Currently buying/selling a house? How is it going? READ MOD NOTE POST #1

Markitron

thegreatescape wrote: »

First time buyer here, a cash offer has gone in on a property I'm interested in. Do I have any chance of being successful against a cash buyer? I'm thinking of putting a higher offer in.

You have far more of a chance that someone in a chain.

hao123

GrumPy wrote: »

Our mortgage is set to drawdown tomorrow, we should have keys for Friday. There were final checks completed today, and one question raised to verify the loan amount with solicitor, but it was handled quickly.

Still so much anxiety until we get keys, I won't believe it to be true until then.

Congratulations!

We’re waiting for snagging and date of drawdown to be finalised.

errlloyd

Sweet.Science wrote: »

This may be a stupid question

I have been offered a 30 yr mortgage @ 80% of the purchase price which is great.

However with the equity from my house sale i do not need the full 80%.

Would it be better to use the full 80% and keep the extra money . Or say use my own money towards it which would lower the repayments by €100 over a 30yr term

thanks

In general mortgage interest rates are the cheapest access to capital you're ever going to get in your life. So if you are good at managing your finances you should take the most they will offer you (as long as you can afford) and put the extra cash to good use.

For example, putting the cash saved into a pension now - would be much more efficient than putting your cash into the mortgage and investing 100e per month in your pension.

Using the cash to make sure you never go into more expensive forms of debt is another way to save. Credit card debit is obviously very expensive, but so is a car loan (relative to a mortgage). Even something like buying a phone on contract is usually an inefficient use of capital.

That said, if having the extra cash is just going to encourage you to squander it the decision becomes a little harder. If the choice is spend 30 grand on reducing your mortgage, or spend 30 grand on a mad post covid holiday to Vegas then I'd probably encourage you to put it to your mortgage. However - if you're still youngish, and you want to take a year off work to travel the world then it's better to have cash now, than lower repayments ten years from now.

Sweet.Science

errlloyd wrote: »

In general mortgage interest rates are the cheapest access to capital you're ever going to get in your life. So if you are good at managing your finances you should take the most they will offer you (as long as you can afford) and put the extra cash to good use.

For example, putting the cash saved into a pension now - would be much more efficient than putting your cash into the mortgage and investing 100e per month in your pension.

Using the cash to make sure you never go into more expensive forms of debt is another way to save. Credit card debit is obviously very expensive, but so is a car loan (relative to a mortgage). Even something like buying a phone on contract is usually an inefficient use of capital.

That said, if having the extra cash is just going to encourage you to squander it the decision becomes a little harder. If the choice is spend 30 grand on reducing your mortgage, or spend 30 grand on a mad post covid holiday to Vegas then I'd probably encourage you to put it to your mortgage. However - if you're still youngish, and you want to take a year off work to travel the world then it's better to have cash now, than lower repayments ten years from now.

Yeah thanks for that makes sense to take the full amount . Childcare etc will ease off in 5 years or so which means repayments will become a lot easier

Jasna1982

Does anyone know where you can find a list of new builds coming up?
I just saw an estate launch, where 8 of the 12 homes were already sold.
I do a regular google search on new builds in Galway, this never came up. Never on Daft or MyHome, and yet enough people knew about it that it sold a lot before it was even launched. I'm finally in a position I can buy this year and I would prefer a new build for HTB, but I feel like there's not a lot out there at the minute in Galway.
I'm wondering if there's anywhere I can find if any new ones will launch this year.

Conor1974

zootroid wrote: »

What was the second house you were looking at if you don't mind me asking?

252b Seapark

TheCobra2.0

GrumPy wrote: »

Another delay to our process, but scheduled to collect keys Feb 12th. Sale agreed August 5th. The power has been off for more than six months, so it's going to take some time unfortunately to get it back on.
10+ phone calls and emails to Electric Ireland, the ESB and a qualified electrician, they all gave me conflicting information for how soon they can reconnect the house and the process needed... Typical! Friday will bring new challenges, but keys are the ultimate milestone and we are cautiously optimistic... :pac:

If it's gone passed 6 months a wiring cert is needed from an electrician to say the property is safe and that has to be emailed in before an appointment can be set up for restoration of power.

stampydmonkey

stampydmonkey wrote: »

This house was listed 495 is now at 620 with 2 bidders left. Scary

It still has legs, €635k 2 bidders still remaining :eek:

Sweet.Science

cisk wrote: »

It still has legs, €635k 2 bidders still remaining :eek:

wow . lovely house . nice area . But still ..

