Fingal Affordable housing

macy10

Got confirmation of provisional approval for loan of 140k from Fingal co co. Does anyone know if this is a normal amount to be approved for as I can't imagine being offered a place based on that amount. Also does anyone know what the wait time is like these days??? Thanks..

Chardee MacDennis

how long were you waiting to get the approval?

warrenaldo

dunno how long the wait is in fingal - but ye 140k is not great. altho this is only provisional. lets assume wait is a year. well in a year when they offer you a place the will re-eval your finances and if you have got raises etc ec they will offer you more than 140k.

also - some places on teh affordable go for as little as 160k.

my advice would be to save save save. so if they offer you a place for over140k that you can put savings to it. or get a loan of parents.

macy10

Thanks warren. Was thinking it wasn't that much alright to even get a 1 bed, but if they review your position when they make an offer then you might have a chance of getting more. If you do qualify to get more of a loan later on will they then offer you apts/houses of greater monetary value or still the cheaper ones??

macy10

I applied in early October and got approval in early January

jdivision

A couple of years ago they were offering one-beds in Lusk for e110k. The most expensive I saw at the time was e160k for a three-bed in Balbriggan so you should have a few options.

johnjay

has anyone heard of anyone being offered a property in Fingal recently? I have been approved since Sept, havent heard anything since. I know its a bit soon, but I havent heard of anyone else been offered anything either...

dublin15

Hi Johnjay

Just sent you a PM!:)

Moonbeam

140k was enough for a 2 bedroom in Lucan a few months back so if you look around you should find something nice:)

macy10

johnjay wrote:

has anyone heard of anyone being offered a property in Fingal recently? I have been approved since Sept, havent heard anything since. I know its a bit soon, but I havent heard of anyone else been offered anything either...

Hearing varying stories on offers and times between approval and offers so it's very difficult to see a pattern with how they eork their system. E.g. 1 thread read that s/he received an offer within 2 weeks of approval!! So just keep up the patience. Q: When did u first apply and how much were u approved for? (know that's personal but if u could PM me that would be great. Can't see me being offered too much based on my approval..) Thanks

johnjay

I was approved for 145k but was told that this was just a provisional figure, and it will be reviewed again when/if I am offered a property. I guess peoples incomes change as time goes by (payrises, more savings, etc) so in the length of time you are on their list, you may be able to pay back more/less of a mortgage then when you were first approved. Of course the current interest rate will also effect the size of a loan you can repay...

Charlies Angel

I got provisionally approved for 140k but when went for final loan approval they thinking of giving me 165k,...not definite yet..should know next week...fingers x

CherieAmour

Charlies Angel wrote:

I got provisionally approved for 140k but when went for final loan approval they thinking of giving me 165k,...not definite yet..should know next week...fingers x

that's cool! what is the final approval interview like? did they tell you they would let you know a week after interview if you were approved?

Charlies Angel

It was fine really....pretty similar to the interview for provisional loan approval..once all your paperwork is in order should be ok..be sure and save as much as you can for deposit...I gave my booking deposit on tues ..they said they will be back to me within a week to 10 days to let me know but staff said she doesnt see a problem..so hopefully not!

johnjay

HI C.A.
Do you mind us asking how long you were waiting to be offered a place? What sort of place are you getting for €165k?

Charlies Angel

Not at all. 3 bed hse in balbriggan..its 174k - 9k deposit..i was provisionally approved on 3rd aug..wont be long now for you JJ I reckon. have you been offered anything yet? where or what are you interested in?

johnjay

Charlies Angel wrote:

Not at all. 3 bed hse in balbriggan..its 174k - 9k deposit..i was provisionally approved on 3rd aug..wont be long now for you JJ I reckon. have you been offered anything yet? where or what are you interested in?

I'm looking for somewhere closer to town, so I guess I'll be waiting a while longer. No, I have had no offers yet. From what I hear the waiting list is about 800 now, so I guess I'll be waiting a good while.

CherieAmour

Thanks CA. Good luck with the approval!

I think the closer you get to town the dearer the property, also, it's most likely apartments from what I hear unless you are willing to move out Balbriggan direction. 140 seems to be a provisional amount and then when you go to final approval, the council decides how much you should get based on the cost of the property in relation to your earnings. Dont forget about the Shared Ownership option in the case of where you cant make up the shortfall!

