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

Claw Hammer

cnocbui wrote: »

Are you referring to crashes? 'Always' tends to suggest a pattern of events that occur with some regularity. How many have there been in the last 60 years?

Several. With the exception of the 60s which was a recovery from a serious crash in the 50s there has been a crash in every decade.

C14N

Claw Hammer wrote: »

When people start saying "this time it's different" is a sign the real madness is about to happen. All surges are followed by crashes, not plateaus.

As a buyer right now, this does make a little bit nervous sometimes. That you could end up paying some mad money for a place and the value of it plummets in 2 or 3 years. But there are some things that make me a bit less worried about it.

I've had some people kind of suggest that given how hot things are right now that it might be better to just put the idea away for a few months and look at it again, maybe in the new year. But apparently demand for houses over the next few years is going to continue to outstrip supply (saw an article about a Davy report saying 200k supply of new houses will be needed by 2024, when we're only putting up 20-25k per year), so I don't see the current situation, mad as it is, cooling off. Ending up in the same situation but worse next year is more of a downside imo than ending up in a house that has decreased in value a few years down the line.

Another thing that makes me doubt it will be 2007 again is that prices aren't shooting up because people are taking on way more debt than they can afford to pay, they're shooting up because we're competing for limited housing. Borrowing is generally limited to 3.5x-4.5x salaries, and interest rates aren't super low either. A lot of people these days look at what someone pays for a certain house in a certain place and they say "there's no way that house is worth anything close to that!", but it's really worth whatever the market will pay for it. If people who can actually afford it want it badly enough to pay that amount, then that's what it's worth, and I don't really see that changing.

As a buyer, I don't think you really do yourself many favours by trying to speculate and ride the wave at the right time. My attitude when looking at a place is usually more of just ticking the two boxes of "can I afford it?" and "would I want to actually live here?". If the answer to both is yes then I'll try to buy it. If I want to live here now then I'll probably be fine living here for a good while longer.

soc

Wandering2021 wrote: »

Sale agreed! Crossing all my fingers and toes that it all goes okay from here...

Congratulations!
Any words of wisdom with regards to bidding?
I saw you were against someone else for the property...was there much of a bidding war and did you do as suggested and sit back and try relax?

covidcustomer

C14N wrote: »

As a buyer right now, this does make a little bit nervous sometimes. That you could end up paying some mad money for a place and the value of it plummets in 2 or 3 years. But there are some things that make me a bit less worried about it.

I've had some people kind of suggest that given how hot things are right now that it might be better to just put the idea away for a few months and look at it again, maybe in the new year. But apparently demand for houses over the next few years is going to continue to outstrip supply (saw an article about a Davy report saying 200k supply of new houses will be needed by 2024, when we're only putting up 20-25k per year), so I don't see the current situation, mad as it is, cooling off. Ending up in the same situation but worse next year is more of a downside imo than ending up in a house that has decreased in value a few years down the line.

Another thing that makes me doubt it will be 2007 again is that prices aren't shooting up because people are taking on way more debt than they can afford to pay, they're shooting up because we're competing for limited housing. Borrowing is generally limited to 3.5x-4.5x salaries, and interest rates aren't super low either. A lot of people these days look at what someone pays for a certain house in a certain place and they say "there's no way that house is worth anything close to that!", but it's really worth whatever the market will pay for it. If people who can actually afford it want it badly enough to pay that amount, then that's what it's worth, and I don't really see that changing.

As a buyer, I don't think you really do yourself many favours by trying to speculate and ride the wave at the right time. My attitude when looking at a place is usually more of just ticking the two boxes of "can I afford it?" and "would I want to actually live here?". If the answer to both is yes then I'll try to buy it. If I want to live here now then I'll probably be fine living here for a good while longer.

We bought recently and we had reservations as outlined above and on the thread, we were renting and looking at ever increasing rents, for us it was a no brainer.

Did we overpay, yes, not sure by how much, but had we stayed renting for another couple of years (over 2k a month and rising), we would have paid in excess of 50k in rent, so for us the question of overpaying wasn't really relevant, what was relevant was could we afford it and was the property good for us and the answer to both those questions was yes.

