How can I ever buy a house

LegacyUser

Hi everybody, feel free to close this if it seems unimportant, but I'm starting to freak out at the idea of getting old and not ever woning a place to live. Any house in Dublin seems to be around €350,000. I'm now 30 and make €24000 a year. I am barely keeping my head above water at the moment, I always seem to dip into an overdraft by about the 3rd week of the month and am never able to put asside any savings. I am getting genuinely worried I will never be able to own my own property by the time I retire and as a result I am worried that retirement will mean instant poverty. I'm renting a house at the moment and I pay €900 a month, which is split between my girlfriend and I. Has anybody got any advice?

Sleipnir

You could always buy a first house down the country somewhere, rent it out and it a couple of years use the equity to buy a house in Dublin that you can live in.
Over-simplifying a little perhaps but on your salary, you're not going to get a house in Dublin any time soon so buy elsewhere to get your foot on the ladder.
You could even move in to it and commute for 2 or 3 years. It's a pain in the ass but you have to make sacrifices.

lukin

It's a tough one alright, I feel for you but the only thing I can think of to console you is that you are not the only one. There are thousands like you.
A friend of mine has a house but it's too small for him and his family now.
They have four kids but can't afford to buy a bigger place.

Beruthiel

why do you need to go unregged?
this would be better suited to the property forum.

to answer your question, do what I did.
go to the Dublin Co.Co. (big government building on the Quays) ask to apply for a shared ownership home loan - it's there for people who don't make much money, so you're perfect.
shared ownership means that you own half the property and the dublin co. co. own the other half - repayments on the mortgage are cheaper because you are only paying half the mortgage - the other half is paid by the co. co. - they will charge you rent for their half, but it's still cheaper than paying a full mortgage.
later on when you have a bit more money in your pocket, you can buy them out.
when you get your loan, find a tiny apt. and start from there.
I did that 7 years ago and have since sold the apt and managed to buy a house because of the profit I made on the apt.
If I could do that by myself, so can you!

BoozyBabe

Thankfully I don't live anywhere near Dublin so house prices aren't near as crazy that.
Surely between you & your gf €900 / month or slightly more would pay a mortgage for you, instead of throwing it away each month to pay someone else's mortgage.
If not, you could let out a room in your own property to cover the extra amt.

I'm assuming you haven't spoken to any building societies / banks etc to see what you chances are. You could be surprised.
What about those 100% mortgages & similar products like that.

What sort of salary is your gf on (I don't really want to know the answer to that, but my point is), combined with yours the banks might find you eligible.

Could you move to the outskirts where prices might be less outrageous.

How's about buying an apartment on the outskirts. You should certainly be able to afford that, hopefully be able to save a bit while making those mortgage repayments & then in a few years, put the apartment against a bigger property with savings you've managed to acquire.

Like I say, I'm nowhere near Dublin, so that might all be impossible, but I'd look at every single avenue open to you before I'd continue paying off someone elses mortgage.
Best of luck to you

LegacyUser

Thanks Beruthiel, thats brilliant advice. I did not know such a service existed. I went unregged because I did not want people I know to identify me and read other personal issues I posted. Sorry for putting it on the wrong board, I just stick to Personal Issues and After Hours, so I didn't know about the property one.

uzami

2 bed apt on Mountjoy Sq for €275k

http://www2.myhome.ie/search/property.asp?id=247287&np=&rt=search&searchlist=


Assuming your girlfriend is on the same salary as yourself you should be able to get 100% finance for in and around this sort of price range.

Repayments over 35 years would be approx €1100pm (not including tax relief). Which should bring it down to €980 (you'd have to factor in mortgage protection insurance etc thereafter)

Ag marbh

900 a month is well enough to pay a mortgage repayment!

