Buying my first house....

Who?!!?

Hi,

I’m new to boards and new to the property market.
I’ve read a few threads which have been helpful. I thought I’d start my own to share my experience to date, hopefully it will help (or give people a laugh) others when they’re going through the same process.

A bit about my situation:
Myself and my partner are first time buyers, we’re young, have good savings and we’ve been pre-approved for a mortgage with several banks.
So… we’re in a good position (or are deemed a ‘good buyer’).

House hunting:
We’re currently looking in Dublin (I don’t want to say the area though as I’m conscious of giving too much info away as it’s still early in proceedings).
We inquired about a house we seen on daft and we went to view. The asking price was €310k which seemed reasonable enough. Although, I must say the house is a bit smaller than similar priced houses in the area, our future plan would be to build an extension which we know is feasible.
The reason we like the house so much is the area/estate it is in.

Biding:
We were informed the first offer (by another part) was below the asking price. We put in an offer higher than this and a bidding war broke out. Originally between three parties, then there were two…

Side note: it’s hard to know if there actually are other bidders or if they’re just made up. I was constantly thinking/doubting if there were other bidders. There’s no real way (well not that I’ve come across so far) to find out.

As the bids kept going up, we put in a final offer of €325k hoping it’d put the other bidders off.
It worked, the estate agent (EA) informed us the other bidders had dropped out.
We told the EA we wanted an answer before the end of the week. The EA came back on the Friday telling me that he could not get in touch with the seller (said he had rang and emailed) but had not yet heard back yet but would inform me as soon as he did.
We told the EA that we were looking at another house and couldn’t offered to wait (and potentially lose the other house) so we’d proceed to bid on said other house.

A week went by and the EA came back and said the seller instructed them to have one final viewing before accepting our offer. He stated that he informed the seller that there is a risk of losing our offer as we’re looking at other houses, but the seller still wants the viewing.

This is all very frustrating to be honest.
The bidding has been going on over a month now. I think our offer is more than acceptable (it was previously mentioned that the seller was considering an offer lower than ours before we submit the final offer). If we didn’t like the house this much, we'd have pulled out of the deal the minute they said they wanted to do one more viewing.
I just don’t get a positive feeling about the owner/seller of the house, I don't feel they're really eager to sell (well they must not be to risk losing our offer!). Worth also mentioning that the sellers are not in a chain, meaning this sale is not dependent on anything else (for those reading who may not have heard of a chain, yet)
I originally had high hopes on getting this house, now I’m not so sure. We’re going to look at other properties in the meantime.

I’ll update this thread as/if more happens.

davindub

Generally they will risk losing any bidder if there is a chance anyone will want to look at it. They know the market is increasing up to this point.

Actually take your own advice and look at other houses and start bidding on those. i know you love the house but the chances are there will be another bidder at some stage. Keep looking until you are sale agreed and contracts signed (usually sale agreed means the EA will tell people it's sold, but with some EA's/sellers it means nothing)

Some EA's push to close quickly and will. These are the best to deal with and honest to a point I find.

Some like to hold out (never mind the owner making this decision, the EA is pushing for the viewing) and really you can take the final viewing when over the asking price as clear proof they have little respect for you. If they lose your sale, someone eventually will probably buy it. These are the worst to deal with, everything is about getting an offer, no checking on whether the bidder has a mortgage/ funds, anyone will do to put pressure on yourself the highest bidder.

Who?!!?

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah we are going to look at other properties and bid when we find one that we like. I'm taking the approach of, forget about the property for now, if they come back all well and good, but i'm not holding my breath and i wont be bidding further.

ThisRegard

Who?!!? wrote: »

Side note: it’s hard to know if there actually are other bidders or if they’re just made up. I was constantly thinking/doubting if there were other bidders. There’s no real way (well not that I’ve come across so far) to find out.

In Dublin, at that price point and the current market, you can be pretty sure there are other bidders.

Parchment

Welcome to the jungle.

Just keep viewing houses and bidding (within budget) on ones you are interested in.

There is no real science to it. Dont overthink it.

Alkers

Keep viewing (and bidding on any you like) houses up untill the point you sign contracts. The feeling of phantom bidders is natural but any house we had suspicions over in the last year in Dublin all went sale agreed when we didn't improve our offer

pilly

It can be the case that the seller doesn't really want to sell either. What I mean is the bank could be putting pressure on them to sell but they don't really want to.

Who?!!?

Just a bit of an update on this...