Charlies Angel

Still waiting for it! hope they tell my by the weekend...dont think i can hack all this waiting! I suppose i am lucky to be this far on.
Thats right, i had no interest in apartments and was happy to go out that far as it suits me personally...
But you never know..hopefully something will come your way shortly enough...keep us posted..

macy10

Hey C.A,
Congratulations on your new house. That's great to have all sorted so soon. Just a quick Q. You said u were provisionally approved for 140k, but now 165k, your deposit was 9k and the house is costing 174k...so does that mean that u had to have that 9k for the council full stop, or will there be many other hidden extras before you purchase. Does that take into account furniture and fittings etc..?

CherieAmour

macy10 wrote:

Hey C.A,
Congratulations on your new house. That's great to have all sorted so soon. Just a quick Q. You said u were provisionally approved for 140k, but now 165k, your deposit was 9k and the house is costing 174k...so does that mean that u had to have that 9k for the council full stop, or will there be many other hidden extras before you purchase. Does that take into account furniture and fittings etc..?

All you are buying is an empty house, I think you get kitchen units, toilet (obviousyl:D ) and a bath out but that's it. It's up to you to furnish it.

The breakdown that CA gave just means that the council were willing to approve her for 165 - they will only give you a loan for up to 95% of the property and you have to come up with the rest yourself. In her case, she has to raise 9,000 to bring her up to 174k.

If you can raise the funds, you take the Affordable Option. If you dont have 9000 you can ask the Council if they will consider you for Shared Ownership, that's where you rent the 9000 off them but the house isn't totally yours.

There are no hidden extras as far as I can gather from what I've heard, but you do have to sort out your own house insurance and snag and you will pay for those yourself.

Charlies Angel

yes, thats right..you get kitchen units and bathroom but thats it... the place is painted throughout aswell.

Yes normally they ask for 5% of the price as a deposit..so in my case €8700 so 9k...So my mortgage will be 163k - they may ask for more of a deposit if your monthly repayable exceeds 35% of your net pay...

Save save save, thats my advice..the more savings you have, the better position you are in when it comes to an offer...you wont have the stress of looking for extra money etc etc..the waiting is stressful enough!

Charlies Angel

Final loan approval got today..snagging on this thurs..happy dayz!

CherieAmour

Congrats CA!!!!!

Who are you getting to snag your new home???

Also, are you planning on being there when it is carried out?

johnjay

I sent Fingal an email a while back to ask them if they could tell me whereabouts I was on their list, I got the following reply today (in other words, dont call us, we'll call you...)

"I refer to your e-mail regarding the above and wish to advise that it is Fingal County Council’s policy, when properties become available, to offer an applicant an opportunity to view the property strictly in accordance with their placing on the list and also having regard to our lending terms and conditions. Therefore, if properties become available and you fall within the offer zone and meet our lending terms and conditions, you will be contacted with regard to viewing the property."

Posy

Wow. They are so good about passing on information! I recall I was 'in the top third' for about 7 months any time I asked them. :rolleyes:
The only way you'll find out where exactly you are on the list is to (a) put a gun to their head and insist they tell you; <no guarantees they will, though> or (b) wait till you're viewing a house. Each fingal representitive will have a clipboard with everyones name on it. Basically just peer over their shoulder and you'll see you're place on the list written before your name. However, considering the dismal amount of houses being offered at the moment, option (b) could take a while!

CherieAmour

I know it's frustrating, but I think the best thing anyone on any council list can do is to sit tight and trust that you will get a call when it's your time. You are only likely to get annoyed and upset thinking about it when there is nothing you can do about it.

Ringing and asking them questions like where you are on the list and what is coming up is invariably fruitless (though tempting!!!) because it sounds like they must get 1000s of calls and have decided to take the tack of not giving out information full stop.

You wont learn anything new by calling them and you'll just end up disappointed. If there is a property for you and you are in the right place on the list you'll get a letter.

Try to forget about it (though I know this is very hard!!!!!!:) ) and it will be a nice surprise when you do get called.

Best of luck everybody that is waiting, and just remember that the Government is ploughing money into this this year so hopefully there wont be long to wait

Charlies Angel

Thanks Cherieamour. I am having 2 snaggers in ( a relative and a friend!! - they owe me a favour) to do snag so will be there when it takes place as i want to get measuring etc for tiles, curtains, sofa etc.

