Am I crazy to buy a house now?

Madame Razz

Is it crazy to even consider buying a house now??

punchestown

stone raving bonkers. buy now burn 20% straight away.

Madame Razz

am I stark raving bonkers to sell now then??

If i'm being given my asking price??

ntlbell

If you can afford to buy a house now and don't plan on moving for the next few years then buy one.

If you want to sell your home and are not happy with what the current market think it's worth and you don't need to sell then don't if your happy with what the market is offering then sell.

Strangers can't really answer it for you, but it's fairly straight forward to work out.

Madame Razz

Bloody confusing tho.

Im happy with what im getting for my own, and am upgrading; but i dont want to buy now and be stung badly in a year or two when the prices crash even more.

Its a great house but my own is in a way better area for selling renting, even though the house is nowhere near as nice.

ntlbell

manukahoney wrote: »

Bloody confusing tho.

Im happy with what im getting for my own, and am upgrading; but i dont want to buy now and be stung badly in a year or two when the prices crash even more.

Its a great house but my own is in a way better area for selling renting, even though the house is nowhere near as nice.

If you're not selling the house you "upgrade" to in the next few years what difference does it make what prices they crash to?

You could also take the asking price deposit the cash into a high interest account rent and wait for the "crash" to end and buy in as close to the bottom as you can

it really boils down to your personal preference at the end of the day and what you can afford to do, only you know the answer to that

Doop

You're upgrading so it doesnt affect you as much as it does first time buyers.

Your house has gone down in value say 15%
The house your buying has gone down in value the same amount..

Everyones a winner... or loser depending on your take of the situation!

drunkmonkey

ntlbell wrote: »

take the asking price deposit the cash into a high interest account rent and wait for the "crash" to end and buy in as close to the bottom as you can

That sounds like very good advice, If someone is willing to give you asking price at the moment, take it, don't hesitate. Have they the finance secured?

Madame Razz

Yes, my house was on the market only two months, but luckily i have found the right buyer who has cash at the ready.

Well and good depositing the money in a high interest account but I could only do this for a year as the Revenue only allow a window of a year between selling your actuall home and moving into a new one.

And they'd probably catch me on the interest i would earn anyway.... im sure they dont make it that easy!!

Sarn

manukahoney wrote: »

Well and good depositing the money in a high interest account but I could only do this for a year as the Revenue only allow a window of a year between selling your actuall home and moving into a new one.

I don't quite follow. Is this because you lose mortgage interest relief? or is this not your PPR and there might be some kind of clawback. I would think that you're perfectly entitled to hold onto your money and do with it as you like without the government forcing you to buy another house.

manukahoney wrote: »

And they'd probably catch me on the interest i would earn anyway.... im sure they dont make it that easy!!

How would they catch you on the interest? It's all legit money with a paper trail so you're perfectly entitled to earn interest on it.

Madame Razz

yesw, you do not pay capital gains if you sell your home, as long as it is your intention to buy another home.

The revenue allow you a year after selling to do this, otherwise you will face capital gains tax. So i could only deposit the money in an account for a year.

and as for the interest, im not sure, but i do not think they would allow you to profit from the sale of your home in the form of interest in the interim period between selling and buying another one, esp over a period of a year.

At least I coouldn't see them allowing it anyways!!

Sarn

manukahoney wrote: »

yesw, you do not pay capital gains if you sell your home, as long as it is your intention to buy another home.

The revenue allow you a year after selling to do this, otherwise you will face capital gains tax.

I don't think that's the case. I've searched around and I can't find any mention of having to reinvest after one year (maybe CIF could get it enforced :P).

From revenue.ie

If I sell my house will I have to pay Capital Gains Tax?

No. If the house (including grounds of up to one acre) has been occupied as your sole or main residence throughout your period of ownership you will be exempt from capital gains tax on the sale.

As far as I know you must sell your house within one year of vacating it to be exempt from CGT, otherwise it wouldn't be classed as your PPR.

Madame Razz

Well, thats what my accountant told me, maybe shes barking!!

Not an issue for moi anymore as i have accepted the offer on my own home and made an offer which has been accepted on the house i wanted to buy...

/so fingers crossed its full steam ahead and all goes to plan!!

maybe im insane but im happy with the price i got the new house at and what i paid for my own was reasonable...really looking forward to the move!!!

dr.bollocko

The housing market is still a local one as well as a national one. Some areas will price hold better than others. It seems obvious to point this out, but when you think about what buyers actually want you can see which areas will tend to hold their prices.
Furthermore there are a tonne of analysts right now waiting to find this magical bottoming out of the market and most of them will predict it incorrectly. It is still a situation where a fair price now is the right price if you are planning on keeping onto the house for a few years.

Madame Razz

well, i think i will keep it for a few years.

Its a 4 bed detached, 4 baths,just over 1600sq ft, so big enough to be a family home if needs be.


Fingers crossed all goes ok!!!