Smiley11

cisk wrote: »

It still has legs, €635k 2 bidders still remaining :eek:

Insanity. You'd wonder are the bidders even questioning what they're doing at this stage. Rabid. The ones who dropped out will be relieved in hindsight!

houseyhouse

Jasna1982 wrote: »

Does anyone know where you can find a list of new builds coming up?
I just saw an estate launch, where 8 of the 12 homes were already sold.
I do a regular google search on new builds in Galway, this never came up. Never on Daft or MyHome, and yet enough people knew about it that it sold a lot before it was even launched. I'm finally in a position I can buy this year and I would prefer a new build for HTB, but I feel like there's not a lot out there at the minute in Galway.
I'm wondering if there's anywhere I can find if any new ones will launch this year.

I would try calling around to the estate agents. There's only a few that handle all the new developments in Galway. They'll get you on a list and let you know when things are available.

Smiley11

I was talking to someone Monday who was in the process of valuing apartments in a fairly affluent complex for a city council. I had a quick look & there are a few for sale between 285k & 515k. Don't know if they're the ones he was valuing but if they are, they've only recently gone on the market & the council are pouncing? You'd wonder what chance we have of a reasonable property market when councils are hoovering up properties.

It beggars belief that so many years into a national housing crisis, that the government couldn't get their sh1t together enough to spend these clearly large budgets on building large volumes of housing for those who need it. Instead, we now have a case of councils blowing FTB's & other purchasers out of the market because their budgets just can't compete. Its another means of the government contributing to the serious issues within the property market. So infuriating.

Markitron

Sweet.Science wrote: »

wow . lovely house . nice area . But still ..

It's not 635k nice!

Sweetaure

If the construction sector can reopen on March 5th, will physical viewings be allowed? I presume they will...

Sweetaure

Jasna1982 wrote: »

Does anyone know where you can find a list of new builds coming up?
I just saw an estate launch, where 8 of the 12 homes were already sold.
I do a regular google search on new builds in Galway, this never came up. Never on Daft or MyHome, and yet enough people knew about it that it sold a lot before it was even launched. I'm finally in a position I can buy this year and I would prefer a new build for HTB, but I feel like there's not a lot out there at the minute in Galway.
I'm wondering if there's anywhere I can find if any new ones will launch this year.

I was wondering that the other day, as there are only a handful of 2nd hand properties coming to the market every week, so I did a google search and it brought up a few results: new housing developments 2021...

Edited: here’s a link to one of the developers’s website (hope it’s allowed): https://www.cairnhomes.com/new-homes/upcoming-developments/

Dick Turnip

I'm buying and it's now 8 weeks since going sale agreed and vendor is still waiting on the deeds from the bank, which apparently they requested before we went sale agreed.

Have contacted the agent a few times to check in and get an update.

Anyone any advice on how to possibly progress it quicker? Would it be the solicitor or the vendor themselves contacting the bank?

I've emailed my solicitor too to see what they suggest.

Frustrating to say the least as I've everything sorted on my end the last 4 or 5 weeks.

Cash_Q

Dick Turnip wrote:

Anyone any advice on how to possibly progress it quicker? Would it be the solicitor or the vendor themselves contacting the bank?

I don't think there's much you can do to speed up the deeds. In our case when selling our solicitor requested the deeds from KBC as soon as we put the house on the market. We had to sign a form giving permission for him to request them but otherwise it was all in his hands.

Gradius

I've observed the remarkable stability/increase in property prices throughout this global pandemic, and I've read the last few pages of this thread about bidding wars and an apparently "hot" market.

What is it, exactly, that is pushing buyers into this situation, and why now, in the midst of this craziness?

Are people expecting, against the backdrop of a hammered economy, that property prices are going to rise at an even greater pace when the immediate impact of the pandemic goes away?

Is it the accumulation of savings that people want to get rid of asap?

Boredom?

