Hollywoodrath, Hollystown, Dublin 15

085andym

Follower123 wrote:

Hi we just put a deposit down for Hollywoodrath lawn. We’re a little disappointed that the only availability was north east facing garden however not enough to stop us going ahead with it. Has anyone any experience with the north east facing gardens to advise what time we should expect sun and will we be in complete darkness the rest of the day?

We were offered a north east facing rear garden in the place but turned it down, the EA was saying the same we might not be guaranteed another one. We ended up going for a mid terrace with a west facing garden on the green. I'd rather the mid terrace with the sun in the evening rather than end of terrace in the shade in the evening. But that's just me I love having a few beers and bbq on the few nice evenings we get in this country ðŸ˜

Archie2020

Follower123 wrote: »

also to add the prices are now 385 and the back gardens are north east facing / 84 sq metres

This is annoying , a south facing garden was a deal breaker for me but 84 sqm is a decent size garden & when the garden is big enough you will get some of the south & west facing sun down the end of the garden. A friend of mine has a NE facing garden & in the summer they get the sun till about 7.30pm in the evening before the shade moves in but in winter not so much.....hope this helps

FromADistance

Follower123 wrote: »

also to add the prices are now 385 and the back gardens are north east facing / 84 sq metres

385k for a 3 bed? Christ on a bike ...

Archie2020

FromADistance wrote: »

385k for a 3 bed? Christ on a bike ...

Its crazy, the last row of 4 beds were 435k in December, probably more now.....the sad thing is someone will Pay it...welcome to the housing crisis

FromADistance

Archie2020 wrote: »

Its crazy, the last row of 4 beds were 435k in December, probably more now.....the sad thing is someone will Pay it...welcome to the housing crisis

Something tells me it's more the enhanced HTB scheme that's driving this madness than anything else. I know of one secondhand 4 bed that sold recently for slightly under the price quoted above (and likely bigger that anything new left for sale in the estate).

Nijmegen

FromADistance wrote: »

Something tells me it's more the enhanced HTB scheme that's driving this madness than anything else. I know of one secondhand 4 bed that sold recently for slightly under the price quoted above (and likely bigger that anything new left for sale in the estate).

Scans doesn’t it - help to buy doesn’t do second hand, someone selling now likely bought in at much lower prices. The 4 bed detached in phase one, 1,600 square foot or so, sold for €360k new if I recall.

Danool

Follower123 wrote: »

also to add the prices are now 385 and the back gardens are north east facing / 84 sq metres

Can i ask where you got the prices from? Ive been in touch with the EA and they said there have been no prices released as of yet?

Thanks in advance

Follower123

085andym wrote: »

We were offered a north east facing rear garden in the place but turned it down, the EA was saying the same we might not be guaranteed another one. We ended up going for a mid terrace with a west facing garden on the green. I'd rather the mid terrace with the sun in the evening rather than end of terrace in the shade in the evening. But that's just me I love having a few beers and bbq on the few nice evenings we get in this country ðŸ˜

Thanks for all the info. We’re going to request if a south / west facing garden comes up to be informed as we may change however the semi d is a real deal breaker for us we didn’t want terrace and also they’re slightly bigger at 120 sq metres

Follower123

FromADistance wrote: »

385k for a 3 bed? Christ on a bike ...

It is sickening. When we registered last July it was 350. They’re just going up and up in price each phase.
Problem is if we don’t pay it someone else will and we get left behind paying rent for the next few years instead of paying off our own house. We love the house so much so we hope it’s worth it. as sickening as it is that someone could buy a 4 bed detached in same estate 5 years ago for the same price 😢😢

Follower123

Danool wrote: »

Can i ask where you got the prices from? Ive been in touch with the EA and they said there have been no prices released as of yet?

Thanks in advance

We have put a booking deposit on a house as six 3 bed semi detached came up 2 days ago and we were next on the registered list apparently.

I reckon the next release of 3 bed terrace / end terrace will be 365/370k

Follower123

Archie2020 wrote: »

This is annoying , a south facing garden was a deal breaker for me but 84 sqm is a decent size garden & when the garden is big enough you will get some of the south & west facing sun down the end of the garden. A friend of mine has a NE facing garden & in the summer they get the sun till about 7.30pm in the evening before the shade moves in but in winter not so much.....hope this helps

That’s great to know thank you.

I think from my research it really depends on the surrounding houses how much they shade the garden as I have a friend with north facing that has sun all day and another that has zero sun. Really hoping we get lucky! It’s a real bummer that we have to sign contracts within the next 3 weeks but can’t physically see the exact location of the house until it’s finished in July at which point it will be too late to pull out if we’re not happy with the light we get at the back.

