished. If its finished. I have a number of friends stuck in unfinished estates for the past few years (there is in fact an unfinished part in my own estate thats there over 5 years now cos the builder ran out of money). Plus I have seen people buy in lovely looking places, only for those places to turn into warzones when the social welfare housing goes up, or landlords buy to rent to any old scum they like or the council lob up a halting site net door. So check with the local authority plans to see what the future holds in the immediate area. Check with the builders to know what percentage of the estate will be social housing and where exactly the social housing is. Personally Id never buy off the plans again - Ive been reasonably lucky (well except for the huge negative equity but sure we're all in that boat eh?), but I have seen many many people who have not been so lucky and are stuck with houses they cannot sell because of unsavoury neighbours or unfinished estates.

As well - will the estate be managed or will the council manage it? If its going to be a managed estate you will need to figure in approx 1000 euro a year per term of the mortgage (so possible 30k) in management fees. Its a pain in the butt and Id never again buy in a managed development as a result of it.

You made a couple of interesting points in earlier posts where you referred to the house as a 'long term investment' - you need to remember that investments can go up and down - you could well be stuck with something worth half the current price in a few years time.

You also mention that you have seen nothing else that suits. If you saved for another 2/3 years and rented, you may well be in a better financial position with properties costing less than today so youd have a bigger pool to choose from - just a thought.

Anyway, overall, I personally would advise you NOT to buy in an unfinished estate - its just too risky in the current environment.

Alicat

username123 wrote: »

...Plus I have seen people buy in lovely looking places, only for those places to turn into warzones when the social welfare housing goes up, or landlords buy to rent to any old scum they like or the council lob up a halting site net door. So check with the local authority plans to see what the future holds in the immediate area. Check with the builders to know what percentage of the estate will be social housing and where exactly the social housing is. Personally Id never buy off the plans again - Ive been reasonably lucky (well except for the huge negative equity but sure we're all in that boat eh?), but I have seen many many people who have not been so lucky and are stuck with houses they cannot sell because of unsavoury neighbours or unfinished estates.

I will check up on this as I do think it will definitely be worthwhile. I know that the plans for the field across the road are for a playing fields, not estates.

As well - will the estate be managed or will the council manage it? If its going to be a managed estate you will need to figure in approx 1000 euro a year per term of the mortgage (so possible 30k) in management fees. Its a pain in the butt and Id never again buy in a managed development as a result of it.

It's managed by the council, thankfully!

You also mention that you have seen nothing else that suits. If you saved for another 2/3 years and rented, you may well be in a better financial position with properties costing less than today so youd have a bigger pool to choose from - just a thought.

It is an option. Admittedly not one that we're leaning towards but if we have to we could. I could certainly only stick another year or two max of renting though.

Treehouse72

Alicat, if you look back on the pattern on the last few pages, you'll see that you are thanking and agreeing with posts that are re-enforcing your current thinking. Those which don't, you are contesting (albeit politely I must say).

It is clear to me you are running on pure emotion and almost no logic. To this, I would just say the following. If there was one characteristic of the property bubble it was irrationality. Irrationality is what made people think that buying and selling gaffs made you rich. It's what caused Anglo to piss €30b up against the wall. Caused families to get way, way over their heads in debt. If any of them had just stopped for a moment and thought rationally, all this could have been avoided. But people let emotion and sentiment control their every action.

I would counsel you to look deep into yourself and ask whether you are thinking clearly. You need an out-of-body moment whereby you look down on yourself and really look to see if it is a rational person you see. If you want one piece of evidence that you are not thinking clearly, I just refer you to your opening post. In it, you are concerned about rising prices and queues of people looking to buy your house. In Autumn 2010, these are not rational fears to have! If this is indicative of your wider state of mind, that should cause you to pause and very seriously think again.

Alicat

Treehouse72 wrote: »

Alicat, if you look back on the pattern on the last few pages, you'll see that you are thanking and agreeing with posts that are re-enforcing your current thinking. Those which don't, you are contesting (albeit politely I must say).