Beruthiel

no problemo, it saved my life that loan! and when I sold my apt. it was to a girl who got the shared ownership loan from them.

btw
I forgot to mention, you will need a small deposit, I believe it's €1,300 they are asking these days.
You should be able to get that much together no?

do not mention that you have a g/f - you are a single man with hardly any dosh, trying to buy a house...
if you earn more than 30k, they will not give you the loan.

anthony_086170

all i can say is im 25 and earn €40,000 and bough my house a year ago with my younger brother he's 22 and we borrowed €225,000 and thats costing us €873 a month mortgage and thats piss easy to pay but the deposite was a killer,

all my friends piss there money up against the wall and thats the problem,

why dont you move back with ur folks or gf folks and save that €900 a month for deposit ok its not much considering houses going up so fast but why not get a 100 % mortgage and rent the house out at least ur foots in the door

anyway i payed €250,000 last feb and now there €340,000

€90,000 in a year is stupid money

Beruthiel

anthony_086170 wrote:

why dont you move back with ur folks or gf folks and save that €900 a month for deposit

with the shared ownership scheme all he needs for the deposit is €1,300

stovelid

Unregged,

Chin up dude...

Beruthiel is on the ball. In the last house that i rented in before buying; the landlady had orignally bought the house with the corpo on that halfo-halfo scheme. Not only do you have a foothold until your income goes up, but the equity on your half of the gaff can all go toward helping you buy out the corpo/council when the time comes. Thing is though, get in ASAP so you dont go over the threshold..

Like beruthiel says, as far as the corpo goes, you are single and on 24k. You then split the repayments with your mot and you both get on the ladder when the time comes. Easy

Jonny Arson

OP - You're not the only one who feels like this I can assure you.

I'm personally freaked about the future and I know for a fact I'll never be able to afford to live in Dublin or probably any place in the rest of Ireland. My sister and her husband are struggling to afford a 250,000 euro mortgage and that's cheap compared to today's extortionate prices! Houses near me in a quite average area are going for over 500,000! It's madness.

I'm feel down thinking about the future, I'm in college and I know I'll come out with a basic annual wage. I don't have a hope, I'm certain I won't be living in this country by the time I'm 25. Society factors like this are alienating so many young people. No matter what everyone says I can't see for the life of me that I'll ever be able to have a great lifestyle in this country. Even if I do find a cheaper house in the country I'll probably have to spend at least 3-4 hours commuting to work everyday. How can ever be good for a family lifestyle outside of weekends?

This current rip-off culture especially with housing will haunt our nation in the next 5-10 years time. I know many other young people like me who are ready to pack their bags. As a society accept it when there are many solutions to combatting this serious problem but of course as we all know our current sham of a government who have let this happen will be sadly voted back in.

BoozyBabe

Ok, I'm going to be shot for saying this but:-

You don't HAVE to work in Dublin. People actually do survive & find jobs outside of Dublin, so commuting doesn't have to be an issue.

I know lots Don't want to move out of Dublin & you're entitled to that view, but you also want to own property that you can't afford to do while in Dublin.

Yes, pay is less than what you'd get in Dublin, but so is the cost of living, so you end up no worse off.

I bought a 3bedroom property about 1.5years ago for LESS THAN €100K!! :eek:

Yes, you're all thinking it had to have been a dive, I thought so too before I viewed it & I couldn't believe my eyes so I put in an offer right away & got it.
I was V lucky because this isn't the standard price in my area (I've never seen anything like it since), but prices are still 100's of 1000's less than in Dub.

It cost me less than €5k to do any work to it that I felt was needed, mortgage repayments are less than €400 / month (a lot less than what I could rent for)

(& it's already gone up over €50 in value since I got it, & I haven't checked in a while, so it could be more)

I don't mean this in a bad way, but Dublin is not the centre of the universe, if you just thought outside of Dublin you could find yourself a V happy, financially better off homeowner.

py2006

BoozyBabe wrote:

Ok, I'm going to be shot for saying this but:-

You don't HAVE to work in Dublin. People actually do survive & find jobs outside of Dublin, so commuting doesn't have to be an issue.

I know lots Don't want to move out of Dublin & you're entitled to that view, but you also want to own property that you can't afford to do while in Dublin.