Danool

Follower123 wrote: »

We have put a booking deposit on a house as six 3 bed semi detached came up 2 days ago and we were next on the registered list apparently.

I reckon the next release of 3 bed terrace / end terrace will be 365/370k

Great thanks for the info, im on the list since october so ive been waiting on something to come up. Have you been told when more would be coming on sale out of interest? Thanks

FromADistance

Follower123 wrote: »

It is sickening. When we registered last July it was 350. They’re just going up and up in price each phase.
Problem is if we don’t pay it someone else will and we get left behind paying rent for the next few years instead of paying off our own house. We love the house so much so we hope it’s worth it. as sickening as it is that someone could buy a 4 bed detached in same estate 5 years ago for the same price 😢😢

Yeah, I can only imagine. I guess it could be worse as the 3 bed semis are readily converted to 4 beds at least. Mind you there's a 3 bed for sale in the estate at the moment if it suited your needs... price 340k but that's the asking of course. Appreciate the HTB scheme doesn't cover secondhand but 385k is off the wall... and being driven by the enhanced HTB scheme which is doing very little for affordability, IMO.

Shades799

Follower123 wrote: »

Hi we just put a deposit down for Hollywoodrath lawn. We’re a little disappointed that the only availability was north east facing garden however not enough to stop us going ahead with it. Has anyone any experience with the north east facing gardens to advise what time we should expect sun and will we be in complete darkness the rest of the day?

If you want my advice (and there is no reason why you should!) I would strongly reconsider your decision if you're not happy with the orientation. You can change just about anything with your house (colour, style, internal layout) for a reasonable cost, but you can't change location and it's a massive job to change orientation. Some people aren't as bothered, but if you are (and it seems you are) then you don't want to be getting annoyed every day you look outside your back garden or want to do a BBQ or something.

Just my advice, for what it's worth (very little!)

Archie2020

Shades799 wrote: »

If you want my advice (and there is no reason why you should!) I would strongly reconsider your decision if you're not happy with the orientation. You can change just about anything with your house (colour, style, internal layout) for a reasonable cost, but you can't change location and it's a massive job to change orientation. Some people aren't as bothered, but if you are (and it seems you are) then you don't want to be getting annoyed every day you look outside your back garden or want to do a BBQ or something.

Just my advice, for what it's worth (very little!)

I agree, the orientation of a house is a deal breaker for me as I love having the sun in the back garden all day but I suppose you have to weigh up the good against the bad, if a semi-D over a terrace means more to you than some sun in the back garden then you have to go with that but unfortunately the demand is so high for houses in the estate that people are grabbing what they can even if they are not 100% happy with it because they are afraid they wont secure another one in the next release......its a catch 22 really but it needs to be something that you can accept before you hand over 385k

paulholly20?

The Occu thing is an interesting one that keeps reshaping
As they’ve changed the houses the claim to own several times, on their map.

I’d wonder if there was a way to play the estate agents against the site owner.

I.e Hello mr/ms estate agent, i see Occu have house number [X] on their website, but I’d really really like to buy it, what’s the chances?
Just a thought, go to McPeakes if they say no go to Knight Frank, for them it’s nothing to ask the question to the site owner.

Who knows you might actually get what you want

FromADistance

paulholly20? wrote: »

The Occu thing is an interesting one that keeps reshaping
As they’ve changed the houses the claim to own several times, on their map.

I’d wonder if there was a way to play the estate agents against the site owner.

I.e Hello mr/ms estate agent, i see Occu have house number [X] on their website, but I’d really really like to buy it, what’s the chances?
Just a thought, go to McPeakes if they say no go to Knight Frank, for them it’s nothing to ask the question to the site owner.

Who knows you might actually get what you want

That's interesting ... Last count I took there was 50 houses available ... now 45. Obviously some rented in between. I'm not so sure I'd want to purchase in and around where a property fund is purchasing houses...even if I was able to get the house I wanted.

paulholly20?