I mostly thanked those who answered my initial question, which is only right! I have taken a lot of time to reply to most of the posts, even those which were not relevant to my OP.

I would counsel you to look deep into yourself and ask whether you are thinking clearly. You need an out-of-body moment whereby you look down on yourself and really look to see if it is a rational person you see. If you want one piece of evidence that you are not thinking clearly, I just refer you to your opening post. In it, you are concerned about rising prices and queues of people looking to buy your house. In Autumn 2010, these are not rational fears to have! If this is indicative of your wider state of mind, that should cause you to pause and very seriously think again.

I did clarify later on that I didn't think house prices were going to go up but that in a worst case scenario that would be the only (albeit extremely unlikely) thing to stop us getting the house. It wasn't a genuine concern. I have also stated in a post above (somewhere in the rake of ones I posed this evening) that I fell for the 'spin', as another poster put it, a moment of panic, and was delighted to be reassured that it was extremely unlikely. I can see that now.

I didn't want to get into a discussion about why I picked the house, and why I should or should not buy it. I wanted information and advice about going for the house so I left the other details out of the OP. The posters who decided to answer the question I had not asked (!) have given me things to think about, but have not put me off. If things begin to fall apart of course I will happily let the whole thing go. As I said, I'm not stupid, just inexperienced. I thought the forum would be a good place to start with some advice. I can only learn if I ask any and all questions that I need to, no matter how silly they may seem to everyone else.

Mr. Loverman

The problem I have with you buying this house - apart from all the other problems pointed out earlier in this thread - is if you are your partner break up, you will most likely be left with a house in a ghost estate which is in a lot of negative equity. You will then be trapped.

I know this sounds very negative, but couples break up all the time...

Alicat

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

The problem I have with you buying this house - apart from all the other problems pointed out earlier in this thread - is if you are your partner break up, you will most likely be left with a house in a ghost estate which is in a lot of negative equity. You will then be trapped.

I know this sounds very negative, but couples break up all the time...

I do understand this, but at the same time should we just not buy for years and years just in case we might break up? Should no one purchase with a partner just in case they break up? Sure we'll never get anywhere like that! That is certainly one way to ruin a relationship "I don't want to buy a house with you because I'm not sure we'll stay together"

I understand the logistics of the argument but certainly in our case, it's not a big enough issue. We do kinda like eachother :P

Mr. Loverman

Alicat wrote: »

I do understand this, but at the same time should we just not buy for years and years just in case we might break up? Should no one purchase with a partner just in case they break up? Sure we'll never get anywhere like that! That is certainly one way to ruin a relationship "I don't want to buy a house with you because I'm not sure we'll stay together"

I understand the logistics of the argument but certainly in our case, it's not a big enough issue. We do kinda like eachother :P

The problem is the house you have chosen to buy (off the plans, potential ghost estate) has so many risks attached to it.

The average couple buying an average (existing) home in an average town won't have these risks.

Mezcita

Alicat wrote: »

I do understand this, but at the same time should we just not buy for years and years just in case we might break up? Should no one purchase with a partner just in case they break up? Sure we'll never get anywhere like that! That is certainly one way to ruin a relationship "I don't want to buy a house with you because I'm not sure we'll stay together"

I understand the logistics of the argument but certainly in our case, it's not a big enough issue. We do kinda like eachother :P

Amazing how I've made it to four pages of this thread with you systematically ignoring all of the decent advice being given to you. Wonder if you will make it to ten pages?

Cavehill Red

Alicat wrote: »

I've taken their comments on board but I did not ask for any opinion on whether we should buy or not. There has been nothing said yet to put me off buying, but some comments have given me some things to consider.

