Castlepark, Maynooth

BasketBaby

Washburn73 - what kind of features would you expect to find in an estate? I know Carton house is exclusive but in a regular estate what should you expect? Also do you not get a Ber Cert on purchase? I assumed that happened but obviously it doesn't. . . Cost? Is the adjacent site the same size? Or bigger? You seem to know a bit about the building industry....I assume in general the industry is beginning to profit again...

dpcollin01

After chasing the second hand market for the last year & having bidding wars raise prices up and above €285k for similar properties, I said to hell with them & secured myself a 4 bed semi in Castlepark with none of the bull of ghost bidding. I do believe house prices could drop another 10% over the next couple of years but I'm not prepared to rent a similar property for €1200 p/m and possibly loose out on the oppertunity to live in this estate with its fantastic location, the high standard of finish & the BER thats hard to beat.
I'll admit the gardens are on the small size but the house I secured looks out onto a "landscaped green" where the kids can play which will compensates for that! Can't wait to finally get my house for life.
I'd really love to get the attic converted but the builder asking for €15k (not including on suite) is a bit steep when you loose a room to make way for the stairs. They said all the plaster board, doors and door frames on 1st floor need changing to fire retardand. Rang other builders to get the job done- they said €8k to design & fit a stairs without loosing that room and fit out the bedroom(no on suite). That would also prevent the property tax going over the next level. If anyone has their attic done, I'd really appreciate it if I could get a look, if not a look then could I get all the floor & headroom measurements? This comes into play with the fire regulations!

Newgirl2012

Hi,

We are also overlooking the green in a 4 bed semI and have our attic done, would be really interested to see designs that include keeping the box room whilst still providing you a full size staircase that complies with fire regulations, can't really see how there would be space. If you pm me an email address I'll send you pictures of our attic. The majority of ceiling space is full height in the room and it's a huge addition to the house.

dpcollin01 wrote: »

After chasing the second hand market for the last year & having bidding wars raise prices up and above €285k for similar properties, I said to hell with them & secured myself a 4 bed semi in Castlepark with none of the bull of ghost bidding. I do believe house prices could drop another 10% over the next couple of years but I'm not prepared to rent a similar property for €1200 p/m and possibly loose out on the oppertunity to live in this estate with its fantastic location, the high standard of finish & the BER thats hard to beat.
I'll admit the gardens are on the small size but the house I secured looks out onto a "landscaped green" where the kids can play which will compensates for that! Can't wait to finally get my house for life.
I'd really love to get the attic converted but the builder asking for €15k (not including on suite) is a bit steep when you loose a room to make way for the stairs. They said all the plaster board, doors and door frames on 1st floor need changing to fire retardand. Rang other builders to get the job done- they said €8k to design & fit a stairs without loosing that room and fit out the bedroom(no on suite). That would also prevent the property tax going over the next level. If anyone has their attic done, I'd really appreciate it if I could get a look, if not a look then could I get all the floor & headroom measurements? This comes into play with the fire regulations!

Bristolscale7

washburn73 wrote: »

Castlepark is a nice development. Nice, but not particularly exclusive and with no real features that would lead one to describe this as a 'top quality' development.

It is 'exclusive' insofar as your neighbors are they type of people who can get a mortgage at present.

washburn73 wrote: »

The best attribute of the estate is certainly its location - both in terms of its proximity to the centre of Maynooth and its relative distance from the university. It is ideally situated in my opinion.

Yes, the location is the best selling point. In addition to the location there are some other things at work--namely the dreadful state of almost all second-hand detached houses in Maynooth.

washburn73 wrote: »

The main drawback is the size of the individual sites - the houses are really squeezed on to their plot (and that is without a garage or garden shed - at least one of which would be standard in better quality developments).

Agree 100%

Shoomac

We wer genuinely interested in one of the 4 bed semis and didn't end up buying as the one we were interested in went for over asking. We felt we were making a compromise on the site size already so were conservative in our offer.

I'm coming round to thinking it's a blessing in disguise what with the current property shortage pushing up prices and potential increased repossessions in the very near future.
I was also a bit nervous about the need to commit up to a year before the house is built; what if you're relying on a mortgage and the property decreases in value? Or what if you bid above asking and the bank doesn't agree with this valuation? In either of those cases could the bank refuse to lend?

