Apartment Vs House

mohm.kamal

Hi


I have a budget which can afford a new 2-bedoom apartment in a very decent area in D18 nearby my kids school and next to the LUAS and with the same budget I can get a 3-bedroom house in D15 which is far away from my kids school, and my work.


So what do you think? I have only 1 girl and a new baby is coming in the way.

charlietheminxx

I presume this is for buying and not renting OP?

For a family I would always go with the house, the extra space would be needed as the children get older. Could you change your daughter's school? Are you planning any more children? If your new baby is a boy, I can't imagine them sharing a room in the apartment when they are teenagers.

mariaalice

https://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/2-kilcross-square-sandyford-dublin-18/4341928

Similar price to a new two-bedroom apartment and only a small compromise.

House trumps everything when you have children.

What does your partner think?

mohm.kamal

Yeah I'm talking about buying, I'm First time buyer. I can change the school but we're not from Ireland and my kid is kind of introvert and have problems getting into new friendship with other kids, so this would be a huge change - after the relocation from our country to Ireland - for her that I don't want to risk.

Yeah, the coming baby is a boy, but my kid is only 5 now, so I suppose they can share the room for the next, like 6, 7 years?

mohm.kamal

mariaalice wrote: »

https://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/2-kilcross-square-sandyford-dublin-18/4341928

Similar price to a new two-bedroom apartment and only a small compromise.

House trumps everything when you have children.

What does your partner think?

Yeah but this won't be eligible for HTB from revenue, so it will end up paying 325K for 70sqm house. The apartment I'm targeting is 86sqr for 400k

Creamy Goodness

the HTB isn't the be all and end all.

You need to buy the right property for your needs, not just because you can get 20k off the price. Yes whilst it's a nice incentive 20k over the term of a mortgage isn't a whole lot and certainly not something I'd be putting my family into the wrong type of property for. The apartment might be liable for management fees, say roughly 2k a year, within 10 years that's the same as the HTB and you'll still owe it as long as you live there.

IMO an apartment is not an ideal place to raise kids.

Claw Hammer

Location, location, location.

Idbatterim

mohm.kamal wrote: »

Hi


I have a budget which can afford a new 2-bedoom apartment in a very decent area in D18 nearby my kids school and next to the LUAS and with the same budget I can get a 3-bedroom house in D15 which is far away from my kids school, and my work.


So what do you think? I have only 1 girl and a new baby is coming in the way.

do you have a car ? that commute and the tolls etc will be a joke! What is your max budget? are you working and if so, where? the logistics in this city, with appalling transport are significant!

mohm.kamal

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

the HTB isn't the be all and end all.

You need to buy the right property for your needs, not just because you can get 20k off the price. Yes whilst it's a nice incentive 20k over the term of a mortgage isn't a whole lot and certainly not something I'd be putting my family into the wrong type of property for. The apartment might be liable for management fees, say roughly 2k a year, within 10 years that's the same as the HTB and you'll still owe it as long as you live there.

IMO an apartment is not an ideal place to raise kids.

But the question is; would you replace a nice 86sqr apartment in D18 with access to LUAS and nearby your kid school, your work and your friends to go to a home which is 20KM far away from everything?


I just think loudly, but from what I see everyday, commuting with a car/bus or even using any 4-wheels won't be nice in the coming few years. I'm coming from one of the most congested cities in the world and I know the pain of commuting in a congested streets

partyguinness

Personally with a small family etc I would run a mile from an apartment- service charges, non compliant tenants and freeholders, noisy tenants and lack of space and general feeling of claustrophobia.

It is a conundrum being next to the school.

Creamy Goodness

mohm.kamal wrote: »

But the question is; would you replace a nice 86sqr apartment in D18 with access to LUAS and nearby your kid school, your work and your friends to go to a home which is 20KM far away from everything?


I just think loudly, but from what I see everyday, commuting with a car/bus or even using any 4-wheels won't be nice in the coming few years. I'm coming from one of the most congested cities in the world and I know the pain of commuting in a congested streets

Only you can really answer that question though really.

I think you need to open your search criteria a bit, a post above gave you a house in Sandyford not a million miles away from your new-build apartment. Whilst it may not be exactly what you thought of when purchasing property, it's a better option in my view than an apartment.

Idbatterim

partyguinness wrote: »

Personally with a small family etc I would run a mile from an apartment- service charges, non compliant tenants and freeholders, noisy tenants and lack of space and general feeling of claustrophobia.

It is a conundrum being next to the school.

YEAH! I am not even going to get into the endless apartment related issues I have had NEVER AGAIN! I could write a book on it

Hell on earth some of them here in dublin!

mohm.kamal

Idbatterim wrote: »

YEAH! I am not even going to get into the endless apartment related issues I have had NEVER AGAIN! I could write a book on it

Hell on earth some of them here in dublin!