100% there’s pros and cons no matter what

Follower123

Danool wrote: »

Great thanks for the info, im on the list since october so ive been waiting on something to come up. Have you been told when more would be coming on sale out of interest? Thanks

We felt like we were forever on a ‘registered list of interest’ but then never actually got the opportunity to buy as before we knew it they were sale agreed. I think they are logically selling a small handful of houses at a time now (say about 6 houses) and calling people on their radar to offer it .. so by the time you get the email they’re actually all sale agreed.. when you see they’re sale agreed immediately you panic that you won’t get one and then it gives the EA a ‘reason’ to increase the price the next phase

Anyway my advice to you if you are still wanting to purchase is to contact Diana in McPeake (Knight Frank in my opinion are useless With updates) however Diana was always quick to reply. Make her aware that you have AIP , HTB , deposit ready , first time buyer (not depending on a sale of house to buy etc) and then check in with her regularly

I emailed every 2 weeks or so just saying hi just wondering has there been any updates regarding houses coming to market so that she began to recognise my name and know we were eager
Eventually Diana called me the other day and offered us a house she said there were 6 available in total and probably next ones will be ‘spring’ (vague I know)

Hope that helps

Follower123

Archie2020 wrote: »

I agree, the orientation of a house is a deal breaker for me as I love having the sun in the back garden all day but I suppose you have to weigh up the good against the bad, if a semi-D over a terrace means more to you than some sun in the back garden then you have to go with that but unfortunately the demand is so high for houses in the estate that people are grabbing what they can even if they are not 100% happy with it because they are afraid they wont secure another one in the next release......its a catch 22 really but it needs to be something that you can accept before you hand over 385k

I always thought the orientation was a deal breaker for me too as I absolutely love the idea of out the back with my son able to play etc and not totally shaded and that’s what’s really killing me . I wish I could see the actual house and stand in the garden before signing contracts because a friend of mine has a north facing garden and actually gets sun both morning and evening. I would hate to give up this dream house of ours and realise it actually wasn’t all that bad . But alternatively hate the idea of paying so much and then realising we’re shaded all day. They have the road blocked off so no way of even checking before signing contracts

Shades799

Follower123 wrote: »

I always thought the orientation was a deal breaker for me too as I absolutely love the idea of out the back with my son able to play etc and not totally shaded and that’s what’s really killing me . I wish I could see the actual house and stand in the garden before signing contracts because a friend of mine has a north facing garden and actually gets sun both morning and evening. I would hate to give up this dream house of ours and realise it actually wasn’t all that bad . But alternatively hate the idea of paying so much and then realising we’re shaded all day. They have the road blocked off so no way of even checking before signing contracts

I know. I found that very frustrating too. Luckily the house we were looking at, we could see from the public road so we had an idea, but I did download a "sun position app" from Google play (or on Apple app store) to get an idea.

Archie2020

Follower123 wrote: »

I always thought the orientation was a deal breaker for me too as I absolutely love the idea of out the back with my son able to play etc and not totally shaded and that’s what’s really killing me . I wish I could see the actual house and stand in the garden before signing contracts because a friend of mine has a north facing garden and actually gets sun both morning and evening. I would hate to give up this dream house of ours and realise it actually wasn’t all that bad . But alternatively hate the idea of paying so much and then realising we’re shaded all day. They have the road blocked off so no way of even checking before signing contracts

I know its so annoying!! At least if you were able to see the actual house & what way the sun moves around it you could get some comfort in making your decision.....if its any consolation it took 6 weeks for my contracts to be issued & obviously you have another 3 weeks after that before you have to sign so this might buy you some time & the site could be open for you to have a look before you actually sign the contracts. When I bought my house I went up & stood in front of a similar house with a compass app & it gave me some sense of what way the sun moved around.....did you get a sitemap from the agent? You should be able to see if any other houses at the back will block your sun.

Follower123

Just received this email:

‘Further to your recent purchase, we have been advised by our client, due to the energy efficiency and sustainability of the new air-to-water heat pumps, there is no requirement for PV (photovoltaic) panels in order to achieve the BER “A” rating.
In light of this information we would like to inform you that the PV panels will no longer be part of the standard specification at Hollywoodrath.
For clarity this change to the specification will be outlined in your contracts.
Should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.’

So we’re paying well above the odds that others have paid for the same house while also not receiving a solar panel. Really annoyed about this but totally out of my depth as uneducated in this area. I would assume no solar panel will result in higher bills and this is only been done for the profit of the builders?? Can anyone shed some light?

on_the_roots

Follower123 wrote: »

So we’re paying well above the odds that others have paid for the same house while also not receiving a solar panel. Really annoyed about this but totally out of my depth as uneducated in this area. I would assume no solar panel will result in higher bills and this is only been done for the profit of the builders?? Can anyone shed some light?

Solar panels are installed on some new houses for the sole purpose of meeting the requirements to achieve BER A rate, not to reduce your bills.

However, in fact in a house with no gas heating system, all electric, PV would considerably reduce the electricity bill during Spring and Summer.

Particularly in HollywoodRath they already crazily increased the prices since last phase, so yes, they are taking advantage of the current demand issues to put whatever price they want for that, always blaming the pandemic for that, which is not 100% the reason as we well know.