As touched on in peoples replies above, you cant really trust anyone when it comes to buying a house ha

We actually got people to ring and inquire about the house, they were told the current bid was €328k. This was news to us, as far as we knew, our offer of €325k was the highest as the EA never informed us otherwise (we thought they had an obligation to do so!).
A week went by when I rang to see how the "final viewing" had gone. I was told that a bid had just came in at €328k, when in fact i knew about it a week earlier from someone else.
Anyway... we weren't prepared to go higher and pulled out.

I've since found out that the house actually went for €340k in the end. Really shocked by that as there's quite a bit to do in the house but i guess it shows the current state of the market.

As people have said, there's always another house. We're currently looking at two houses.
I'm just conscious now that any house currently on the market, i can expect to sell for roughly 10% over the asking price.

We'll stay positive and update with more when I have it.


Instead of starting a new thread, i'd like to open a kind of side topic related to this.
ROUGHLY, on average from peoples experience, how much does a new kitchen cost? Kitchen to include; Floor tiles, Appliances (Fridge/Freezer, Cooker, Dishwasher, Washing Machine).
As a guesstimate figure i'm thinking around 10k. Note; kitchen size is that of a standard 3 bed semi detached house in Dublin (as a rough guide).

JimmyMW

Who?!!? wrote: »

Just a bit of an update on this...

As touched on in peoples replies above, you cant really trust anyone when it comes to buying a house ha

We actually got people to ring and inquire about the house, they were told the current bid was €328k. This was news to us, as far as we knew, our offer of €325k was the highest as the EA never informed us otherwise (we thought they had an obligation to do so!).
A week went by when I rang to see how the "final viewing" had gone. I was told that a bid had just came in at €328k, when in fact i knew about it a week earlier from someone else.
Anyway... we weren't prepared to go higher and pulled out.

I've since found out that the house actually went for €340k in the end. Really shocked by that as there's quite a bit to do in the house but i guess it shows the current state of the market.

As people have said, there's always another house. We're currently looking at two houses.
I'm just conscious now that any house currently on the market, i can expect to sell for roughly 10% over the asking price.

We'll stay positive and update with more when I have it.


Instead of starting a new thread, i'd like to open a kind of side topic related to this.
ROUGHLY, on average from peoples experience, how much does a new kitchen cost? Kitchen to include; Floor tiles, Appliances (Fridge/Freezer, Cooker, Dishwasher, Washing Machine).
As a guesstimate figure i'm thinking around 10k. Note; kitchen size is that of a standard 3 bed semi detached house in Dublin (as a rough guide).

By the time you have the old one out and done any re-positioning of electrical/plumbing work etc id say you would be closer to the €20k mark.

I just purchased appliances yesterday, and granted it would be a bigger kitchen than an average 3 bed semi, I paid nearly €6k on appliances alone, and excluding tiling or painting or anything like that we expect the total kitchen to come in around the €22k mark (New Build)

PS we did not go mental on the appliances at that, somewhere in the middle of the road. The top end appliances bill was closer to €10k

Thestones

Who?!!? wrote: »

Just a bit of an update on this...

As touched on in peoples replies above, you cant really trust anyone when it comes to buying a house ha

We actually got people to ring and inquire about the house, they were told the current bid was €328k. This was news to us, as far as we knew, our offer of €325k was the highest as the EA never informed us otherwise (we thought they had an obligation to do so!).
A week went by when I rang to see how the "final viewing" had gone. I was told that a bid had just came in at €328k, when in fact i knew about it a week earlier from someone else.
Anyway... we weren't prepared to go higher and pulled out.

I've since found out that the house actually went for €340k in the end. Really shocked by that as there's quite a bit to do in the house but i guess it shows the current state of the market.

As people have said, there's always another house. We're currently looking at two houses.
I'm just conscious now that any house currently on the market, i can expect to sell for roughly 10% over the asking price.

We'll stay positive and update with more when I have it.


Instead of starting a new thread, i'd like to open a kind of side topic related to this.
ROUGHLY, on average from peoples experience, how much does a new kitchen cost? Kitchen to include; Floor tiles, Appliances (Fridge/Freezer, Cooker, Dishwasher, Washing Machine).
As a guesstimate figure i'm thinking around 10k. Note; kitchen size is that of a standard 3 bed semi detached house in Dublin (as a rough guide).

We gutted a kitchen in a 3 bed, we were very savvy with costs, spent around 9k but didn't need new floor. Cash and carry kitchen cabinets, quartz countertops, integrated appliances. 20k seems excessive just for a kitchen. My brother got an inframe kitchen and spent 22k on a kitchen, mine and his are very similar colour scheme and look almost identical. You can achieve a good look with a budget.

Who?!!?

really? that seems quite steep.
Suppose this should all be factored in when buying a house.