To everyone thats still waiting, the key is to sit tight..i used to ring about once a month but everytime i phoned i got vague answers, some positive some negative, depending on who answers the phone. thing is, they are mad busy in there and the more time they spend answering our calls, the less time they spend getting other stuff done, like arranging viewings!

I feel the councils are all under tremendous pressure to allocate as many as they can, coming up to election. Anyone try talking to your local representative? Mightnt work but at least you feel you are doing something...

Also the more you sit tight the more you will have saved, you will need every cent so look at it like that...dont lose heart, your time will come

CherieAmour

How did the snag go CA?

Charlies Angel

Very well. List is very short indeed. houses very well finished indeed. Happy dayz

CherieAmour

That's great news! Hopefully it won't take them too long to fix the items on the list and you can get closer to the all important day when the place is all yours!:D

macy10

hey Cherie Amour,
When were you provisionally approved and have you gotten your house/apt. yet??

CherieAmour

Provisional Approval August 2006
Got place and Final Approval January 2007
Buying now!!!!!!!!!!

johnjay

Congrats Cherie

Were you on a "local list"? I too was approved at the end of August, but I dont live in Fingal

SuzyS1972

Same as me John Jay - approved end of August but haven't heard a sausage apart from one letter that I reckon went to everyone for the houses in Flemington - I didn't even get to view there were so many people before me.

Getting disheartened now

Charlies Angel

Dont lose heart, when i viewed flemington i was put on a cancellation list...was only called up then cos about 10 people who had reserved ended up cancelling due to finances not being in order/changing their minds etc so thats the only reason I ended up getting one..I was not on a local list. I was approved at beginning of August, so it wont be long now suzy and John jay...if you are not fussy as to where you live, you should get an offer any day now..

jgoodman05

Congrats CherieAmour,

Not sure if this is the correct thread , but have final loan for apartment in Citygate - through Fingal- in a few days and am wondering about the following .

*What do I have to sign for at final interview , can I take the details home with me and make a decision there and return ?

*When do you get the keys?

*Do I need to get a Surveyor/ Surveyors report?

*Would you reccomend getting someone to do a snag list / do surveyors do snag lists/ or to do it yourself?

*Does anyone who has bought in Citygate through the scheme know what builder / foreman I will be handing my snaglist to and if so whats he like ?
*I'm my very short viewing, I noticed that the floors were not solid and made from some sort of composite cement board, how does this affect sound levels? (Is it within building regs)

Any info much appreciated , Cheers.

CherieAmour

Thanks! Well done on getting to the final interview stage!!

*What do I have to sign for at final interview , can I take the details home with me and make a decision there and return ?

You bring all of the requested documentation with you including your booking deposit. The person will probably discuss with you what they are prepared to loan you and go through the repayments based on the different mortgage periods and rates. The only decisions you have to make are whether or not you are going to engage your own solicitor or use theirs, if you are going for a 25 or 30 year mortgage and if you want to pay your loan at a fixed or variable rate. All of those decisions are up to you and it would be good for you to have thought about all 3 before you go. There is nothing that you should need to take home with you to be honest, but if there's anything you don't feel comfortable about, don't hesitate to query it!!!!!!!!!!!

*When do you get the keys?

*Would you reccomend getting someone to do a snag list / do surveyors do snag lists/ or to do it yourself?

*Do I need to get a Surveyor/ Surveyors report?

You must wait to get the call telling you that you have been approved (they'll tell you when you are likely to hear). Then you must arrange a snag on the property. I don't like to make recommendations to people because I'd worry that I was leading them in the wrong direction. It is up to you to engage someone or, if you feel confident enough, do it yourself. I know I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it myself in case I missed anything serious. There are plenty of threads on here about snags, the do's and dont's and who is good and who isn't, and plenty of info on the net so have a browse.
You don't get the keys until everything is fixed up and you have signed your contracts.

*Does anyone who has bought in Citygate through the scheme know what builder / foreman I will be handing my snaglist to and if so whats he like ?

I don't know anything about Citygate but I do know that it is Fingal who you will be handing the list back to.

