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Where to buy a gaff

  • 14-03-2022 01:53AM
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 803 ✭✭✭


    Hi all I couldnt find a forum about buying a house in the directory so the mods can move this if they want to sorry about that.


    So I checked the BOI mortgage calculator and they would give me a 182k mortgage. I also specifically want a gaf that has room for a piano as I play the piano, and at least 2 bed rooms so I can use 1 of them bedrooms as a home office as I mostly still work from home and also double as a guest room.


    So I checked on Daft.ie and I can find homes that meet these criteria mostly in Balbriggan, Finglas, Ballymun, Ballyfermit, Tyrrelstown, Clondalkin. Pretty bad areas arent they? Now I know that Ballymun near the main Ballymun Road is actually okay ish. Deeper inside Ballymun would basically be like living in Mordor from Lord of the Rings though. But what about Finglas which areas should be avoided as some areas are really a kip there as well.


    So now I am from close to the sea so I would like to live close to the sea so then Balbriggan is a bit nicer for me. Is balbriggan really a kip as they say? Or is Balbriggan alright? I have heard some mixed stories about Ballymun. Any gaf I could afford wouldn't exactly be close to the sea even if in Balbriggan mind you closer to the M1.


    How about Cherry Orchard in Ballyfermit? Is that okay? I do not know that area of Dublin at all.


    I also saw some stuff in Swords and Santry I know those areas those are absolutely fine so if I can get something there I'd do but the few things I saw would be near the top of my budget.


    And is Tyrrelsstown really THAT bad or no? Clondalkin I know is bad I would avoid that.

    Also some questions about practicalities surrounding a home:


    1. In mortgage applications they always ask how much the home youre after buying is. But how can I know that I dont even know exactly what my budget will be
    2. Can you get more mortgage if you have a sales job and get a variable rate on top of your fixed salary or does it not count towards your maximum mortgage at all?
    3. I saw that paying rent in cash is seen as bad by the bank. My landlord only accepts the rent in cash. Now I am not that dense and I do always have him sign something in my little book whenever I pay the rent so I do have some proof but it's all hand written and it's not the most organized document. Is that going to be a problem when buying a house? As on my bank account theyll see me taking out a large sum in cash monthly. Nowdays I tend to pay most stuff in cash because I have a flatmate who pays his portion of the rent back in cash to me (he is non EU so its a bit tricky for him to transfer by bank or whatever well I dont mind). So is that going to be any issue at all?


    Cheers and again sorry for not having found the correct forum to post this in in the enormous forest of different sub fora



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Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 803 ✭✭✭machaseh


    Sorry I mixed up Balbriggan and Ballymun in this bit. They all start with Bal hah. Probably from Irish Baile


    ' So now I am from close to the sea so I would like to live close to the sea so then Balbriggan is a bit nicer for me. Is balbriggan really a kip as they say? Or is Balbriggan alright? I have heard some mixed stories about Ballymun Balbriggan. Any gaf I could afford wouldn't exactly be close to the sea even if in Balbriggan mind you closer to the M1.

    '



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 347 ✭✭Me_Grapes


    Clondalkin is absolutely fine, as long as you aviod Rowlagh/Neilstown area.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,495 ✭✭✭StreetLight




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,730 ✭✭✭Hangdogroad


    Your local gaff shop of course.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 803 ✭✭✭machaseh


    I live in Phibsboro and the houses here are unaffordable. Over 300 grand like



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,327 ✭✭✭Ubbquittious




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,075 ✭✭✭✭Kintarō Hattori


    I'm living in Balbriggan for the last 11 years and it's absolutely fine. Close enough that town is just 35 minutes away when traffic is quiet. You have Drogheda in the other direction which is great for shopping, so you don't always have to head to Dublin. There's a railway link, Dublin Bus, Bus Eireann, the M1 and the old Dublin road, the R132. There's a huge Tesco, a small Dunnes, a decent sized SuperValue, a LIDL and a number of ethnic shops. There's a very nice hotel and plenty more. The countryside in North County Dublin is lovely and you are only a few minutes away from the countryside of both Meath and Louth. People are friendlier than they would be in the city and overall there's a good spirit in the town.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 365 ✭✭pjdarcy


    Yeah Balbriggan isn't as bad as some reports might suggest. Obviously, like any town, there are nice parts and some not so nice parts but the surrounding area is lovely. There were a lot of houses built in Balbriggan during the Celtic Tiger era that were riddled with pyrite so make sure you check that if you're looking at a house or apartment there.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,205 ✭✭✭cruizer101


    Balbriggan is grand, it expanded a lot during boom years meaning it has quite a young population and naturally a lot of teenagers means you will always get some trouble makers but for the most part it is grand.

