Affordable Housing

Victor

Someone suggested doing an Affordable Housing stickey, so please add your condensed wisdom below.

Brooklyn74

If people want to read a blow-by-blow account of an affordable housing purchase, go here.

Madong

Agency set up to promote Affordable Housing

www.affordablehome.ie

+ booklet in Affordable Homes in Irleand

http://www.affordablehome.ie/home/index.aspx?id=346

Drapper

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002

Section 9

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2002/en/act/pub/0009/sec0009.html#partii-sec9

Stephen P

South Dublin County Council's Affordable Housing Site: www.propertypath.ie

Dublin City Council's Affordable Housing Page

Fingal County Council's Affordable Housing Page

Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Counil's Affordable Housing Page

Victor

stephen p wrote:

South Dublin County Council's Affordable Housing Site: www.propertypath.ie

Interesting. they have another page here SDCC Affordable Housing Initiative

Stephen P

Victor wrote:

Interesting. they have another page here SDCC Affordable Housing Initiative

Property Path deals with the "normal" Affordable Housing scheme. I got my affordable housing (apartment) through Property Path.

PS
Is this sticky a good place to write about experiences re Affordable Housing?

Victor

stephen p wrote:

Is this sticky a good place to write about experiences re Affordable Housing?

I would like to keep this quite condensed, if possible.

Mayo Exile

Each local authority seems to have differing criteria for applying the income threshold. I have been on Louth Co. Co. affordable housing list since May 2006 and was told about a month ago that for houses that the council directly supply themselves they have a threshold of €40,000, but for the Part V scheme (20% of private developments) they apply a "less rigorous" criteria. Anybody else experienced this?

Sandy2004

Ive found the affordable housing scheme just brilliant. The toughest part is dealing with the council with forms and updates etc. The rest is just plain sailing, i was on the list On a Tuesday, viewed Wednesday, Picked apt Thursday. Got contracts signed and got my keys. I moved in a week later. They looked after legal, insurance, mortgage relief etc.... all i had to do was to start paying my mortgage.

jdivision

Sandy, could you put up what local authority you were in just so people know

Kleptopink

Mmm! Guessing people with full-time employment have had good experiences. This scheme doesn't apply for artists. Was told to get 'a proper job' for a year and go back to them. Anyone else have similar experience?

mingleton

If you've an income from being an artist that would support a mortgage, they can't refuse you a place on the list. I'm an arts practitioner on the Fingal Affordable Housing list. They made it difficult for me, but they seem to make it difficult for everyone. It's just another version of being self-employed, really. If your income for 2006 was very low, they won't let you on the list. There's no stated minimum income level though, so I don't know how low it would have to be.

Victor

mingleton wrote:

If your income for 2006 was very low, they won't let you on the list. There's no stated minimum income level though, so I don't know how low it would have to be.

You have to be able to afford the property after all.

I imagine there are some people with good savings with lower incomes that might get on the list ahead of people with no savings on higher earnings.

Moonbeam

Article from the sunday business psot about the affordable housing schemes -

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=COVER+STORY-qqqs=property-qqqid=25240-qqqx=1.asp

Pythia

Does the income threshold apply to a person of any age?
Because obviously a person who earns 25k a year and is 35 years old is worse off than a 25 year old who earns the same income.
Do you have to be a certain age to qualify?

jdivision

I think if you're older than 45 it might have an impact because you'd be retired before paying off the mortgage. Otherwise it wouldn't be a problem.

june28

I was told by FCC today that they offer 20 year mortgages if an applicant is of a certain age but that the applicant would be expected to have a considerable deposit. I thought all they offered was a 25 year mortgage so this is a bit of a relief for me. Now if I could just get them to approve my application after 8 months of waiting!

dashwood

I'm buying a two bedroom apartment through the affordable housing initiative with Fingal. I've just had a snag list done and faxed it into the affordable home partnership, however I've been told that we have to wait until the other people buying in the estate get their snag list into them before they will start on ours, (and we are the first people to send one in). Has anyone had any experience of this? I find it ridiculous that i have to wait for 19 other people to organise themselves to send in a snag.

jdivision

Easier for the builder to do it all on one. Relax, there's usually a few weeks wait for it to be done. Then you'll have to check everything was done (and it won't have been) and then you'll have to get them to do the stuff they "forgot" and redo the stuff they botched.

ixoy

Couple of my own questions:

1. There's a maximum mortgage of 185k listed on the Fingal CoCo Affordable house. The houses in Baldoyle, for example, are listed as 250-280k, a difference of nearly 100k.
Does this difference have to be made up solely as deposit or can it be supplemented by drawing on a mortgage from a bank for that amount? Seems a bit difficult to have 100k if you're on the affordable housing scheme.