Is there a fundamental logic behind any of this, or it more down to psychology?

To make an analogy of similar confusion (to me), it's like watching the stock markets go higher and higher while unemployment numbers go higher and higher. There's some gigantic disconnect between cause and effect, to the extent that they're practically separate realities.

Just left scratching my head.

fliball123

Gradius wrote: »

I've observed the remarkable stability/increase in property prices throughout this global pandemic, and I've read the last few pages of this thread about bidding wars and an apparently "hot" market.

What is it, exactly, that is pushing buyers into this situation, and why now, in the midst of this craziness?

Are people expecting, against the backdrop of a hammered economy, that property prices are going to rise at an even greater pace when the immediate impact of the pandemic goes away?

Is it the accumulation of savings that people want to get rid of asap?

Boredom?

Is there a fundamental logic behind any of this, or it more down to psychology?

To make an analogy of similar confusion (to me), it's like watching the stock markets go higher and higher while unemployment numbers go higher and higher. There's some gigantic disconnect between cause and effect, to the extent that they're practically separate realities.

Just left scratching my head.

IMO I reckon a number of things

Lack of supply coming on stream

Supply coming on stream a lot of REITS are buying up even further stiffing supply.

Delayed demand due to the problems with covid in getting a mortgage and going from AIP to actually getting the keys, as well as a delay of people buying for a few years with Brexit which had been built up to be a doomsday scenario for property people held off buying

People have record savings in their accounts

All time low interest rates

People in smaller properties or living at home or on top of others have just gone through 3 lock downs. Nothing like that to make you want your own bit of space.

Smiley11

In our case, its necessity. We have small kids & sold in December '19 plus our ages mean we can only get a shorter term mortgage. That said, I'm very reluctant to jump into the market again in its current frenzied state. Some of the crazy bidding going on is astounding & I just can't see myself embroiled in it.

No doubt if agents are allowed viewings in March it will be mayhem so I think we'll just observe for a few months & see how things pan out over the summer. While we technically need to buy this year, my own instincts are not to feed the flames.

ongarite

fliball123 wrote: »

IMO I reckon a number of things

Lack of supply coming on stream

Supply coming on stream a lot of REITS are buying up even further stiffing supply.

Delayed demand due to the problems with covid in getting a mortgage and going from AIP to actually getting the keys, as well as a delay of people buying for a few years with Brexit which had been built up to be a doomsday scenario for property people held off buying

People have record savings in their accounts

All time low interest rates

People in smaller properties or living at home or on top of others have just gone through 3 lock downs. Nothing like that to make you want your own bit of space.

Last one for me is the reason I'm moving.
I was fine in an apartment for many years but pre COVID I spent little time in it outside of sleeping.
In work at 8 till evening, then off to the gym. Shower, dinner and then 1-2 at home on couch and repeat.

Now at home 24 hrs a day for last year in small space with nothing to do. Place seems very cramped all of a sudden, neighbours home too making lots of noise pissing you off.

Sold up and moving to house this summer. Can't wait for it.

Gradius

fliball123 wrote: »

IMO I reckon a number of things

Lack of supply coming on stream

Supply coming on stream a lot of REITS are buying up even further stiffing supply.

Delayed demand due to the problems with covid in getting a mortgage and going from AIP to actually getting the keys, as well as a delay of people buying for a few years with Brexit which had been built up to be a doomsday scenario for property people held off buying

People have record savings in their accounts

All time low interest rates

People in smaller properties or living at home or on top of others have just gone through 3 lock downs. Nothing like that to make you want your own bit of space.

That all makes sense, but it precludes WHY is the demand there now, beyond simple supply/demand.

Why is their a demand to get into bidding wars with (imo) the semi-apocalyptic economic situation?

Taking the stock markets as analogy again, you could very easily say the demand is there. But it doesn't explain the logic behind the demand. With each report of increasing unemployment, increasing closure of business etc, people are gambling even more that it will work it better than it ever has been.

The best explanation I can come up with is this...

A) Rent prices have been essentially propped up by the government via the pup payment. They haven't been allowed to fall.

That in turn has propped up residential/investment prices

C) Renters stuck in this created environment see no choice but to swap (artificially) high rents for (artificially) high property mortgages because "rent is dead money".

