First Time Buyer in Dublin

Eglinton

Myself and my girlfriend are just beginning to think about buying our first place in Dublin. We rent just south of the city centre at the moment so obviously buying here is out of the question really. I'm looking for advice on where would be the best locations to start researching.

I work in Sandyford and she works in the city centre near O'Connell St. so I suppose we're limited to South/West Dublin.

I drive to work but I don't want to have a long commute (40 mins max one way)

Budget is anywhere between 320 and 450K (Good quality 3 bed house with reasonable size garden, safe area). I don't know a lot about most areas outside of the city centre. (Commuting times, bus/train routes, amenities etc.) so any advice would be welcome.

My initial thought was Lucan but I've heard nightmare stories of the commute to the city centre from the housing estates. House sizes and prices are appealing though.

Any thoughts fello boardsies?

Mr. Presentable

Tallaght. She can Luas, you can drive.

Eglinton

nipplenuts wrote: »

Tallaght. She can Luas, you can drive.

I said safe! But seriously, it has crossed my mind. I know nothing about the area so any myth busting of what I hear would be appreciated.

jaffa20

The Kingswood area in Tallaght is not bad and has a luas stop. Other than that. Anywhere along the Green luas line. I rent in Sandyford and it's quite nice but there are more apartments than houses. How about dundrum, Rathmines, Rathfarnam etc...

Climate Expert

Lucan is a scum hole along with most of West Dublin. I'd spend my money renting a nicer place closer to your job.

Look what 2500 will get you in Castleknock if you rent.

www.daft.ie/2571593

CiaranC

Kingswood/Belgard if you are looking in Tallaght. Both are nice and have Luas stops. Wait a while and you might even be able to afford them.

sparkyjo

i am not from dublin and i was the same as you last year when i went to buy and i was getting advise from people like this telling me were to buy and my budget was around the same but in the end after lookin at firhouse and surrounding areas and belgard areas a friend of mine told me to have a look at tymon north and glenview area and in the end i bought a lovely little 3 bed with a conservatory and decend back garden in a quiet cul da sac up the back of tymon north and i work over near sandyford i ended up getting the house for 340k 100k cheaper than i wanted to pay and it only takes me 15 minute to sandyford every morning and my girlfriend get s the bus to near town every morning the bus servise here is very good.

oh and there has never once been any trouble around here in this year.

and by the way i was renting in kingswood before here and i didn't like it as i found it very noisy

but really it dosen't matter within reason were you buy you may be lucky or unlucky good and bad parts of dublin have bad elements no matter what anyone says

and that guy telling you to rent a place you 2500 euro well i can tell he'll be 65 years old and still own nothing

Climate Expert

sparkyjo wrote: »

and that guy telling you to rent a place you 2500 euro well i can tell he'll be 65 years old and still own nothing

I'll be living in nicer houses than you though till then

GeturGun

sparkyjo wrote: »

i am not from dublin and i was the same as you last year when i went to buy and i was getting advise from people like this telling me were to buy and my budget was around the same but in the end after lookin at firhouse and surrounding areas and belgard areas a friend of mine told me to have a look at tymon north and glenview area and in the end i bought a lovely little 3 bed with a conservatory and decend back garden in a quiet cul da sac up the back of tymon north and i work over near sandyford i ended up getting the house for 340k 100k cheaper than i wanted to pay and it only takes me 15 minute to sandyford every morning and my girlfriend get s the bus to near town every morning the bus servise here is very good.

oh and there has never once been any trouble around here in this year.

and by the way i was renting in kingswood before here and i didn't like it as i found it very noisy

but really it dosen't matter within reason were you buy you may be lucky or unlucky good and bad parts of dublin have bad elements no matter what anyone says

and that guy telling you to rent a place you 2500 euro well i can tell he'll be 65 years old and still own nothing

Great advice there. I bought a place in Tallaght 15 months ago, cos it was affordable, near enough to work and near enough to where I'm from. My mam used to laugh at me saying she thought I'd never buy in Tallaght but there's absoutely nowt wrong with where I'm living (near the village) It's handy enough for Sandyford (a lot handier than Castleknock anyway :P) and the bus/Luas into town.

sparkyjo

Climate Expert wrote: »

I'll be living in nicer houses than you though till then

i dont think so i also bought a holiday home in the carlow area this is a gorgouse 3 bad bungulow that i stay in half the week

Climate Expert

sparkyjo wrote: »

i dont think so i also bought a holiday home in the carlow area this is a gorgouse 3 bad bungulow that i stay in half the week

You live in Carlow for half the week though...

sparkyjo

yeah but the fact is i don't have to and i owned it

mikemac

Climate Expert wrote: »

Lucan is a scum hole along with most of West Dublin.

I though Lucan was supposed to be a nice area. Only been there once, the place is a maze of estates.

But didn't Liam Lawlor try to get part of it renamed as Lucan instead of Clondalkin by An Post? So it's clearly one of the better areas in West Dublin, no?

I suppose it's just such a huge area you'd have many different parts

Glenbhoy

sparkyjo wrote: »

i ended up getting the house for 340k 100k cheaper than i wanted to pay and it only takes me 15 minute to sandyford every morning and my girlfriend get s the bus to near town every morning the bus servise here is very good.

And did it manage to buck the national trend and hold its value since you bought it?

astrofool

You could try Cabinteely (close to Sandyford, plenty of buses to town), Shankill, Killiney, Dun Laoighaire, possibly Bray (all on the Dart with Shankill and Bray being on the Luas soon). Also, Cherrywood will be on the Luas next year, and Sandyford prices have been dropping a lot, look for Glencairn, Sandyford Hall, Mount Eagle.