2. If there was a couple, who between them earned more than the 100k limit, could one person put themselves down for affordable housing and then the other one pay them once the house is secured? Is the only legal ramification that they're not legally entitled to the house and that the other half of the couple is effectively a renter?

Drapper

dashwood wrote:

I'm buying a two bedroom apartment through the affordable housing initiative with Fingal. I've just had a snag list done and faxed it into the affordable home partnership, however I've been told that we have to wait until the other people buying in the estate get their snag list into them before they will start on ours, (and we are the first people to send one in). Has anyone had any experience of this? I find it ridiculous that i have to wait for 19 other people to organise themselves to send in a snag.

good luck with the closing on Monday, the snags were done quicker than you think ;-)

or was it your post was not was realyed to you ?

Drapper

ixoy wrote:

Couple of my own questions:

1. There's a maximum mortgage of 185k listed on the Fingal CoCo Affordable house. The houses in Baldoyle, for example, are listed as 250-280k, a difference of nearly 100k.
Does this difference have to be made up solely as deposit or can it be supplemented by drawing on a mortgage from a bank for that amount? Seems a bit difficult to have 100k if you're on the affordable housing scheme.

2. If there was a couple, who between them earned more than the 100k limit, could one person put themselves down for affordable housing and then the other one pay them once the house is secured? Is the only legal ramification that they're not legally entitled to the house and that the other half of the couple is effectively a renter?

Call Fingal and ask, you'd get a direct answer than here on a public forum.

seahorse

Sorry I cant answer your questions Ixoy, as I havent got a clue, but I was wondering if you could tell me where do you get a hold of the price listings for individual developments? Do you have a link you could post here for me? Thanks.

jdivision

ixoy wrote:

Couple of my own questions:

1. There's a maximum mortgage of 185k listed on the Fingal CoCo Affordable house. The houses in Baldoyle, for example, are listed as 250-280k, a difference of nearly 100k.
Does this difference have to be made up solely as deposit or can it be supplemented by drawing on a mortgage from a bank for that amount? Seems a bit difficult to have 100k if you're on the affordable housing scheme.

2. If there was a couple, who between them earned more than the 100k limit, could one person put themselves down for affordable housing and then the other one pay them once the house is secured? Is the only legal ramification that they're not legally entitled to the house and that the other half of the couple is effectively a renter?

ixoy, it depends on the scheme. The ones in Baldoyle are probably available under the affordable housing initiative where income limit is 55k plus. You would only be able to get one mortgage for the house - it can't be supplemented through another mortgage. You wouldn't get one anyway if your maximum mortgage limit was e185k (meaning as a single person your income is less than e37k pa), it'd be too much of a risk for a bank
2. There would have to be a legal agreement and rental agreement stating that the money being paid by the partner was rent and was not towards the mortgage. Although I don't know for sure legally I would presume that if you tried to put somebody else's name on the deeds after the contract to purchase was signed that it would effectively become a sale of the house and the clawback would be enforced.

I should add that there would also be implications for this. 1. If you charged the partner/renter more than the amount allowed under the rent a room scheme you would be liable for Vat. Secondly, because your partner didn't own half the house you'd be unable to claim a second portion of mortgage interest relief.

If your joint incomes as a couple exceed the limit for Fingal check out the affordable homes initiative which has literally thousands of houses planned in Dublin.

Victor

jdivision wrote:

I should add that there would also be implications for this. 1. If you charged the partner/renter more than the amount allowed under the rent a room scheme you would be liable for Vat.

Surely income tax, not VAT. Very few property-type transactions attact VAT (primarily ones involving an improvement to a property).

Sandy2004

Fingal CC...

Deposit + Forms + Proven Monthly Saving + Updates = Your Own Home!

Cantab.

Sandy2004 wrote:

Fingal CC...

Deposit + Forms + Proven Monthly Saving + Updates = Your Own Home!

Bank owns your pay-check.

Ideo

Victor wrote: »

Surely income tax, not VAT. Very few property-type transactions attact VAT (primarily ones involving an improvement to a property).

You are right Victor. Bear in mind that if you charge more than 7620 a year in rent, then your liable to pay income tax on the full amount. i.e.

< or = to 7620: No income tax
> 7620, (7800 for example): whole amount is liable

Mrs_Doyle

Hey Guys, I called the DCC Affordable housing people and they tell me the draw is due to take place on Monday, as in TOMORROW!!!! So Good Luck everyone!

WATPOAE

Mrs_Doyle wrote: »

Hey Guys, I called the DCC Affordable housing people and they tell me the draw is due to take place on Monday, as in TOMORROW!!!! So Good Luck everyone!

****! I was actually going to post a question asking if anyone knew when the date of the next draw was. Here's hoping I get real lucky!

Cheers for the info.