Steshney

Follower123 wrote: »

Just received this email:

‘Further to your recent purchase, we have been advised by our client, due to the energy efficiency and sustainability of the new air-to-water heat pumps, there is no requirement for PV (photovoltaic) panels in order to achieve the BER “A” rating.
In light of this information we would like to inform you that the PV panels will no longer be part of the standard specification at Hollywoodrath.
For clarity this change to the specification will be outlined in your contracts.
Should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.’

So we’re paying well above the odds that others have paid for the same house while also not receiving a solar panel. Really annoyed about this but totally out of my depth as uneducated in this area. I would assume no solar panel will result in higher bills and this is only been done for the profit of the builders?? Can anyone shed some light?

Hi we've booked a house on the lawn too and we feel the same. Seems a bit cheeky to add that bit in about the solar panels when every other house bought at a cheaper price has one. Definitely make sure your solicitor questions this. If we are being stripped of that (and I assume the panels are worth a few grand) surely they can do something else to make up for the loss of not having the panels giving your still paying full whack. I know it's not a huge deal breaker for not going ahead with the house but very frustrating all the same🙄 feels like you're being shafted out of something

Follower123

Steshney wrote: »

Hi we've booked a house on the lawn too and we feel the same. Seems a bit cheeky to add that bit in about the solar panels when every other house bought at a cheaper price has one. Definitely make sure your solicitor questions this. If we are being stripped of that (and I assume the panels are worth a few grand) surely they can do something else to make up for the loss of not having the panels giving your still paying full whack. I know it's not a huge deal breaker for not going ahead with the house but very frustrating all the same🙄 feels like you're being shafted out of something

I’m glad to hear we’re not the only ones. Extremely cheeky to take something away worth thousands potentially and no offer of something in return or a slight discount even. It’s obviously purely for their own profit and not any benefit to us at all and cheeky of them to change it AFTER taking our deposit and before signing contracts. We bought in number 4 and have friends that bought number 5 and we’re both going to bring it up with our solicitors.

I know we haven’t signed contracts yet but surely paying a deposit is a verbal agreement and that was supposed to include PV panel? Like they could hardly turn around and say ‘actually we’re not including the kitchen anymore it’s just as good without it’ and expect us to pay full price so why do they think they can do it with a solar panel? I know people who bought across the road in Bellingsmore that has no solar panel and their bills have been through the roof, it was really a selling point for me!!

Nijmegen

Follower123 wrote: »

I’m glad to hear we’re not the only ones. Extremely cheeky to take something away worth thousands potentially and no offer of something in return or a slight discount even. It’s obviously purely for their own profit and not any benefit to us at all and cheeky of them to change it AFTER taking our deposit and before signing contracts. We bought in number 4 and have friends that bought number 5 and we’re both going to bring it up with our solicitors.

I know we haven’t signed contracts yet but surely paying a deposit is a verbal agreement and that was supposed to include PV panel? Like they could hardly turn around and say ‘actually we’re not including the kitchen anymore it’s just as good without it’ and expect us to pay full price so why do they think they can do it with a solar panel? I know people who bought across the road in Bellingsmore that has no solar panel and their bills have been through the roof, it was really a selling point for me!!

They can do exactly that, until you have a signed contract by both parties.

This is driven by the BER rating, not giving you any sort of value. Plenty of people went up to their attics to discover the panels weren't working and had to get them fixed. They're lobbed on to get a certificate legally required to sell the house, not for your benefit. Tell them you don't want to sign the contract and I'm sure you'll just get a shrug and they'll sell it to the next person.

Follower123

Nijmegen wrote: »

They can do exactly that, until you have a signed contract by both parties.

This is driven by the BER rating, not giving you any sort of value. Plenty of people went up to their attics to discover the panels weren't working and had to get them fixed. They're lobbed on to get a certificate legally required to sell the house, not for your benefit. Tell them you don't want to sign the contract and I'm sure you'll just get a shrug and they'll sell it to the next person.

That exactly what our solicitor said , thanks

Steshney

Here's me thinking we might get a freebie of some sort thrown in after getting riled up about the panels. Hopefully that's the end of the surprises until July anyway. Good to come on here and get views from others thanks for sharing.

Nijmegen

Steshney wrote: »

Here's me thinking we might get a freebie of some sort thrown in after getting riled up about the panels. Hopefully that's the end of the surprises until July anyway. Good to come on here and get views from others thanks for sharing.

Regency build decent houses but freebies aren’t in their nature. Push for what you need during your snag so the place is in proper order and you’ll be doing well.