Bluejohn1

Went sale agreed on a property and wondering if anyone could recommend a solicitor?

errlloyd

Got my keys Friday.

Got in over the weekend, and having only really viewed it twice (and neither in optimum conditions) the bad bits are much less bad than I feared, and the good bits are a little bit better than I'd dared expect.

I am delighted. Over the moon.

It was a long, frustrating, maddening process. Thanks to the posters on here who helped. It is a 2 bed apartment in Dublin 8, and I happy to stick around and try give any advice to anyone attempting to buy anything similar.

The Davestator

Bluejohn1 wrote: »

Went sale agreed on a property and wondering if anyone could recommend a solicitor?

I had a bad experience with a solicitor before and a good bit of advice I got after was to pick a solicitor you can call into! They'll ignore calls and emails, but if you can call into their office (assuming they are still in there) it might go better. Also, easier to sign things when the need arises.

KevRossi

errlloyd wrote: »

Got my keys Friday.

Got in over the weekend, and having only really viewed it twice (and neither in optimum conditions) the bad bits are much less bad than I feared, and the good bits are a little bit better than I'd dared expect.

I am delighted. Over the moon.

It was a long, frustrating, maddening process. Thanks to the posters on here who helped. It is a 2 bed apartment in Dublin 8, and I happy to stick around and try give any advice to anyone attempting to buy anything similar.

Just wondering in what price bracket that was and if you paid much over list price?

Looking for similar myself this year, D8 possibly too expensive.

Ashbx

Went sale agreed on a house today! Now the serious stuff starts - need to arrange the structural survey. Can anyone recommend someone in the Wexford/Enniscorthy area?

Red Silurian

Had a viewing arranged for Thursday evening but it was cancelled in the last few minutes because the seller had accepted an offer this lunch time (lower than what we were going to offer)

We've been trying for the last 2 weeks to try and get a viewing that suited us and the estate agent (mostly because the estate agent was not being accommodating) so to say we're annoyed is an understatement

On a related note is there an ombudsman for estate agents you can complain to? Feeling blackballed here

Wandering2021

soc wrote: »

Congratulations!
Any words of wisdom with regards to bidding?
I saw you were against someone else for the property...was there much of a bidding war and did you do as suggested and sit back and try relax?

Thank you!

We were relaxed with it. Made our bid (at a sensible jump, not massive) and just sat back and waited patiently. Good luck with your property hunt.

ec18

Red Silurian wrote: »

Had a viewing arranged for Thursday evening but it was cancelled in the last few minutes because the seller had accepted an offer this lunch time (lower than what we were going to offer)

We've been trying for the last 2 weeks to try and get a viewing that suited us and the estate agent (mostly because the estate agent was not being accommodating) so to say we're annoyed is an understatement

On a related note is there an ombudsman for estate agents you can complain to? Feeling blackballed here

why do you feel blackballed? Ombudsman no but you could see if the prsa take copmlaints? but nothing official or government backed

C14N

Red Silurian wrote: »

Had a viewing arranged for Thursday evening but it was cancelled in the last few minutes because the seller had accepted an offer this lunch time

We've been trying for the last 2 weeks to try and get a viewing that suited us and the estate agent (mostly because the estate agent was not being accommodating) so to say we're annoyed is an understatement

On a related note is there an ombudsman for estate agents you can complain to? Feeling blackballed here

It may be more down to the property owner than the estate agent. I've had a good few viewings now and I'm often told there are certain windows the property owner will be ok to leave the house to allow a viewing, and I usually have to work around their schedule. They are also the ones who accepted an offer when there were viewings still to happen.

Sadly for me, despite making a few early offers myself, none of my potential sellers have seen fit to accept and quickly close off further viewings

givyjoe

Red Silurian wrote: »

Had a viewing arranged for Thursday evening but it was cancelled in the last few minutes because the seller had accepted an offer this lunch time (lower than what we were going to offer)

We've been trying for the last 2 weeks to try and get a viewing that suited us and the estate agent (mostly because the estate agent was not being accommodating) so to say we're annoyed is an understatement

On a related note is there an ombudsman for estate agents you can complain to? Feeling blackballed here

Letter through the door of the homeowner to the above affect if you really want anything to come of it. Usually the EA wont pull the plug too early on viewings unless the vendor is keen to move quickly. Had this happen a couple of times myself. The vendors don't always want a long drawn out bidding war.