I can understand that situation, but of course the artificiality means it won't stay like that for long, there's only so many more months left that the pup payment can be paid out by the government.

That's my thesis at the moment anyway. It doesn't make sense in the long run, but it makes sense right now, in this environment.

Gradius

Smiley11 wrote: »

In our case, its necessity. We have small kids & sold in December '19 plus our ages mean we can only get a shorter term mortgage. That said, I'm very reluctant to jump into the market again in its current frenzied state. Some of the crazy bidding going on is astounding & I just can't see myself embroiled in it.

No doubt if agents are allowed viewings in March it will be mayhem so I think we'll just observe for a few months & see how things pan out over the summer. While we technically need to buy this year, my own instincts are not to feed the flames.

This is very understandable because of the timing of selling in 2019. What can you do?

Not that I'm some wizard, buy I'd say you'd be prudent to take that measured approach

ongarite

Gradius wrote: »

That all makes sense, but it precludes WHY is the demand there now, beyond simple supply/demand.

Why is their a demand to get into bidding wars with (imo) the semi-apocalyptic economic situation?

Semi-apocalyptic for economy for who? The majority of people on PUP, EWSS are low wage earners & not to ones looking to buy new homes IMO.
There is the 80% majority still in full time employment who this COVID ****show has meant that they spending less than they did before & savings are way up.
Bank figures show this with highest ever cash deposits held in Ireland.

cnocbui

Gradius wrote: »

I've observed the remarkable stability/increase in property prices throughout this global pandemic, and I've read the last few pages of this thread about bidding wars and an apparently "hot" market.

What is it, exactly, that is pushing buyers into this situation, and why now, in the midst of this craziness?

Are people expecting, against the backdrop of a hammered economy, that property prices are going to rise at an even greater pace when the immediate impact of the pandemic goes away?

Is it the accumulation of savings that people want to get rid of asap?

Boredom?

Is there a fundamental logic behind any of this, or it more down to psychology?

To make an analogy of similar confusion (to me), it's like watching the stock markets go higher and higher while unemployment numbers go higher and higher. There's some gigantic disconnect between cause and effect, to the extent that they're practically separate realities.

Just left scratching my head.

I think lockdown has caused people to reappraise the suitability of apartments as somewhere to live, with many people finding them cramped and undesirable in terms of family and WFH.

This has caused a large surge in demand for roomier higher quality housing in better locations, as where and how you live has become far more important to a lot of people.

The supply of what people want is less than the demand. This isn't just an Irish thing, It's happening in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealnd. The NZ government is having to take measures as the FTB unaffordability problem there is much worse than it is here.

It seems to be a truly global phenomenon among wealthier western countries.

It's not quite as bad in Germany, it would seem, and they seem to have that familiar story of people thinking there's a housing bubble, hoping it would burst and prices fall, but being surprised it's not happeneing:

Property prices have reached record levels after another in recent years. Although there are large regional differences, the price level is consistently high and many experts even speak of a housing bubble, similar to the one in 2008 in the USA. . Whether this will one day burst with the same effects, however, is indiscordable. Many potential buyers were hoping for it when the Corona pandemic reached Germany. But so far, the housing market has been surprisingly robust in the face of the crisis, and property prices remain stable – at least still. That could well change in 2021.

https://www.ariva.de/news/corona-und-immobilien-mit-welchen-entwicklungen-ist-2021-9049395

fliball123

Gradius wrote: »

That all makes sense, but it precludes WHY is the demand there now, beyond simple supply/demand.

Why is their a demand to get into bidding wars with (imo) the semi-apocalyptic economic situation?

Taking the stock markets as analogy again, you could very easily say the demand is there. But it doesn't explain the logic behind the demand. With each report of increasing unemployment, increasing closure of business etc, people are gambling even more that it will work it better than it ever has been.

The best explanation I can come up with is this...

A) Rent prices have been essentially propped up by the government via the pup payment. They haven't been allowed to fall.

That in turn has propped up residential/investment prices

C) Renters stuck in this created environment see no choice but to swap (artificially) high rents for (artificially) high property mortgages because "rent is dead money".