JimmyMW

Thestones wrote: »

We gutted a kitchen in a 3 bed, we were very savvy with costs, spent around 9k but didn't need new floor. Cash and carry kitchen cabinets, quartz countertops, integrated appliances. 20k seems excessive just for a kitchen. My brother got an inframe kitchen and spent 22k on a kitchen, mine and his are very similar colour scheme and look almost identical. You can achieve a good look with a budget.

Agreed, it can be done for less but with the unknowns as they are, redesigning current layouts maybe, and with possibly all work contracted out I would tend to budget on the high side and allow a good factor of safety.

Alkers

Who?!!? wrote: »

I'm just conscious now that any house currently on the market, i can expect to sell for roughly 10% over the asking price.

And more, easily in Dublin.

And you can always live with the old kitchen for a year or two or if it's really dire get appliances on donedeal or the likes, sometimes even whole kitchens.

iwillhtfu

Who?!!? wrote: »

really? that seems quite steep.
Suppose this should all be factored in when buying a house.

It is steep but you don't give a lot of detail as to what the renovations entail.

Also 6k on appliances is steep you could easily fit out a kitchen with appliance for 2-3k it all depends on the finish you want.

I'd say easily under 10k for a complete refurb.

listermint

iwillhtfu wrote: »

It is steep but you don't give a lot of detail as to what the renovations entail.

Also 6k on appliances is steep you could easily fit out a kitchen with appliance for 2-3k it all depends on the finish you want.

I'd say easily under 10k for a complete refurb.

Agreed 6k was going a bit out id imagine.

Who?!!?

iwillhtfu wrote: »

It is steep but you don't give a lot of detail as to what the renovations entail.

Also 6k on appliances is steep you could easily fit out a kitchen with appliance for 2-3k it all depends on the finish you want.

I'd say easily under 10k for a complete refurb.

Ah yeah I understand and appreciate your input. The reason I'm vague at the moment is I haven't actually got the house

I'm just trying to get a feel for what it would cost.
I won't let the costs of a kitchen dictate if I go for the house or not, if needs be I could live with the kitchen while saving.

I would however be looking at de-installing the existing kitchen myself, including the removal of all tiles etc.
That should save (even a little bit) on the costs.

iwillhtfu

Any work you can carry out yourself will automatically save in costs.

Also worth checking the kitchen unit carcasses while you're there you'd be amazed the difference a fresh lick of paint a new work top and doors will make.

As you say though get a structurally sound house first that suits your needs then worry about the changes you'd like to make but no harm keeping them in mind for 2nd/3rd viewings.

Ironman76

I would suggest hiring a broker to bid on your behalf.

Best decision we ever made. Got our house for 20k under what we were prepared to offer.

daheff

JimmyMW wrote: »

paid nearly €6k on appliances alone,
PS we did not go mental on the appliances at that, somewhere in the middle of the road. The top end appliances bill was closer to €10k

I'm thinking you did mate.


I just bought appliances (albeit on sale) and all good brands (Bosch/siemens/neff) and it came to 2450 (Fridge freezer, oven,hob,washing machine, integrated dishwasher


I'm guessing you bought an american fridge freezer? and maybe one of them fancy extractors that rise up out of the counter -they are 1500+ :eek:

6K is excessive in my eyes for appliances - but each to their own.

For a standard 3 bed, i'd budget circa 3k for appliances. A new kitchen would run to something around the 7-10k mark.

tiling, well you can go anywhere with that. depends on size of kitchen, type of tiles (ceramic/porcelain) -but I'd estimate approx 1500-2k for the floor tiling and possibly another 500-1k for the walls (depending on how much wall there is).

so you are looking at a top end of 15K on that...but you can do it cheaper too.

Who?!!?

Also worth checking the kitchen unit carcasses while you're there you'd be amazed the difference a fresh lick of paint a new work top and doors will make.

I never thought about this. This could be a really good option. Im sure if i went to a kitchen company they may even be able to change around some sections (e.g. for I wanted to move or insert drawers) for cheaper than getting a whole new kitchen.

This is something ill look into if i need to re-do the kitchen.

Do you know anyone that ever got this done?

Who?!!?

Just to update this thread...

We went sale agreed on a house yesterday and put the booking deposit down
Stress of the bidding ware is finally over.

Now in the process of getting a solicitor and a survey.

Have got a quote of €2,500 for a solicitor.

Prices for a survey on the property currently range from €350 to €500.

Alkers

Who?!!? wrote: »

Just to update this thread...

Stress of the bidding ware is finally over.