Whats your budget and time frame? Do you have to buy, or can you rent till prices stabilise?

Eglinton

jaffa20 wrote: »

The Kingswood area in Tallaght is not bad and has a luas stop. Other than that. Anywhere along the Green luas line. I rent in Sandyford and it's quite nice but there are more apartments than houses. How about dundrum, Rathmines, Rathfarnam etc...

I think I'm leaning more towards a house. Apartments are fine for renting but when I'm spending so much money, I'd really like a bit more space and garden. There's not much neighbourly feel to an apartment block. I'd love to buy somewhere on the green line (live there at the mo) but houses there just aren't first time buyer friendly. same goes for Rathfarnham and Rathmines. I'd don't think Rathfarnham is the greatest spot for commuting to the city centre though?

CiaranC wrote: »

Kingswood/Belgard if you are looking in Tallaght. Both are nice and have Luas stops. Wait a while and you might even be able to afford them.

I'll have to check them out. Are they apartments or houses. I must take a spin around Tallaght and get my bearings.

sparkyjo wrote: »

i am not from dublin and i was the same as you last year when i went to buy and i was getting advise from people like this telling me were to buy and my budget was around the same but in the end after lookin at firhouse and surrounding areas and belgard areas a friend of mine told me to have a look at tymon north and glenview area and in the end i bought a lovely little 3 bed with a conservatory and decend back garden in a quiet cul da sac up the back of tymon north and i work over near sandyford i ended up getting the house for 340k 100k cheaper than i wanted to pay and it only takes me 15 minute to sandyford every morning and my girlfriend get s the bus to near town every morning the bus servise here is very good.

oh and there has never once been any trouble around here in this year.

and by the way i was renting in kingswood before here and i didn't like it as i found it very noisy

but really it dosen't matter within reason were you buy you may be lucky or unlucky good and bad parts of dublin have bad elements no matter what anyone says

That's not a bad price. I guess it's hit and miss anywhere you buy. Tallaght is the ideal location given the circumstances. It's just a question of whether the area is right for us. The thing with Tallaght is that because so many people have bought quite expensive houses/apartments there, the demographic may be changing a lot. How is it for amenities? Schools etc.? I've heard Ballycullen is nice. Is that nearby?

micmclo wrote: »

I though Lucan was supposed to be a nice area. Only been there once, the place is a maze of estates.

But didn't Liam Lawlor try to get part of it renamed as Lucan instead of Clondalkin by An Post? So it's clearly one of the better areas in West Dublin, no?

I suppose it's just such a huge area you'd have many different parts

Lucan seems to have a mix of good and bad. I wouldn't mind knowing what are the good areas and what are the bad. Although the prices are sometimes a good indicator!

astrofool wrote: »

You could try Cabinteely (close to Sandyford, plenty of buses to town), Shankill, Killiney, Dun Laoighaire, possibly Bray (all on the Dart with Shankill and Bray being on the Luas soon). Also, Cherrywood will be on the Luas next year, and Sandyford prices have been dropping a lot, look for Glencairn, Sandyford Hall, Mount Eagle.

Whats your budget and time frame? Do you have to buy, or can you rent till prices stabilise?

Budget is anywhere up to 450K at the very top end. Lower the better though! I'd say 18 months time would be my target. Definitely waiting for things to settle down. Don't want to get screwed over and I want to make a very informed decision.

Moonbeam

The Tallaght and Sandyford Luas are completely different luas lines.

Mr. Presentable

Eglinton wrote: »

I said safe! But seriously, it has crossed my mind. I know nothing about the area so any myth busting of what I hear would be appreciated.

Tallaght.
There are provincial and county towns in Ireland smaller than Tallaght. If I recall correctly, there are as many people in Tallaght as in Limerick! So, like any other big town, there are good and bad areas. Yes, some very notorious place names are in Tallaght - Jobstown, Killinarden, etc - but even these areas are not all bad.

Look, I'm not trying to sell Tallaght - I'm from Templeogue myself - but I think it's a better place than painted and might be the solution for you. Inchicore may be another option, but to get to Sandyford you'd need to leave a little more time, I think.

astrofool

Here's an example of what you can buy right now in South Dublin (and in 18 months time you'll be looking at a rung higher):

3 bed bungalow Shankill
http://www.myhome.ie/residential/search/brochure/55-new-vale-shankill-dublin-co&-city/ALCCY370289

3 bed semi-d Sandyford (beside new Luas stop, built by Park Developments)
http://www.myhome.ie/residential/search/brochure/12-glencairn-dale-leopardstown-dublin-co&-city/AAXAL362133

3 bed semi-d Sandyford (older than the house above, generally cheaper, established estate)
http://www.myhome.ie/residential/search/brochure/71-mount-eagle-drive-leopardstown-dublin-co&-city/FMLUO360741

3 Bed Detached Sandyford
http://www.myhome.ie/residential/search/brochure/35a-ferncarrig-rise-sandyford-dublin-co&-city/UTDDI355818

3 Bed semi-d Shankill
http://www.myhome.ie/residential/search/brochure/10-dorney-court-shankill-dublin-co&-city/FDADD343963

At your price range, you can really be looking at better area's, schools in the areas above would be well established and generally high quality.

Eglinton

astrofool wrote: »

3 Bed semi-d Shankill
http://www.myhome.ie/residential/search/brochure/10-dorney-court-shankill-dublin-co&-city/FDADD343963

At your price range, you can really be looking at better area's, schools in the areas above would be well established and generally high quality.

Thanks for those. That last one in Shankhill looks pretty good. Nice outdoor space too.

What do ye think the price difference is these days between that quoted by auctioneers and the actual price paid? i.e. How much can you haggle them down!