L1011

Shoomac wrote: »

In either of those cases could the bank refuse to lend?

Yes. More would than could in fact.

Shoomac

Interesting: we were the 2nd highest bidder. The highest bid was for almost 10% over asking. Either they have a lot of cash burning a hole in their pocket or they know something I don't. Good luck to them either way - I don't have that level of confidence right now.

SupermanXIII

Was interested in these houses too but really couldn't see them being worth anything more than the "asking price" mainly because of the garden size. That and the potential for devaluation once the neighbouring land is developed. The houses themselves are lovely but they really are crammed in there 2007-style alright - I suppose its related to the availability of 3/4 beds around Maynooth and the location but with the trade off against site size it just doesn't add up to those prices IMHO at least. That said, good luck to anyone who took the plunge.

Sasha144

Shoomac wrote: »

Interesting: we were the 2nd highest bidder. The highest bid was for almost 10% over asking. Either they have a lot of cash burning a hole in their pocket or they know something I don't. Good luck to them either way - I don't have that level of confidence right now.

That's interesting, I presume you are talking about the corner house in the new phase? friends of mine were also told by Coonans they were the second highest bidders and next in line if the highest bidders walked away so wonder if the original sale falls through if they'd plan to start a bidding war on it if they're telling more than one bidder they're next in line?

Jack the 3rd

Hi, I'm interested in a 4 Bed detached. EA informed me anything released has been sold and the next phase will be released in the Autumn but they do not have any details at present. I would appreciate any updates or info on this.

BTW I am not keep on their tendering idea but if people just offer the asking price then prices should not escalate. Anyway if the banks won't lend it's probably immaterial anyway:)

cardar

Moving into estate soon, and looking for a bit of advice re. UPC. Multiroom option has changed since I had it installed in my existing property & since digital has arrived. Looking to get at least 5 active tv points, kitchen, living room, playroom, master bedroom & attic conversion, at speaking to them it's an extra connection & box & installation of 45 euro, + a monthly charge on each TV point .
Has anyone used another provider? Sky , soarview? Or a specialist tv installer ? Any advice or suggestion would be great. Like the UPC broadband coverage.

SupermanXIII

Sasha144 wrote: »

That's interesting, I presume you are talking about the corner house in the new phase? friends of mine were also told by Coonans they were the second highest bidders and next in line if the highest bidders walked away so wonder if the original sale falls through if they'd plan to start a bidding war on it if they're telling more than one bidder they're next in line?

Strangely enough my girlfriend was also told the same thing. Obviously the EA Coonan's job is to sell the house for as much as they can but is there any point in that type of dishonesty? Is it simply to keep as many people interested as possible in case the bid falls through? And then what exactly? Like I was previously saying about the site size, its all a bit 2007! Again nice houses but naively enough you'd kill for a bit of honesty;)

Cocobobo

Can anyone recommend a good tiler? PM if you can!! Thanks in advance

Newgirl2012

Cocobobo wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a good tiler? PM if you can!! Thanks in advance

I found the mason homes Tiler to be the best and competitive prices too. Best thing with using him is he can go in and start on kitchen Floors or whatever it is once you've checked off your snags but still before you've closed the sale. They wouldn't let an outsider in to do tiling before sale is closed!

Kathy22

We have been interested in this estate for a while now. We are only in the market for a 4 bed semi so the last phase didn't suit us. We made a bid on the last phase on the end house which was unsuccessful and turns out it went for way over the asking price circa 310k. Then when we went to bid on one of the other house we were told they were sold out which was a real shame considering Will Coonan advised us they wouldnt sell out and we could still bid on another one. We were pretty dissapointed but were told the next phase is due to be released late Aug/early Sep.

This was on our unsuccessful bid:
Also Mason Homes Ltd have confirmed that all unsuccessful bidders from this release, should you be still in the market, will be given a fixed price (to be confirmed) at which you can purchase a house in the next phase prior to any other sale arrangements taking place. We hope to have the next phase of detached and semi-detached available for sale in late autumn 2013 (depending on a planning application).

I think they will go up in the next phase which I think will scare away other buyers. I HATE this closed bid approach and trying to get any info from Coonans is like getting blood from a stone. Hopefully we will hear something in the coming weeks.

Shoomac

Kathy22 wrote: »

I HATE this closed bid approach and trying to get any info from Coonans is like getting blood from a stone. Hopefully we will hear something in the coming weeks.