Sorry for the silly question; What is the advantage of a house over apartment other than more space and backyard? and what's the disadvantages of an apartment?

Idbatterim

mohm.kamal wrote: »

Sorry for the silly question; What is the advantage of a house over apartment other than more space and backyard? and what's the disadvantages of an apartment?

ok, in a house, at least noise can only come from one or two sides, in apartments, it can come from everywhere. The communal areas like corridors in some blocks are a disgrace. there can be fire issues with the apartments, issues with the roofs and leaks etc. You mentioned sandyford, I saw this the other day on myhome.ie The thing is with a third kid on the way, would you not be better off with a third bedroom? worse case scenario, you buy now and in a few years are stuck in negative equity and cant move to a suitably sized place....

Some would deem the lack of outside maintenance an advantage of apartments. Years ago, people would have also said they are easier to heat etc, but new houses have such good insulation, that argument is redundant...

https://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/alexandra-court-dundrum-dublin-14/4381807

o1s1n

mohm.kamal wrote: »

Sorry for the silly question; What is the advantage of a house over apartment other than more space and backyard? and what's the disadvantages of an apartment?

In an apartment (and in some townhouses) you can have someone living over you.

So you've the extra noise from that. I've a couple of friends I stay with in Amsterdam in a townhouse over Christmas and the noise from upstairs would drive you mad.

There was a newborn baby in the room over us, so we were woken up intermittently with crying all through the night.

Claw Hammer

mohm.kamal wrote: »

Sorry for the silly question; What is the advantage of a house over apartment other than more space and backyard? and what's the disadvantages of an apartment?

The main issue with apartments are that they don't hold value as well as houses do, there is more communal sharing so more contact with neighbours, issues with external play areas for children, parking issues, high service charges to maintain lifts and security gates along with transient neighbours and often noise issues.

mohm.kamal

Idbatterim wrote: »

ok, in a house, at least noise can only come from one or two sides, in apartments, it can come from everywhere. The communal areas like corridors in some blocks are a disgrace. there can be fire issues with the apartments, issues with the roofs and leaks etc. You mentioned sandyford, I saw this the other day on myhome.ie The thing is with a third kid on the way, would you not be better off with a third bedroom? worse case scenario, you buy now and in a few years are stuck in negative equity and cant move to a suitably sized place....

Some would deem the lack of outside maintenance an advantage of apartments. Years ago, people would have also said they are easier to heat etc, but new houses have such good insulation, that argument is redundant...

https://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/alexandra-court-dundrum-dublin-14/4381807

Thank you all for your replies. I really see your points and they are all valid to be honest. I'm just in this confusion and tries to get information to make an informed decision

The Real Ramona

Your child is still very young and should adapt to changing schools very quickly. It is always easier to make friends in a new area when you have kids too so that should help you .

It's amazing how fast 7 years will come around and you'll need the extra bedroom to separate your son and daughter in their teens.

House all the way!

mohm.kamal

Claw Hammer wrote: »

The main issue with apartments are that they don't hold value as well as houses do, there is more communal sharing so more contact with neighbours, issues with external play areas for children, parking issues, high service charges to maintain lifts and security gates along with transient neighbours and often noise issues.

Yeah, I totally agree with that, thank you

Zulu

With a family, I wouldn't consider the apartment.

Idbatterim

https://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/143-sandyford-view-dublin-18-dublin/4394582

the likes of this would be the only thing I would every consider , if buying a house wasnt an option, or there was a serious compromise in house location. Penthouse apartment with huge private rooftop terrace. Could be a bit scary with young kids though...

LirW

I've been raised in continental apartments and have a soft spot for them, I also don't think they're a bad place to raise children.
The issue is that apartments in Ireland are not built with families in mind and while 89sqm is a decent floor space and more than ex-corporate houses have, the way apartment complexes are run here would put me off if I'd be looking for a place as family.
The maintenance charges are usually pretty high and can vary. Sinking funds can lead to huge disparities between residents down the line. If it turns out the walls between units are paper-thin, this will impact your privacy and you and your children might end up walking on eggshells.

Another thing I'd consider is that you're about to commit financially to something you'll pay for the next decades. If you plan to sell in a few years, consider the situation that you might not be able to for whatever reason (bad recession for example). You are about to have two children of the opposite sex, I would strongly recommend to commit to a 3-bed. My kids are boy and girl too, 6 year age gap and the oldest is heading into puberty. He values his privacy a lot right now. Especially with a girl, once she experiences all the ups and downs puberty brings, including menstruation, a private room away from her brother would be preferable. I get people can always manage, just giving my perspective here.