There are an increasing number of EAs only conducting viewings at extremely inconvenient times (i.e. office hours), with the infuriatingly incredible reason being "they are so busy", that despite having an absolute fraction of the usual number of properties on their books.

ec18

givyjoe wrote: »

There are an increasing number of EAs only conducting viewings at extremely inconvenient times (i.e. office hours), with the infuriatingly incredible reason being "they are so busy", that despite having an absolute fraction of the usual number of properties on their books.

Less properties but more purchasers?

C14N

givyjoe wrote: »

Letter through the door of the homeowner to the above affect if you really want anything to come of it. Usually the EA wont pull the plug too early on viewings unless the vendor is keen to move quickly. Had this happen a couple of times myself. The vendors don't always want a long drawn out bidding war.

There are an increasing number of EAs only conducting viewings at extremely inconvenient times (i.e. office hours), with the infuriatingly incredible reason being "they are so busy", that despite having an absolute fraction of the usual number of properties on their books.

The business hours viewing times are a real pain alright. I've had a few at particularly awkward hours, as in, not even around lunch time, which has been difficult for my partner to get time off for. My work are fairly sound but even then the amount that I'm viewing I'm worried about the impact it'll have. It's such a relief when I get a call back from one saying "does 6pm sound good?".

givyjoe

Question myself for anyone who can point in the right direction. We've been looking for a while and my father recently passed away, buying the family home is a possible option but probate may be between 6-12 months. We're considering hedging our bets (for multiple reasons) and buying now, with a view to potentially (but not definitely) buying the family home when the possibility arises.

Have calculated as much as I possibly can in terms of the costs of each option, but one thing a solicitor mentioned might be an issue, is Capital Gains Tax on the sale of the property we buy now and sell later, to purchase my family home.

In summary, do you really have to pay CGT on any taxable gain (profit on the house we buy now/sell later)? I thought this didn't apply to a family home?

tobsey

givyjoe wrote: »

Question myself for anyone who can point in the right direction. We've been looking for a while and my father recently passed away, buying the family home is a possible option but probate may be between 6-12 months. We're considering hedging our bets (for multiple reasons) and buying now, with a view to potentially (but not definitely) buying the family home when the possibility arises.

Have calculated as much as I possibly can in terms of the costs of each option, but one thing a solicitor mentioned might be an issue, is Capital Gains Tax on the sale of the property we buy now and sell later, to purchase my family home.

In summary, do you really have to pay CGT on any taxable gain (profit on the house we buy now/sell later)? I thought this didn't apply to a family home?

So long as you live in it as your principal residence then no CGT will be due. You will be paying stamp duty and legal fees on each transaction though so that’s a lot of money to spend to own a house for a few months

givyjoe

tobsey wrote: »

So long as you live in it as your principal residence then no CGT will be due. You will be paying stamp duty and legal fees on each transaction though so that’s a lot of money to spend to own a house for a few months

It still works out financially better for us (5 figures), even if we only sell for the price we paid.

Is there a minimum term you would need to be in the property, one or two opinions so far that it would need to be a year to avoid CGT. Solicitor who raised it with me, didn't actually clarify the in's and out's of the "may" be liable for CGT.

rks

KevRossi wrote: »

Just wondering in what price bracket that was and if you paid much over list price?

Looking for similar myself this year, D8 possibly too expensive.

I got sale agreed for a property in D8 (two bed apartment) in Dec 2020, paid the deposit as well. Since then nothing moved, some excuse or the other from vendor and EA. Tenant excuses then something, most of the time no communication or no replies from EA etc.

Dont know what was going. May be they were thinking they can get a better price now. Who knows. Some really dodgy s*** going on.

After waiting more than 6 months I finally gave up and asked the EA for a refund of deposit. Which they immediately responded and refunded.

Will definitely going to keep on eye on the property if they advertise again at a higher price.