If all those reality checks haven't sunk in, then you really have my sympathy. You're going to be in tremendous financial difficulties in a few years time if you make this rash decision.
The market is going DOWN. Interest rates are going UP. You may not always be with your boyfriend (sorry to throw that one in, but it's a factor to consider - many people are in real financial trouble right now trying to service a mortgage which they signed up for as part of a couple.)
There are tons of finished houses on the market currently, in mature residential areas, near good schools, priced less than half their peak, with no viewers never mind no buyers.
And you want to buy into a building site off-plan? Here's my suggestion: do nothing until the house is finished. In fact, do nothing until the entire estate is finished. And people are moved in. If your 'chosen' plot is gone, offer to buy out the owner.
I promise you, if you wait until then, you'll either have grown old and grey with the wait for the build to complete and the estate to be finished, or else you'll get the place for a fraction of the current cost.

Senna

Whether you decide to buy this or not, seen it wont be for another few months, you shouldn't settle on this house until you've sign the contracts. Keep watching the market, (is there any houses you've seen and liked but dismissed because it 20% or 30% above your budget?) its much much safer to buy a second-hand house or a new house in a finished estate. If your thread was about the purchase of a second-hand house, you could cut out 90% of the negative posts on this thread.
I don't like mob mentality, their often wrong, but in this threads case, a lot is justified.

Alicat

Cavehill Red wrote: »

If all those reality checks haven't sunk in, then you really have my sympathy. You're going to be in tremendous financial difficulties in a few years time if you make this rash decision.
The market is going DOWN. Interest rates are going UP. You may not always be with your boyfriend (sorry to throw that one in, but it's a factor to consider - many people are in real financial trouble right now trying to service a mortgage which they signed up for as part of a couple.)

I understand this but I will NEVER be able to afford somewhere by myself so should I just rent forever in a place I'm not happy or go home and live with my mother? They seem to be the only options left to me if I was to follow the advice here.

There are tons of finished houses on the market currently, in mature residential areas, near good schools, priced less than half their peak, with no viewers never mind no buyers.

Yes I have seen plenty of these houses, none of which suit us or have appealed to us in the slightest. I'm not settling for a house I don't like, with a further commute from work and family. If a miracle house came on the market close by, at a good price, that I liked, we would certainly give it serious consideration. In the guts of a year and a half we have seen nothing. I am restricted to certain areas partially because I need to be close to work but I can't be in the same town/village and it's the same with his job.

And you want to buy into a building site off-plan? Here's my suggestion: do nothing until the house is finished. In fact, do nothing until the entire estate is finished. And people are moved in. If your 'chosen' plot is gone, offer to buy out the owner.
I promise you, if you wait until then, you'll either have grown old and grey with the wait for the build to complete and the estate to be finished, or else you'll get the place for a fraction of the current cost.

Why would the (imaginary) future owners sell up to me at a fraction of the current cost? That does not benefit them in the slightest...

Senna wrote: »

Whether you decide to buy this or not, seen it wont be for another few months, you shouldn't settle on this house until you've sign the contracts. Keep watching the market, (is there any houses you've seen and liked but dismissed because it 20% or 30% above your budget?) its much much safer to buy a second-hand house or a new house in a finished estate. If your thread was about the purchase of a second-hand house, you could cut out 90% of the negative posts on this thread.
I don't like mob mentality, their often wrong, but in this threads case, a lot is justified.

I am not settling on the house. I really like it so it's top of the list. If it doesn't feel right when the time comes, we won't purchase. I have said a few times now that we are still looking in case something miraculously comes up.

I appreciate the 'safe' advice, I really do.

Cavehill Red

Alicat wrote: »

I understand this but I will NEVER be able to afford somewhere by myself so should I just rent forever in a place I'm not happy or go home and live with my mother? They seem to be the only options left to me if I was to follow the advice here.

Emotional response will cost you a fortune. It's this (unbuilt) house or live with mammy forever? Really?

Alicat wrote: »

Yes I have seen plenty of these houses, none of which suit us or have appealed to us in the slightest. I'm not settling for a house I don't like, with a further commute from work and family. If a miracle house came on the market close by, at a good price, that I liked, we would certainly give it serious consideration. In the guts of a year and a half we have seen nothing. I am restricted to certain areas partially because I need to be close to work but I can't be in the same town/village and it's the same with his job.