Yes, pay is less than what you'd get in Dublin, but so is the cost of living, so you end up no worse off.

I bought a 3bedroom property about 1.5years ago for LESS THAN €100K!! :eek:

Yes, you're all thinking it had to have been a dive, I thought so too before I viewed it & I couldn't believe my eyes so I put in an offer right away & got it.
I was V lucky because this isn't the standard price in my area (I've never seen anything like it since), but prices are still 100's of 1000's less than in Dub.

It cost me less than €5k to do any work to it that I felt was needed, mortgage repayments are less than €400 / month (a lot less than what I could rent for)

(& it's already gone up over €50 in value since I got it, & I haven't checked in a while, so it could be more)

I don't mean this in a bad way, but Dublin is not the centre of the universe, if you just thought outside of Dublin you could find yourself a V happy, financially better off homeowner.

Jaysus, you were very lucky indeed!

OP, I share your worries! I am 29 in a couple weeks! I live at home still as I don't earn an awful lot of money! I cannot see myself ever been able to afford a house, especially in Dublin.

Alot of the house prices are sky high outside of Dublin too! Galway for example is quite expensive too! They are all catching up slowly but surely with Dublin.

I would dearly love my own place, just for little old me. But in this country is impossible unless you are very well off! I am starting to consider moving abroad which is something I swore I would never do.

I will look into that shared ownership thingy as suggested by a previous poster as it sounds interesting! But to me that sounds like council houses in rough areas (correct me if I am wrong) and I don't want to end up in a dirty, run down area full of scumbags! Sounds harsh, but I want to live in a safe environment!

Its very worrying indeed!

Downtime

BoozyBabe wrote:

(& it's already gone up over €50 in value since I got it, & I haven't checked in a while, so it could be more)

50k I guess.

BoozyBabe

Downtime wrote:

50k I guess.

Yes!:o

stovelid

No offence BB but its not exactly ideal for a lot of people to just uproot and move down to the country if they are born and bred and Dublin. Not giving out, just saying that the 'up sticks' option is probably last resort for many people

BoozyBabe wrote:

I don't mean this in a bad way, but Dublin is not the centre of the universe, if you just thought outside of Dublin you could find yourself a V happy, financially better off homeowner.

Beruthiel

py2006 wrote:

But to me that sounds like council houses in rough areas (correct me if I am wrong)

you are wrong
the co. co. gives you the loan, it is up to you where you buy your home (as long as it's within their catchment area) I bought my apt. in Chapelizod.

RobEire

Try affordable housing - the ceiling for eligibility is €30k (at least in Fingal Co. Council) and you would get a half decent house through this scheme. It is a bit of a waiting game but perhaps worth it if no alternatives exist for you.

rollotomassi

I'm the OP. The more I hear about this government scheme, the more I like it. There may be light at the end of the tunnel after all. My girlfriend and I could definitely afford the kind of payments that are being described, and owning half a house and having the option to buy out the rest is much preferable to spending lots of money every month and having nothing to show for it after 20 years. As stupid as it sounds, the longer I leave it, the more despondent I become. I make less than the average wage for my age, with no sign that thats going to improve any time soon, and I have to fight the feeling that, at 30, I left it too late to get on the property ladder. With this government scheme I may be able to turn things around. Thanks again for the advice everybody.

Tazz T

You should remember that altho this seems like a good idea in the first instance, interest rates are at historically low levels and likely to rise further. Always factor for an raise in rates. Many people are already finding that these days renting is cheaper than paying a mortgage and will protect you in the event of housing prices depreciating.

Johnee

As other posters said, look at your CC schemes first - affordable housing, and the loan one.

If these dont work, be very careful about buying just for the sake of it. Interest rates are going to go up (I personally think quite considerably with US continuing to rise) so being able to stretch yourself to just about afford a 100% mortgage on a house miles from Dublin which you dont want to live in long-term is a bad idea.