PropBuyer101

rks wrote: »

I got sale agreed for a property in D8 (two bed apartment) in Dec 2020, paid the deposit as well. Since then nothing moved, some excuse or the other from vendor and EA. Tenant excuses then something, most of the time no communication or no replies from EA etc.

Dont know what was going. May be they were thinking they can get a better price now. Who knows. Some really dodgy s*** going on.

After waiting more than 6 months I finally gave up and asked the EA for a refund of deposit. Which they immediately responded and refunded.

Will definitely going to keep on eye on the property if they advertise again at a higher price.

had you gotten to the contract stage?

CalisGirl

givyjoe wrote: »

It still works out financially better for us (5 figures), even if we only sell for the price we paid.

Is there a minimum term you would need to be in the property, one or two opinions so far that it would need to be a year to avoid CGT. Solicitor who raised it with me, didn't actually clarify the in's and out's of the "may" be liable for CGT.

Lots of info in the Detailed Guidence pdf at the end of https://www.revenue.ie/en/gains-gifts-and-inheritance/cgt-reliefs/principal-private-residence-ppr-relief.aspx

Looks like you might need to careful of it appearing as though the property was acquired solely to make a gain (per p16) but no minimum period of residence required

PropBuyer101

why would a house go on the market, then had apparently loads of bids, never went sale agreed and now the ad of the house has been removed. very odd!!!

PropBuyer101

PropBuyer101 wrote: »

why would a house go on the market, then had apparently loads of bids, never went sale agreed and now the ad of the house has been removed. very odd!!!

Some people just want to see what their house is worth. Or a relative/friend approached them and wanted to buy privately, perhaps.

Thargor

Fcuks sake just heard a place I've had my eye on for 3 months and was going to pay cash for has been sold to a family member of the owner, feel a bit sick tbh, was so looking forward to just getting it done, back to square one now.

PropBuyer101

Thargor wrote: »

Fcuks sake just heard a place I've had my eye on for 3 months and was going to pay cash for has been sold to a family member of the owner, feel a bit sick tbh, was so looking forward to just getting it done, back to square one now.

if you are a cash buyer though you are in a very strong position!!

Dodge

PropBuyer101 wrote: »

why would a house go on the market, then had apparently loads of bids, never went sale agreed and now the ad of the house has been removed. very odd!!!

There’s a house in Inchicore. Went up for sale. Went way over asking. Got in all the papers. Went sale agreed for near 700k

Then went for sale again and has now been removed from the all the sites. Not listed as sale agreed. Just removed

Thargor

PropBuyer101 wrote: »

if you are a cash buyer though you are in a very strong position!!

This place was so perfect as an investment property I could also live in with a couple of tenants though, I might never see its like again

Don't really want to do the full house mortgage garden thing for 20 years in this part of the country but I would have snapped this place up and had it forever, I'm beyond gutted tbh, lost my appetite.

PropBuyer101

Dodge wrote: »

There’s a house in Inchicore. Went up for sale. Went way over asking. Got in all the papers. Went sale agreed for near 700k

Then went for sale again and has now been removed from the all the sites. Not listed as sale agreed. Just removed

strange!!!!

C14N

PropBuyer101 wrote: »

why would a house go on the market, then had apparently loads of bids, never went sale agreed and now the ad of the house has been removed. very odd!!!

Possible the owner decided to stay there. They might have had ideas of trading up or were looking at some other property but then found they couldn't get what they wanted, or had some unforseen change in their circumstances, so they stayed put.

Dodge wrote: »

There’s a house in Inchicore. Went up for sale. Went way over asking. Got in all the papers. Went sale agreed for near 700k

Then went for sale again and has now been removed from the all the sites. Not listed as sale agreed. Just removed

This is the one with the sauna room and all that? I found it very strange that they were selling that one at all given the amount of work put into it and the relatively short period they had lived there for.

Thargor wrote: »

Fcuks sake just heard a place I've had my eye on for 3 months and was going to pay cash for has been sold to a family member of the owner, feel a bit sick tbh, was so looking forward to just getting it done, back to square one now.

If it's been on the market 3 months and you have the cash, why did you wait so long to make a move?