Keep waiting and watching. Every month goes by that you don't buy, houses get cheaper and cheaper.

Alicat wrote: »

Why would the (imaginary) future owners sell up to me at a fraction of the current cost? That does not benefit them in the slightest...

Let's rewind five years and run that scenario. Why would someone who bought then be desperate to sell out to you now for less than they paid? Because they can no longer afford the repayments, because negative equity grows by the day and because they want to cut their losses and run.
Also perhaps because the house was finished poorly, the estate left uncompleted and the place is half-building site, half-slum because the builder went bankrupt and the remaining buildings belong to the bank or NAMA.
No different now, except unlike some of the suckers in 2005, you at least have the advantage of KNOWING you're in a falling equity, rising interest market for the foreseeable future.

MaceFace

Wow. This must be one hell of a home to be still as bullish after not getting one person agreeing that buying this house is the right thing to do.

Can you tell us a bit about the house (obviously you won't want to tell too much), but basics like how far from the nearest city, which city, type, price and size (bedrooms & sq mtrs etc).

Honestly, if this is a detached home 15 miles from Dublin for sale for less than 250k, then I think you would get a lot more helpful answers, but as for now, your post is like asking for the best way to commit suicide and everyone is telling you to think twice about killing yourself rather than answering your actual question.

Alicat

Cavehill Red wrote: »

Emotional response will cost you a fortune. It's this (unbuilt) house or live with mammy forever? Really?

No of course not. I never said it was this house or nothing. Part of that answer was in response to 'warning' that my boyfriend and I 'might not be together forever.' If I'm looking to live by myself, I'll only ever be able to rent or live with mammy. We've made the decision to take the risk together. There are loads of houses we could buy, but none of them have even made me think about purchasing. I don't care if it's 'emotional', I want to like my house.

Keep waiting and watching. Every month goes by that you don't buy, houses get cheaper and cheaper.

But when does it stop? I'm not hanging on for next ten or twenty years to finally buy a house.

Let's rewind five years and run that scenario. Why would someone who bought then be desperate to sell out to you now for less than they paid? Because they can no longer afford the repayments, because negative equity grows by the day and because they want to cut their losses and run.
Also perhaps because the house was finished poorly, the estate left uncompleted and the place is half-building site, half-slum because the builder went bankrupt and the remaining buildings belong to the bank or NAMA.
No different now, except unlike some of the suckers in 2005, you at least have the advantage of KNOWING you're in a falling equity, rising interest market for the foreseeable future.

It may happen to some people, but it's not going to happen to everybody so I'm not going to hold out for that option.

MaceFace wrote: »

Wow. This must be one hell of a home to be still as bullish after not getting one person agreeing that buying this house is the right thing to do.

Can you tell us a bit about the house (obviously you won't want to tell too much), but basics like how far from the nearest city, which city, type, price and size (bedrooms & sq mtrs etc).

Honestly, if this is a detached home 15 miles from Dublin for sale for less than 250k, then I think you would get a lot more helpful answers, but as for now, your post is like asking for the best way to commit suicide and everyone is telling you to think twice about killing yourself rather than answering your actual question.

I don't need anyone to agree on it. It's my decision, not theirs. I didn't start this particular part of the conversation.

I have plans at home but to be honest I don't think it'll do any good as they'll just be used to pick apart my opinions on the place yet again.

Jaden

I think this house sounds like it is perfectly suited to the OP. I strongly suggest that you buy this house now, put a deposit down to ensure you get the exact plot you want. Do this now before the price rises, or gets sold to someone else. It's the only way to be sure it can be yours.

I'm sure the house will be perfect, and just as you want it. Nothing will go wrong, and everything will work out. There won't be issues with cost, time to build, finishing the estate, interest rate increases, neighbours, and you and your other half will live there happily. So what if there are issues anyway, I'm sure they won't be that serious.

Buy this house, if that is what you want.





Some people will always get what they deserve.