This is why we've decided not to pursue buying a property from this development and EA. There's a huge lack of supply at the moment but it won't last, we're hanging tough in the meantime!

Cocobobo

Just wondering how long the attic conversion took for those who got it done, we were told 2 weeks but hearing different reports now, we were just going to do it as one room with no ensuite? Thanks in advance!

Newgirl2012

Cocobobo wrote: »

Just wondering how long the attic conversion took for those who got it done, we were told 2 weeks but hearing different reports now, we were just going to do it as one room with no ensuite? Thanks in advance!

We were told 10 days but it actually ended up taking 4-5 weeks, partly because it was done in January and so plaster drying time took longer but there was a lot of bits n pieces they were back and forward doing. We also just went for 1 room no ensuite. Meant we couldn't move in for a month after getting keys because of dust n dirt while they were doing it builders in n out all day so didn't want to have our stuff in the middle of it all! The end result looks great though!

Cocobobo

Thanks again NewGirl, do you mind me asking how the paint work faired through it? Floor suppliers have also suggested waiting until its done before putting floors down but anxious to get in

Newgirl2012

Cocobobo wrote: »

Thanks again NewGirl, do you mind me asking how the paint work faired through it? Floor suppliers have also suggested waiting until its done before putting floors down but anxious to get in

Oh well you do a snag list after it so any paint work damaged is repaired, my landing needed to be repainted. I had tiles in my hall laid before they started the attic and covered them with cardboard n they were fine. I definitely wouldn't recommend laying carpets on stairs or landing as there is a lot of dust and dirty builders boots so they'd be destroyed! I got bedroom flooring done once the dusty work with the insulation and plasterboard was finished but waited until they were completely gone until I got stairs n landing done! They do a great job on the attic but some of them forget that it's actually someone's house when they're doing the attic and walk straight in with muddy boots on your lovely floors so just cover anything you do get done! Good luck with it!

lullaby81

Hi Guys,

Have been interested in this estate for a while as well and I'm wondering if anyone could answer few of my questions (hoping for any responses from Coonan is like waiting for snow in August......).

1. What are the key rules for placing bid? Do you make an offer and, if it's high enough, you get to choose a house from your preference list ( the order depending on how high your bid was, ie. if you were the 5th highest bidder you will be the 5th one to pick the house..... I remember seeing someone's post saying 'we secured a 4th house on our preference list'). Or do you bid against particular house and that house only (recent post from Kathy22 makes me think that...)

2. Was it common that bids below asking price were accepted? Coonan is saying absolutely not, but if you check property tax register there are plenty of semis that went for less than 285k (in fact only few reached that price level) with just couple of them sold as 3 bed semi (which would be an obvious reason for a lower price). So not sure if Coonan is basically lying here or is it the case the asking price was recently adjusted up (I know it did happen for detached houses)......

3. What type of 'investments' did you have to do after you got the keys? I can guess floors (was it including kitchen floor as well?), curtains, alarm. What about doors, shower, washing machine, dishwasher, fridge? Appreciate if anyone can share as we're trying to calculate what type of budget do we need on top of the house price.

Thanks in advance for any info!

Lulu

L1011

Another planning app in: 13/724 - http://kildare.ie/Countycouncil/OnlineServices/Onlineplanningenquiries/ (near impossible to get a direct link)

applicant

I was wondering if anyone who has bought has a recommendation for a solicitor? If so I would appreciate if you could pm me the details.

Thanks!

Repetto

Hi all, have been following this thread for the past few months and now that decision time is near I thought some of you already living in Castlepark might be able to tell me what it's like to live there. I've been interested in this estate from the get go, but only ready to move now. We are a young family and looking to put in a bid on the next phase of houses to be released. Our objective is to move to a family oriented estate with a good sense of community, as this is something we are currently missing (we have no neighbours where we live now) and people nearby do not have any sense of neighbourliness in terms of person to person relationships or even just looking after their houses where we are now. So my first question is basically is Castlepark a nice place to live with a young family? How is everyone settling in there? Is there a nice sense of community and what is the profile of the residents?
My second question relates to price. Now I am not asking what you paid for your house, but I am asking if you paid a lot over the initial asking price. It's one thing for the houses to seem affordable at asking price, but if bids are generally a lot above the asking, this might not be a runner for us, we have a little bit of wiggle room, but not much. Just trying to get an idea of how realistic the prices/our expectations are.
The houses look so nice, it would be very exciting to think it is the right place for us to live and of course that we could afford it!

