Smithfield gate apartments

vinnyvincent

Hi All,

I am looking for an apartment to buy and I thought Smithfield could be a good compromise as it is close to the city centre and prices are slightly lower than other parts in Dublin.

As I have very little knowledge of Smithfield, I was now wondering if Smithfield is a safe area or not? Would you recommend to buy an apartment in that area for a budget around 180K?


Thanks a lot,
Vincent

Michael D Not Higgins

Smithfield is a good area to live, I've had a few friends live around there for several years. It's undergone some changes in the last 15 years or so that have gentrified the area. For that budget you'd only be looking at a one bed apartment, which I would usually advise against as it can be hard to sell, banks want a higher deposit and people tend to grow out of them quickly.

lcwill

One bed apartments may need a higher percentage deposit but a two bed will be more expensive so the deposit will be higher anyway.

Once you have your own place your mortgage repayments will probably be lower than rent so you can quickly start to build up equity to take the next step up the ladder.

There is high rental demand for one beds so it is normally easy to rent it yourself in future or sell to a property investor. As owner occupiers are less interested in one bed apartments prices tend to be lower and yields are higher.

I am a strong believer in one bed apartments as a first step on the ladder in order to stop paying rent and for investment purposes in order to rent them to those people who disagree with me!

Michael D Not Higgins

lcwill wrote: »

One bed apartments may need a higher percentage deposit but a two bed will be more expensive so the deposit will be higher anyway.

Not necessarily, if the bank's looking for 25% for a one bed, then it's 45k for a 180k one bed. A deposit for a first time buyer for something that's not a one bed doesn't reach that level til you break 335k.

Of course the affordability and LTI restrictions come in then and it depends on what the applicant's income is.

However, let's say someone has seen the central bank rules but doesn't know the one bed deposit rules and thinks their 18k deposit will get them 180k apartment with income of 46k. They'll need to save another 27k to satisfy the bank's conditions. Or they could save 20k and buy a 2 bed for 200k and get a mortgage for the amount they thought they'd pay in the first place.

At 1k a month savings, they'd have a more valuable asset 7 months earlier. The mortgage is a higher amount granted but they'd find it easier to sell in the future or rent if needs be.

MarkAnthony

I find Smithfield a bit noisey tbh. It also suffers from a few feral kids. It's not a bad spot if it were it wouldn't have anywhere near the number of hookers working out of the apartments! :pac:

Joking aside it's grand. I own just across the Liffey in what I'd argue is a better run but not as outwardly attractive complex. We have the advantage of being properly gated.

EDIT: Just realised Smithfield Gate are the apartments a bit further back. Personally I think you'll get better value in the immediate area.

vinnyvincent

Thanks guys for these inputs and suggestions. I think 180K for a 1bed apt is really a lot of money, but as I'd like to stay in the city centre, that apartment in Smithfield gate still looks as a good deal to me. I've been searching for a year in the city centre and this looks as a good trade-off given the budget.

Thanks

MarkAnthony

vinnyvincent wrote: »

Thanks guys for these inputs and suggestions. I think 180K for a 1bed apt is really a lot of money, but as I'd like to stay in the city centre, that apartment in Smithfield gate still looks as a good deal to me. I've been searching for a year in the city centre and this looks as a good trade-off given the budget.

Thanks

Keep you eye's pealed in the surrounding area. Viking Harbour and the maltings on the other side of the liffey would be quieter. You may also find something in Christchurch. Slightly further back in D7 as well you might find a small house.

Double check insurance/management fees if possible: recall a bad underground carpark fire there (at least 6+ years ago) when some homeless/randomers managed to set fire to one of the underground bins which set a few cars off… can't imagine its an ongoing issue still but premiums etc might still be impacted. Googling should find this one too, think it made the news at the times some of the apts were evacuated.

The_Conductor

You also have large developments down beside Hueston Station you could look at........

180k for a one bed in Smithfield- while it is the going rate- makes little sense to me........

vinnyvincent

Cali_girl wrote: »

Double check insurance/management fees if possible: recall a bad underground carpark fire there (at least 6+ years ago) when some homeless/randomers managed to set fire to one of the underground bins which set a few cars off… can't imagine its an ongoing issue still but premiums etc might still be impacted. Googling should find this one too, think it made the news at the times some of the apts were evacuated.

From the rte.ie website I read "Damage to the scene was limited to the car park, a number of cars and a nearby shop which suffered extensive smoke damage."

I think it should be fine. Anyway I'll ask the surveyor to check this properly.

Thanks

vinnyvincent

The_Conductor wrote: »

You also have large developments down beside Hueston Station you could look at........

180k for a one bed in Smithfield- while it is the going rate- makes little sense to me........

It's a 65sqm 1bed apartment. Given the good size of the property, do you still think 180k is too much for that apartment?

Thanks a lot.

newacc2015

I used to work in the area. It was quite rough. Like you couldnt really sit on the front square without someone bothering you for a smoke etc. There is a large soup kitchen right beside Smithfield on Bow St. Another issue OP is that the interest is supposed to be horrific in all the apartments. They are magnet or one of those Eir competitors from the early 00s. The internet is a max of like 10mb/s in some apartments AFAIK

IMO Smithfield is a bit over priced as the developments were considered the best launched in the city for a few years. There is better value to be had in places like Capel St, which IMO is safer and a better neighbourhood to live in ie there is actual bars and restaurants on Capel St you can go to versus just a handful of things in Smithfield.

ED E

newacc2015 wrote: »

I used to work in the area. It was quite rough. Like you couldnt really sit on the front square without someone bothering you for a smoke etc. There is a large soup kitchen right beside Smithfield on Bow St. Another issue OP is that the internest is supposed to be horrific in all the apartments. They are magnet or one of those Eir competitors from the early 00s. The internet is a max of like 10mb/s in some apartments AFAIK

Thats common for big chunks of D1/D2 due to the expansive coverage areas from North Main and Crown Alley. Its being fixed now, but its harder in urban areas where there's little room for the new cabs.

If the building happens to be Magnet exclusive then I'd steer well well clear of it.

MarkAnthony

ED E wrote: »

Thats common for big chunks of D1/D2 due to the expansive coverage areas from North Main and Crown Alley. Its being fixed now, but its harder in urban areas where there's little room for the new cabs.

If the building happens to be Magnet exclusive then I'd steer well well clear of it.

The problem as well is the cable lengths in once the cab goes in. There is one a couple of hundred meters away from the apartment I own. Fibre is a max speed of 8Mbits because of the messing about to get the cable in

If you need good broadband I'd not buy anything that couldn't get a VM connection in that area personally.

ED E

MarkAnthony wrote: »

The problem as well is the cable lengths in once the cab goes in. There is one a couple of hundred meters away from the apartment I own. Fibre is a max speed of 8Mbits because of the messing about to get the cable in

Don't want to derail too much but that probably is ADSL (there are exceptions). 8Mb is an ADSL profile while VDSL is 7Mb or 12Mb (at 1800m from cab). There are lots of wiring issues from the 60's-90's.

Buying any place, or renting, get next doors phone number and drop it into here: business.digiweb.ie/linechecker/ to get a real world rating