    Close to sea, Ardgillan park nearby is a great facility, lot of money being pumped into the town now for parklands and sports areas. Close to M1, train service isn't bad.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 68,190 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    In mortgage applications they always ask how much the home youre after buying is. But how can I know that I dont even know exactly what my budget will be

    Just leave it blank. In fact, go with a broker. You fill out one form with them, and then they go to a number of banks to get approval. You don't have to pay them, the bank pays them commission.

    The process basically is that you first get mortgage approval that isn't really binding. Basically, "Based on what you've told us, you can likely borrow up to X". Once you have gone sale agreed on a property, you then get a formal mortgage offer from the bank. It has to be done this way, because the mortgage is tied to the property and the bank needs to make sure that the property you plan on buying, is actually worth the money they're going to give you.

    The broker will tell you what your budget probably is, you start looking at gaffs while they go off and get a more certain budget by applying to the banks. There's always a chance that when you go sale agreed, the bank will reduce the amount its willing to give you and you have to start again. But going with a broker will make this unlikely.

    Can you get more mortgage if you have a sales job and get a variable rate on top of your fixed salary or does it not count towards your maximum mortgage at all?

    Sort of. The bank will likely want to see a commission pattern and then will apply some calculations to it. For example, they might take your average commission earned over the last six months, and then add 66% of that to your fixed salary. So if your salary is €3k a month, and you've had €1,500 a month average commission over the last 6/12 months, then your monthly salary for mortgage purposes is €4k. This is just an example; banks probably assume commission is far more volatile than this. Some banks may not factor in commission income at all. They don't have to.

    I saw that paying rent in cash is seen as bad by the bank. My landlord only accepts the rent in cash. Now I am not that dense and I do always have him sign something in my little book whenever I pay the rent so I do have some proof but it's all hand written and it's not the most organized document. Is that going to be a problem when buying a house? As on my bank account theyll see me taking out a large sum in cash monthly. Nowdays I tend to pay most stuff in cash because I have a flatmate who pays his portion of the rent back in cash to me (he is non EU so its a bit tricky for him to transfer by bank or whatever well I dont mind). So is that going to be any issue at all?

    Yes and no. The bank will review your bank statements, and they don't like to see large cash withdrawals in general. This is because it tells the bank that you use large sums of your money for purposes that may be very unpredictable. Basically, if they see large cash withdrawals, the concern is that you're a gambler. And lending to gamblers is risky business. If the amount of cash you withdraw is the same or similar every month and you can present the rent book, then you should be OK.

    You should definitely ask your landlord to start accepting the rent by bank transfer now though.

    Is there any particular reason you want to stay in Dublin? You'd probably get a nice little 2-bed somewhere non-sh1tty for that money.

    E.g. https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/duplex-4-the-courtyard-marsh-road-drogheda-co-louth/3503924

    Cosy little spot, in the town, right beside the train station, short drive to the coast.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 803 ✭✭✭machaseh


    That is in county mayo. I am from the Netherlands, so I have no family in Ireland. I also do not drive. Why on earth would I move to the middle of nowhere in county Mayo lol.


    First I wanted to move back to the Netherlands but it's too close to Putin and his nukes. So thats why I am looking to buy in Dublin or near it.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 803 ✭✭✭machaseh


    Thanks a mil I will indeed call with a mortgage broker soon.

    I want to be as close to dublin city centre as possible. I am a foreigner and I have nothing to do in rural parts of Irleand.