My advice to you is to keep looking at properties until you actually have contracts signed. We were sale agreed three times in the last 13 months and you will find that a lot of houses are coming back on the market after going sale agreed or are taking ages to close.

Also, when comparing prices from solicitors - ask for a breakdown of the fees. We recently completed a sale and the following were the items invoiced from the solicitor:
Solicitors Professional Fee: €1,100 (excl VAT)
Postage, telephone and photocopying: €75 (excl VAT)
Law Searches fees: €100
Land Registry Fees payable on Deed of Transfer: €700
Land Registry Fees payable on Registering Mortgage: €175
Land Registry Fees payable for obtaining up to date Folio File Plan: €40
Stamp Duty @ 1% of sale price.

Who?!!?

Yeah i got the breakdown, and our costs are pretty much the exact same as the ones you have provided.

We were sale agreed three times in the last 13 months

If you don't mind me asking.... what happened with these scenarios? You have me worried now.

Alkers

Who?!!? wrote: »

Yeah i got the breakdown, and our costs are pretty much the exact same as the ones you have provided.




If you don't mind me asking.... what happened with these scenarios? You have me worried now.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=102389708&postcount=3190

From this thread:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057501206

I suggest you follow it and read back through the last few months of posts!

JimmyMW

daheff wrote: »

I'm thinking you did mate.


I just bought appliances (albeit on sale) and all good brands (Bosch/siemens/neff) and it came to 2450 (Fridge freezer, oven,hob,washing machine, integrated dishwasher


I'm guessing you bought an american fridge freezer? and maybe one of them fancy extractors that rise up out of the counter -they are 1500+ :eek:

6K is excessive in my eyes for appliances - but each to their own.

For a standard 3 bed, i'd budget circa 3k for appliances. A new kitchen would run to something around the 7-10k mark.

tiling, well you can go anywhere with that. depends on size of kitchen, type of tiles (ceramic/porcelain) -but I'd estimate approx 1500-2k for the floor tiling and possibly another 500-1k for the walls (depending on how much wall there is).

so you are looking at a top end of 15K on that...but you can do it cheaper too.

Agreed it could be done cheaper, for the appliances you quoted there I paid approx €3200, however its a large induction hob and a large drum washing machine 10kg so much of the difference may be taken up there. Some other items such as the extractor as you mentioned ended up being very expensive however due to the design of the kitchen (large ceiling voids etc) I had no other option I'm afraid only spend the money.

The point I was making to the OP is that 10K is very tight for what they specified and depending on what they choose in the line of appliances or tiles or counter tops, they could end up with double that in 2 seconds. I was giving an example based on my own personal experiences recently sorting out a kitchen in my new build, I was not saying that i got the best or cheapest deals out there.

James Bond Junior

Who?!!? wrote: »

Just to update this thread...

We went sale agreed on a house yesterday and put the booking deposit down
Stress of the bidding ware is finally over.

Now in the process of getting a solicitor and a survey.

Have got a quote of €2,500 for a solicitor.

Prices for a survey on the property currently range from €350 to €500.

2500 is insane for a solicitor. I paid 1500 which is around the going rate.

Parchment

James Bond Junior wrote: »

2500 is insane for a solicitor. I paid 1500 which is around the going rate.

Ours was 1200 - 2500 i hugely excessive !

Who?!!?

2500 is insane for a solicitor. I paid 1500 which is around the going rate.

really? the breakdown i got was pretty much the exact same as this...

Solicitors Professional Fee: €1,100 (excl VAT)
Postage, telephone and photocopying: €75 (excl VAT)
Law Searches fees: €100
Land Registry Fees payable on Deed of Transfer: €700
Land Registry Fees payable on Registering Mortgage: €175
Land Registry Fees payable for obtaining up to date Folio File Plan: €40
Stamp Duty @ 1% of sale price.

Thestones

Who?!!? wrote: »

really? the breakdown i got was pretty much the exact same as this...

I paid €1k, most quotes were 1500-2000 so I realise I got a good deal but 2500 is a rip off!

Alkers

Thestones wrote: »

I paid €1k, most quotes were 1500-2000 so I realise I got a good deal but 2500 is a rip off!

The land registry fees are payable by the solicitor so I can't see how you only paid slightly more than this, there'd be no money left to pay the solicitor?

Thestones

Simona1986 wrote: »

The land registry fees are payable by the solicitor so I can't see how you only paid slightly more than this, there'd be no money left to pay the solicitor?

Just looked back on my emails, it was actually 950 plus vat so was nearly 1200 in total, my bad. She said she could offer the first time buyers rate(even though we weren't first time buyers) it's a small local solicitor so probably don't have the overheads and rent of bigger places.