When we moved, my son was also 5 and we moved into our house 18 months later, so he had to change school after a year. While I did have the same concerns you have, children will cope with proper support from parents and school.

In your situation I would simply expand my search into other parts of Dublin, like Tallaght, 350k should get you a 3bed there.
Don't make a rushed decision and consider all options keeping a growing family in mind.

Good luck with your search, I know it's daunting but it'll be all worth it.

Redser87

I'd go for a house every time. There are some really good schools in D15 and children are generally much more resilient than you'd expect. A house with even a small garden is much better for your children having friends over than an apartment with communal spaces. Is there any option for flexi time or moving to a different location with your work?

mohm.kamal

Thank you all for all the replies. One last concern, don't you share with me that the traffic will be heavily congested in the coming years? Taking into consideration young professionals like me who are relocating everyday to Ireland, especially Dublin?


In my country we're 17 millions in the city, but it's a totally different story. We have 5 subway lines, hundreds of bridges and tunnels and I don't think it would be feasible to have the same setup here in Dublin at least in the coming 10 years.



I do have a big concern towards commuting, I just was wasting around ~3hrs of my day everyday in the car because of congestion and don't want to repeat this again, so having an apartment next to the LUAS isn't a big advantage?

Thoie

Having lived in an apartment (without children), it's not something I'd fancy with kids. One big thing I saw with my neighbours is the complete lack of places in Irish apartments to leave prams/buggies/tricycles/bikes as they get older, let alone a lot of their other "stuff". Take a look at the apartment plans, with dimensions if available, and see where you would keep a pram.

In contrast, family abroad lived in apartments with children, and there were specific places to keep prams, there was additional storage in the basement, etc.

charlietheminxx

mohm.kamal wrote: »

Thank you all for all the replies. One last concern, don't you share with me that the traffic will be heavily congested in the coming years? Taking into consideration young professionals like me who are relocating everyday to Ireland, especially Dublin?


In my country we're 17 millions in the city, but it's a totally different story. We have 5 subway lines, hundreds of bridges and tunnels and I don't think it would be feasible to have the same setup here in Dublin at least in the coming 10 years.



I do have a big concern towards commuting, I just was wasting around ~3hrs of my day everyday in the car because of congestion and don't want to repeat this again, so having an apartment next to the LUAS isn't a big advantage?

Congestion is definitely a concern for all of us. Do you work in Dublin 18? Have you looked into buses? Or getting a train and then luas? You definitely have options that don't involve you sitting in your car. Besides, you may change jobs.

hmmm

An issue you'll always have with asking questions like this on here is Irish people are not used to apartments - it's the opposite to many other parts of the world. So it's always "house house house", and bedrooms everywhere, even if it means commuting for 3 hours a day or living in a poor area. We also have an obsession with gardens, as if the ability to have the occasional game of kick-the-ball in your own garden is the most important thing in the world.

I've lived in plenty of semi-detached houses with worse sound proofing than apartments. Similarly I've lived in bad areas and good areas, and I know where I'd like my kids to grow up. I've also seen the impact of multi-hour commutes on people and their health.

Fia11

If you move to a new build house in a development you will most likely be moving in at the same time as lots of other young families, which might make things easier on your child.

I would caution against making a decision weighted heavily on where you work at the moment, it's relatively likely that you will end up changing jobs/the location of your current job may change.

Best of luck with the move.

mohm.kamal

hmmm wrote: »

An issue you'll always have with asking questions like this on here is Irish people are not used to apartments - it's the opposite to many other parts of the world. So it's always "house house house", and bedrooms everywhere, even if it means commuting for 3 hours a day or living in a poor area. We also have an obsession with gardens, as if the ability to have the occasional game of kick-the-ball in your own garden is the most important thing in the world.

I've lived in plenty of semi-detached houses with worse sound proofing than apartments. Similarly I've lived in bad areas and good areas, and I know where I'd like my kids to grow up. I've also seen the impact of multi-hour commutes on people and their health.

Yeah, I agree that this might be the norm here in Ireland, but like you, I have been raised up in a 70sqm apartment all my life.

mohm.kamal

What about the value of the property, take an example of a recession; wouldn't an apartment in D18 next to the LUAS be more attractive for rent or sale than any other house far away?


God forbid, but if this happens, would the first unit to be sold are the houses and apartments in the nice areas next to good LUAS stops and amenities?


Comparing this apartment with a 4-bedroom house in Lucan, what would be mostly valuable in bad times?


Thanks again for having this discussed

mohm.kamal

Fia11 wrote: »

If you move to a new build house in a development you will most likely be moving in at the same time as lots of other young families, which might make things easier on your child.

I would caution against making a decision weighted heavily on where you work at the moment, it's relatively likely that you will end up changing jobs/the location of your current job may change.

Best of luck with the move.

Thanks!