    If it werent for the Russian invasion Id be looking at moving back to the Netherlands its just that the Netherlands is too close to Putin and his nukes for my liking hence I stay in dublin for now.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,327 ✭✭✭Ubbquittious


    It sucks but Pewtin's nukes have no problem flying the extra few 100km. Nowhere is safe if it really kicks off even if you survive the actual nukes themselves the resulting nuclear winter will kill you if you haven't 10 years worth of food stocked up. The reason I suggested that one is you can easily buy it and spend the remainder of the money on a nice car. Dublin prices are crazy, I hope you find sometheing where ever you want to live & that no nuclear war breaks out.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,993 ✭✭✭StevenToast


    Go to leitrim...stay out of dublin

    "Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining." - Fletcher



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 803 ✭✭✭machaseh



    I don't drive. I would literally be trapped inside of my home if I'd live in these places.


    The reason I don't drive is because of my genetic visual condition. It's very serious and it slowly makes me blind.


    I wouldn't be allowd to. And then them feckers dont eve ngive me fekkin blind pension



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,327 ✭✭✭✭Donald Trump


    OP, you're asking about Balbriggan and Ballymun. You've probably seen them on the news over the past couple of weeks but just never realised it.

    The news agencies are using photos of those places for their Kyiv was stories due to the logistical difficulty of getting photographers to Ukraine. The Kremlin are going mad over it and are saying that "fake news" has finally crossed a line



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,432 ✭✭✭corner of hells


    You know what , I thought parts of the Ukraine looked familiar.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,327 ✭✭✭✭Donald Trump



    Appropriate username. Are ya an estate agent covering those area by any chance?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,184 ✭✭✭riclad


    I think even putin would not use nukes against any eu country ,russia is already seriously suffering from economic sanctions ,companys pulling out of russia .im more worried about inflation and the price of oil, petrol and gas rising than get hit by a nuke.you should contact a broker.Banks usually lend about 2.5 times salary plus you,ll need to have at least 10 per cent plus of the value of the house saved up.my female friend age 45 lives alone in a private 3 bed house in part of finglas,7 minutes from finglas village .She has never experienced any anti social behavior of any kind .people with no detailed local knowledge brand certain working class areas as bad or dangerous ,its more complex than that.The russian economy depends on international trade with the eu ,selling oil and gas to europe ,the chances of russia attacking holland or france or italy is zero.many people are stuck paying rent as they cant save up 20 per cent of say 330k to buy a house in dublin.legal fees will cost around 1500 euro approx plus 1 per cent stamp duty ,just to buy the house .



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 803 ✭✭✭machaseh


    I calculated that I'd have to live like a hermit for the next 3 years to make a chance at buying.


    By then the prices would have gone up a lot. But I can try.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,503 ✭✭✭✭Mad_maxx


    That's silly ,if nukes are launched, the quicker you die the better, The Netherlands is very densely populated, that's exactly where I'd want to be rather than being forced to cannibalism in the aftermath



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,184 ✭✭✭riclad


    You can buy a 4 bed house outside dublin for 100k, in a town 40 minutes away, or else look at buying a 2bed apartment, prices are rising, theres simply not enough houses in dublin to meet demand ,and you are competing with 2 people ,eg couples on 50k salarys who want to buy a house.And of course techies on high salarys who need 2 bedrooms, plus spare room home /office to work from home.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 803 ✭✭✭machaseh


    Did you choose your username to fit the occasion or is this a coincidence ?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,503 ✭✭✭✭Mad_maxx




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,503 ✭✭✭✭Mad_maxx


    Where can you buy a four bed house for 100 k ?, nevermind that close to Dublin



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,309 ✭✭✭✭wotzgoingon


    You wouldn't even get a four bed house in the sticks for that.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,503 ✭✭✭✭Mad_maxx


    You wouldn't get one in o Malley Park in Limerick right now



  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 94,516 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    So I checked the BOI mortgage calculator and they would give me a 182k mortgage.

    The nearest that'll get you a secondhand late 2018 camper van from Kildare, 182 KE. And you can park your gaff wherever.


    And because it's a car loan the monthly repayments would be the same as a mortgage. Might be better off sticking windows on a hosed out 40" refrigerated container.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,309 ✭✭✭✭wotzgoingon


    HEY! Why you disrespecting where I live. Don't you worry I will have to stab you if you do it again.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,145 ✭✭✭✭Gael23


    Balbriggan is too far out for me



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