Best of luck.

jgoodman05

Thanks Cherie, thats a great help, hope it all doesn't take too long, I'm not great at waiting!

macy10

Hey Guys,
Do any of you know where Fingal are offering properties these days?? and what are their available properties for the near future? Would like an idea of where's being offered so that when the time eventually comes i'll have an idea of where these places are...
Thanks.

jgoodman05

Hello macy10,

As far as I know the upcoming properties this year are gorsehill /holywell- swords, roncalli- sutton, and balrothery, also maybe beside pobail scoil neassain in baldoyle , call them and ask , also ceck ou the housing construction page on their site, hope this helps

johnjay

jgoodman05 wrote:

Hello macy10,

As far as I know the upcoming properties this year are gorsehill /holywell- swords, roncalli- sutton, and balrothery, also maybe beside pobail scoil neassain in baldoyle , call them and ask , also ceck ou the housing construction page on their site, hope this helps

Ive heard Forest Road in Swords also mentioned, Fingal are constructing their own development for social/affordable housing.

Fingal's construction page is a bit out of date, it talks about properties for sale in 2004.
http://www.fingalcoco.ie/LivingInFingal/Housing/HousingConstruction/

macy10

Thanks guys,
That's a great help. Their website lists a few places but these units were posted up in 2005 as far as I remember on the site and kinda afraid to ring them about anything after reading all the negative comments about their willingness to provide you with any other information than just be patient and wait your turn!! Also another Q.. say if you got a 2 bed unit or more do they allow you to rent this out to pay off mortgage??

Thanks again:D

johnjay

macy10 wrote:

Thanks guys,
That's a great help. Their website lists a few places but these units were posted up in 2005 as far as I remember on the site and kinda afraid to ring them about anything after reading all the negative comments about their willingness to provide you with any other information than just be patient and wait your turn!! Also another Q.. say if you got a 2 bed unit or more do they allow you to rent this out to pay off mortgage??

Thanks again:D

The page is out of date, but at the same time I dont think those properties have been allocated yet (I dont know if they have even been built)

As for the rent-a-room - I dont know the answer to that. Some councils say yes, some say no. Some officials in councils say yes, while their colleagues say no. All I know is that the governments "rent a room scheme" (where you are allowed to rent out a room tax-free as long as its under cir. €650 pm), is just between you and the Revenue - so there is an element of "sure how will they find out" about it......

I meant to ask about Rent-a-Room during my interview, but I forgot. I'll try to slip it in to my Final Approval interview - if/when I get called for one!

Moonbeam

I noticed someone in Dun Saithne has already put their house up for sale -

http://myhome.ie/search/property.asp?id=307015&np=&rt=search&searchlist=

Might give people an idea about what one of the affordable homes is like.

Posy

During my interview, I was told an extra room is mine to do what I want with. If I want to rent it out (which I don't actually!) I'm free to, according to the lady in Fingal.

johnjay

Karyn wrote:

During my interview, I was told an extra room is mine to do what I want with. If I want to rent it out (which I don't actually!) I'm free to, according to the lady in Fingal.

Nice to hear, Karyn - its always nice to have the option!

Cantab.

Moonbeam wrote:

I noticed someone in Dun Saithne has already put their house up for sale -

http://myhome.ie/search/property.asp?id=307015&np=&rt=search&searchlist=

Might give people an idea about what one of the affordable homes is like.

Perhaps the owner discovered their estate was ear-marked for affordable housing?

Nermal

Moonbeam wrote:

I noticed someone in Dun Saithne has already put their house up for sale -

http://myhome.ie/search/property.asp?id=307015&np=&rt=search&searchlist=

Might give people an idea about what one of the affordable homes is like.

The view of the front is making me seasick. Who thought that one horizontal and one vertical window would look good? I'd get seriously tired of my house squinting at me.

Cantab.

Nermal wrote:

The view of the front is making me seasick. Who thought that one horizontal and one vertical window would look good? I'd get seriously tired of my house squinting at me.

http://www.basichomes.com/ should do the trick.

This looks nice.

Who needs a bleedin' architect anyways - all ye need to do is put the winda' in sideways missus.

ward_dodgy_builders.jpg

SuzyS1972

Cantab. wrote:

Perhaps the owner discovered their estate was ear-marked for affordable housing?

No the whole estate is afforable housing - none of it is private