Any feedback welcome and if you would like to PM me any other info you think is important please do. Many thanks.

wirelessdude01

In relation to pricing just have a look at the property price register to see what the last phase went for.

Unfortunately I have no idea in relation to the community spirit in the estate.

nicknackgtb

Living here nearly a year now, absolutely love it here. Yes there is building still going on but sure that's only natural. We're in our late 20's and the people around seem roughly our age/ early 30's also. There are a number of families around and see kids out playing regularly. Our neighbours are great and have invited us around for drinks/ tea etc to get introduced to others.

Builders are by helpful if there is ever anything needed. Great having them on site also as they are always just around the corner should an issue arise, but hasn't been anything to report of drastic nature. Houses are warm and cosy and it is ideal for commuters. For the last year I have been travelling in and out of Dublin and it is 7 min walk to bus stop.

People talk about gardens being small and yes, a little, but it's what you make of them then. Utilise the space, there is going to be a large green area for kids to play on etc.

As said, absolutely love it here and so far the people around us are great, only wish I could meet more of the neighbours! ;-)

Repetto

Hi Nicknack and wireless,

many thanks for getting back to me.

@Nicknack that is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. We are late 30s with very young children, so it sounds like a great place. As I said before, we have no neighbours around and this is our main reason for moving, we really want the children to have friends nearby and we'd like a bit of life in the neighbourhood. Good to hear the builders are helpful too. We've visited the show house twice and are very impressed with the finish. No front garden doesn't bother me as it means less work!

@wirelessdude, yes I've looked on the PPR but an acquaintance of mine who has bought there (house not built yet) made a good point to me, that buyers have gotten different things done in their houses that would influence the price paid, such as different stove/converted attic/concrete built shed etc. so he was of the opinion that for this reason the PPR couldn't give an accurate reflection of an average price. I didn't ask him what he paid as I don't know him well.

Thanks for the input, looking forward to hearing more.

Newgirl2012

With regard to pricing as far as I am aware the price that goes on the property price register is the agreed price before you pat for any extras. That's what happened in our case anyway. We got the attic converted which was a seperate bill paid on completion of the attic and none of my extras were included on the price on price register. It's a fantastic estate, absolutely love it! Everyone seems friendly and it's great because we've all been through the same process buying the house from plans etc so straight away we have had common experiences.
I wish you the very best of luck, hope you manage to get the house you want. Remember to visit the show house lots of times, I lost count of how many times we visited it but each time you see it you'll notice things and get your own ideas!

Repetto wrote: »

Hi Nicknack and wireless,

many thanks for getting back to me.

@Nicknack that is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. We are late 30s with very young children, so it sounds like a great place. As I said before, we have no neighbours around and this is our main reason for moving, we really want the children to have friends nearby and we'd like a bit of life in the neighbourhood. Good to hear the builders are helpful too. We've visited the show house twice and are very impressed with the finish. No front garden doesn't bother me as it means less work!

@wirelessdude, yes I've looked on the PPR but an acquaintance of mine who has bought there (house not built yet) made a good point to me, that buyers have gotten different things done in their houses that would influence the price paid, such as different stove/converted attic/concrete built shed etc. so he was of the opinion that for this reason the PPR couldn't give an accurate reflection of an average price. I didn't ask him what he paid as I don't know him well.

Thanks for the input, looking forward to hearing more.

Repetto

Hi Newgirl,

sounds like you are having a very positive experience there, which is great. Yes, we're going to see the show house again in the next couple of weeks before bidding. It's interesting what you say about your attic conversion payment too, am not sure what to make of the PPR now. I suppose the bottom line is that we have X amount of money and it'll either suffice or it won't... no amount of looking at the PPR will change that!

mrsq2b

Hi folks,

I was just wondering what those who have moved in / are about to move in have done with regard to buying kitchen appliances? Do Gallaghers sell them / have a deal set up with a supplier, or did you buy yourself and give them the measurements?
Am hoping to hit the sales this week to get a few bits, so might try get some appliances but Gallaghers currently closed.

Thanks in advance!