Its very much a personal preference but at the moment in Dublin, you can rent a house for 60-70% of what it would cost to get a mortgage. Plus, with recent legislation, tenants have a lot more rights - the right to a four-year lease after 6 months for a start. So you can have security of tenure for some long-term planning too.

People will tell you its 'dead money', and that 'sure, you could be getting your own place with a bit more'.

Remember though, they're assuming you can afford somewhere you want to live (which is unlikely - you'll get a much nicer place for less rent), and that prices will keep going up.

Which, if they dont, will mean a lot of people stuck in houses they bought (as someone else here suggested) to raise the equity for a bigger house. You'll still be on your way to owning your own house but it will be one you dont want.

Mortgages can tie you to a horrible home for 30-40 years if everything goes wrong. Renting doesnt.

TempestSabre

anthony_086170 wrote:

all i can say is im 25 and earn €40,000 ....

What do you mate?

twanda

Beruthiel - do you know if all county councils offer this shared ownership scheme, or is it just Dublin County Council? thanks

Nevyn

They all do.
Ring the switch board for you local county council and ask to speak to someone about shared ownership.

chump

OP: plenty of options

Shared Ownership:
http://www.oasis.gov.ie/housing/buying_a_house_or_flat/shared_ownership.html

Low Cost Housing Site:
http://www.oasis.gov.ie/housing/buying_a_house_or_flat/low_cost_housing_sites.html

Affordable Housing Scheme:
http://www.oasis.gov.ie/housing/buying_a_house_or_flat/affordable_housing_scheme.html

The income test for Affordable Housing Scheme:The income test

* Single income household

If your gross income (before tax) in the last income tax year was 40,000 euro or less (effective January 2006), (previously the limit was 36,500 euro), you are eligible.

* Two income households

Multiply the gross income (before tax) of the higher earner in the last income tax year by 2.5 and add the gross income of the other earner in the last income tax year. If the answer is 100,000 or less (effective January 2006), (previously the limit was 92,000 euro), you are eligible.

cupsoftea

There are people considering moving country because they can't afford to live in Ireland. I think moving out of Dublin to somewhere else in Ireland is something worth considering for these people.
There are loads of places in Ireland where property is cheap, pints are cheap, traffic isn't chaos. I'm living in Dublin now and I love it, but i can't afford to go out 4 nights a week like i could in other places I used to live. Cork is less than an hour from beaches moutains etc, with fab restaurants, pubs, theatre , shops etc. Galway is so relaxed and compact. Limerick is modern and clean with really good value property. Smaller towns offer even better value for money.

Coney Island

I don't think house prices will go any higher. Maybe 10%, no more. Then they will get stable or maybe decrease. Or maybe an economic crisis could drop the house price of 50% in 10 years times....who knows! Don't assume that house price will go up forever though...

Manny7

Coney Island wrote:

I don't think house prices will go any higher. Maybe 10%, no more. Then they will get stable or maybe decrease. QUOTE]

Coney Island, there's no basis for this statement at all, people have been saying this for 10 years now and the market keeps going up. To rip off Greenspan, there's such irrational exuberance in the market that no-one knows where prices will go, they're not based on fundamentals anymore. They might go up 20% p.a. for the next 10 years, they might crash by 50% tomorrow, there's just no way of knowing.

Tim06

Manny7 wrote:

Coney Island wrote:

I don't think house prices will go any higher. Maybe 10%, no more. Then they will get stable or maybe decrease. QUOTE]

Coney Island, there's no basis for this statement at all, people have been saying this for 10 years now and the market keeps going up. To rip off Greenspan, there's such irrational exuberance in the market that no-one knows where prices will go, they're not based on fundamentals anymore. They might go up 20% p.a. for the next 10 years, they might crash by 50% tomorrow, there's just no way of knowing.

agreed, if people 'knew' that prices would go up 10% then stablise or decrease wouldn't it make far more sense to rent. fact is that nobody knows not even the supposed experts. its all just opinions and guesswork