Pardon my ignorance, but am I missing a trick here?

clancynl

Been considering purchasing a house in or around DUbiln, we have deposits etc .. but the closer I get to starting the process, I start to get doubts about handing over such a large amount when I consider what I could get in my hometown and deal with a 40 minute commute (which I wouldn't mind as I've done it for 10 years now and I've a ton of books to get through

Been looking at Daft … and .. for example .. this property in Firhouse is 250K .. a 3 bed etc .. http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=718782

And for 70 - 85K you’d be getting the likes of this in Portarlington (where I'm from)… http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=578976

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=707849

Possibility of having the home paid off in 8 years rather than a 20 Year mortgage …no worries about having to rent it out or anything if I need to head off somewhere at a later stage? .. property would be yours … ?

And encountering talk about the Dead Cat Bounce and all that .. .some saying its not the best time to be considering buying if there’s another dip on the ways…apartments anyways ..

http://www.thepropertypin.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=56320&sid=240e3ecaabca65b545ff22a95a82d7d9

Dunno … any thoughts?

Ray Palmer

The main reason for the massive price is employment. It can take 40mins to commute within Dublin. If you can say that you will never change jobs and your commute will remain the same it isn't an issue. Not many can say that.

valleyoftheunos

Depending on where you are working your comute from Firhouse could easily be 40 minutes or more.

EricPraline

clancynl wrote: »

I consider what I could get in my hometown and deal with a 40 minute commute (which I wouldn't mind as I've done it for 10 years now and I've a ton of books to get through

The price reflects the fact that, while you personally wouldn't have a problem with the commute (and 40 minutes seems optimistic, depending on where you're travelling to in Dublin), many people would opt to live closer to Dublin for employment reasons and because a longer commute would reduce the time they get to spend with their families.

Obviously there are other factors, such as schools, proximity to your family and so on which might mean that Portarlington would be a better option for you personally. It's difficult to put a price on a consideration like that.

D3PO

40 minutes commute to the M50 maybe but not to most parts in Dublin at all plus about €15 a day in petrol or €3,900 a year (minus holidays)

So add that to your overall house purchase cost, plus your time, etc etc then your huge house savings don't look so fantastic.

djimi

There is a train station in Portarlington so a 40 minute commute into Heuston isnt that unrealistic.

seamus

The difference in the commute is 40 minutes. It's not a 40 minute commute from Portarlington. So the property in Firhouse will save you 1:20 per day. Over the course of an entire years that's an extra 320 hours commuting - nearly two whole weeks per year that you will spend in the car and not with your family.

Plus, that's assuming ideal conditions. If the weather goes to crap you could be 90 minutes just trying to get to Naas from the M50.

There is a train station in Portarlington so a 40 minute commute into Heuston isnt that unrealistic.

Indeed, but again it's an ideal. Plus it doesn't factor in the total time - the ten minutes it takes to get the station, find a parking space and get to the platform. The five minutes waiting for the train to arrive. The five minutes getting off the train and out the door at heuston. There's an hour gone and you still have to get from the train station to work.

You do of course have to weigh up your future plans - is working in Dublin a stopgap for you? That is, do you plan long-term on a return to Portarlington? Buying a property in Dublin gives you a good deal more job mobility simply because there are more jobs in Dublin. So the commute becomes less of a factor when considering a new job. But if your aim is ultimately to find a job back home and move closer to family and friends, then tying yourself to Dublin for 20 years may not be the best idea.

Specifically on the properties you're looking at - the idea of a brand spanking new house is always nice, but the Portarlington one is clearly a firesale. How long have those properties been sitting idle, how many are occupied, and they probably haven't been properly snagged - will the builder still be around to fix things when you buy it? What seems like a bargain could turn into a big headache.
The one in Firhouse it would be worth taking a few looks at it. The area is generally OK, but there can be some black spots. Take your car down there around 10pm on a Friday or Saturday night, park it at the victory centre and then take a walk. Not just onto Killakee walk, but around the local area, shopping centre, etc. Imagine you actually live there and you've decided one night to go for a walk. Do this twice on different weekends.