I can understand that situation, but of course the artificiality means it won't stay like that for long, there's only so many more months left that the pup payment can be paid out by the government.

That's my thesis at the moment anyway. It doesn't make sense in the long run, but it makes sense right now, in this environment.

Price is a product of supply and demand its simple economics if supply comes down and I mean there are less than half the amount of properties available on myhome than there was 12 months ago so its been severely cut and people still need to get on with their lives therefore price rises regardless of what else is going on. A lot of people have not been effected financially during covid and this is most evident with the record numbers being reported in Irish savings.

I have a theory that demand dropped from late 2017 onwards due to Brexit no one knew what way things would go and Covid came in and kind of stole its thunder I reckon the majority of the population have not felt a thing even do Brexit has taken place ( I know there will be ramifications down the track but at the moment no one cares its all COVID COVID COVID) ..add in the high rental prices and low interest rates a mortgage in a lot of cases costs less than renting.

Also the years preceding COVID we were adding a lot of people to our population and not just through natural gains we had a lot of people emigrating inwards in the 5 years proceeding 2020 and they all have to live somewhere.

Gradius

ongarite wrote: »

Semi-apocalyptic for economy for who? The majority of people on PUP, EWSS are low wage earners & not to ones looking to buy new homes IMO.
There is the 80% majority still in full time employment who this COVID ****show has meant that they spending less than they did before & savings are way.
Bank figures show this with highest ever cash deposits held in Ireland.

I'm quite skeptical of government statistics on unemployment. In January something like 460'000 people received the pup payment, but does that mean they are actually employed, or going back to work in a business that hasn't closed?

Two separate friends of mine are permanently out of work, one business cut like 70% of the staff, the other business folded. Yet both are still receiving pup payment. Are they counted as "employed"?

Like those work-schemes they have, a person is moved from social assistance, put on a scheme, yet is magically not counted as unemployed anymore. Amazing.

Like the Americans and how they report employment numbers while forgetting about large segments of people that they consider "not looking for work anymore, so they arent unemployed". Magic.

So, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the economic impact of this thing, it's probably far worse than what's being let on.

About savings, I'm sure that it has increased for a lot of people. But still the overall question remains, why spend/borrow NOW?

Gradius

fliball123 wrote: »

Price is a product of supply and demand its simple economics if supply comes down and I mean there are less than half the amount of properties available on myhome than there was 12 months ago so its been severely cut and people still need to get on with their lives therefore price rises regardless of what else is going on. A lot of people have not been effected financially during covid and this is most evident with the record numbers being reported in Irish savings.

I have a theory that demand dropped from late 2017 onwards due to Brexit no one knew what way things would go and Covid came in and kind of stole its thunder I reckon the majority of the population have not felt a thing even do Brexit has taken place ( I know there will be ramifications down the track but at the moment no one cares its all COVID COVID COVID) ..add in the high rental prices and low interest rates a mortgage in a lot of cases costs less than renting.

Also the years preceding COVID we were adding a lot of people to our population and not just through natural gains we had a lot of people emigrating inwards in the 5 years proceeding 2020 and they all have to live somewhere.

"Regardless of what is going on"

That there is the worrying aspect, that there isn't any sound logic behind any of this apparent fervour.

I understand what you're saying about supply and demand, but again I have to ask why is there a demand during a global pandemic that is certainly bound to take its toll on everything economically? Why now, with unprecedented uncertainty and with prices that are behaving as though nothing has happened whatsoever?

Graham

Mod Note

Folks, general chat about the property market over here please: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058146177

This thread is for CURRENTLY Buying/Selling

whiskeyman

Dick Turnip wrote: »

I'm buying and it's now 8 weeks since going sale agreed and vendor is still waiting on the deeds from the bank, which apparently they requested before we went sale agreed.

Have contacted the agent a few times to check in and get an update.

Anyone any advice on how to possibly progress it quicker? Would it be the solicitor or the vendor themselves contacting the bank?

I've emailed my solicitor too to see what they suggest.

Frustrating to say the least as I've everything sorted on my end the last 4 or 5 weeks.

Do you know the sellers situation?
Are they in a chain?
They could be stalling / haven't found anywhere to move yet given the current restrictions and mightnt want to say in case to scare you off if you can't wait.