D3PO

djimi wrote: »

There is a train station in Portarlington so a 40 minute commute into Heuston isnt that unrealistic.

well it is really. The train times go from 41 minutes leaving portarlington at 9.04am to 1.04 in duration. The average is more like 50 minutes.

Add to that getting to the train station, waiting on the train then commuting from the train station to your place of work.

Well over an hour just to get station to station and probably fair to assume at least 15 mins further travel from there maybe more so that's 3 hours travel a day when you take into account waiting for trains and busses aswell, I never understand why people try and undercalculate their commute.

Plus an annual point to point rail ticket from Portarlington to Houston is €2,800 anyway

so add that by the number of years to your total house cost, plus all the commute hours, plus having no control over what time you can come or go at, plus the stress you will have when the weather is crap and their are delays / cancellations etc.

Its not a case of house a = x house b = y why would I pay more for house B

Pawwed Rig

seamus wrote: »

Over the course of an entire years that's an extra 320 hours commuting - nearly two whole weeks per year that you will spend in the car and not with your family.

Which is the equivalent of 8 weeks work in a full time job.

I think commuting times is one of the big tragedies of the Celtic Tiger era. There are people who are essentially displaced having a long slog to work every morning. It is a real shame that people are forced to waste their free time like this. There is ample space in Dublin for everybody if planning had been done properly.


I made the leap and moved to city centre. 20 minutes walk to work in the morning. I know exactly what time I need to leave and what time I will get there at. I can get home at a good hour to do other activities as part of my day. There is zero stress in the journey and zero cost. That for me is worth the premium you pay for living central.

seamus

D3PO wrote: »

Well over an hour, I never understand why people try and undercalculate their commute.

I don't think it's intentional, I think people only think of the raw point-to-point time and forget that point-to-point isn't reality. They don't just do it with commutes. My wife will swear that she can get to Dundrum and back for a quick errand in 30 minutes.

D3PO

seamus wrote: »

I don't think it's intentional, I think people only think of the raw point-to-point time and forget that point-to-point isn't reality. They don't just do it with commutes. My wife will swear that she can get to Dundrum and back for a quick errand in 30 minutes.

but women are superhuman and they can multitask

djimi

D3PO wrote: »

well it is really. The train times go from 41 minutes leaving portarlington at 9.04am to 1.04 in duration. The average is more like 50 minutes.

Add to that getting to the train station, waiting on the train then commuting from the train station to your place of work.

Well over an hour just to get station to station and probably fair to assume at least 15 mins further travel from there maybe more so that's 3 hours travel a day when you take into account waiting for trains and busses aswell, I never understand why people try and undercalculate their commute.

In fairness I underestimated the train journey a little (I had thought it was about 35-40 minutes from Portarlington), but even still depending on where in Port you are living and whereabouts in Dublin you work it could still work out to be an hour or thereabouts, which isnt an awful commute (considering most of it is spent sitting on a train), and its a lot better than driving that distance which would take a lot longer.

The cost is obviously an issue, but unless you walk to work then there is always going to be a cost involved, and chances are if you work in the city and can walk to work then you would be a long time eating into the price difference between the two houses with a €3k a year train ticket!

clancynl

Many thanks for your thoughts peeps ... just to clear it up .. I'd be commuting via Train and my job, I'm fortunate enough to be based on Abbey Street Lower .. so it's straight off the Luas into work 30 sec later ... so maybe it's an hour all in all ..

I don't drive so train is my most viable option ...

Fair point also on the snags in houses in an area like Port. I've had a stroll around some estates and know people who live in some of the houses considered .. .so they SEEM alright ... but definitely more investigation will be warranted before anything concrete is done ..

What with Ulster Banks announcement last night and AVIVA and others announcing job cuts .. I think I'll be holding out a little longer in my rental in D6 for the time being ...

THanks again