Barrack Homes - Whats the catch?

D.McC

Hi,

This company are currently offering houses for seems to be the deal of the century.

This deal includes, arranging a mortgage, legal fees and fitting out the property to a high standard. They also give you a cheque for up too ten grand to use against your first years mortgage or in any way you wish. :eek:

My question is has anyone bought one of these houses from Barrack Homes, or have any experience with them?

What is the catch?

Victor

Are you sure this is a current offer?

the catch is that the bank may put a valuation much lower than the headline price on the property and then will only give you a mortgage for 80-90% of that valuation.

Be wary of accepting offers of finance and legal advice from parties that may not be fully independent of the vendor. Shop around when getting mortgage quotations - there is no use buying a cheap house at a high interest rate and paying a higher monthly or total amount.

Always get independent legal and financial advice.

D.McC

Thanks for your reply Victor,

As I understand it, the interest rates are equal to those of the banks, and the value of the property has been set by the bank issuing the mortgage.

I'm just one of those people who believe, if it sounds too good to be true then it usually is.

Ash.J.Williams

Sorry guys, this just reminds of the Frankie boyle DVD when he finds an estate agent in the audience and says "a ha....shoes on the other foot now, your calling us and we aint returning your calls"

timeplease

Hello, I purchased my 4 bed in 2008, phase 1 the meadows.They were offering the full fit out package then and not the one you are describing.
Everything that was agreed with the builder was honoured. I had a few minor snagging issues after I moved in but these were rectified.I found the builder to be helpful and approachable who had a fair approach.
If you feel the mortgage deal they are offering is to good to be true then structure it to your advantage.I don't know the ins and outs of what they are selling,but if the interest rates are similar to other lenders and the duration of the loan is acceptable, and they are giving you a cheque for 10k then wheres the catch. I assume the 10k would be given on closing, if this was not the case I would put a stipulation in the contract to that effect.
Also if the builder is paying your legal fees wheres the catch, the developers lawyer cant represent the builder and purchaser at the same time,there has to be two solicitors acting independantly of each other, certainly when I was buying here there was no title issues,the conveyancy went very smoothly imo,
Good luck in what ever you do

gurramok

They will pay your mortgage for the first year because they will not reduce the price by more than that 10k, a gimmick. Just look at those prices for 3beds in Newbridge, Kildare. http://www.betterliving.ie/the_meadows.html

The asking prices are crazy for the location and thats why they ain't selling. I'd stay away.

The_Conductor

gurramok wrote: »

They will pay your mortgage for the first year because they will not reduce the price by more than that 10k, a gimmick. Just look at those prices for 3beds in Newbridge, Kildare. http://www.betterliving.ie/the_meadows.html

The asking prices are crazy for the location and thats why they ain't selling. I'd stay away.

Yes, the prices are way out of kilter with Irish property prices in general.......
I'm sure Newbridge is a lovely town- and it suits many people to move/live there- however according to the Barrack Homes website- a big selling point is proximity to the M7 and commutability to Dublin......... Times have moved on- people are not willing to pay those sort of prices, and then commute for 2-3 hours a day, anymore........

ricman

Where do you work, theres second hand houses going in dublin for 220k, private estate,new kitchen.
FOR that area they are overpriced,ESPECIALLY IF you are gonna have commute to work.
How much is a 3bed semi in the area.to work out if its good value , look on daft.ie kildare.IS the estate near shops,schools etc.
if you are gonna commute to dublin, its not a good price.
PEOPLE used to have to buy in county meath, cos dublin prices 4 a 3bed semi,were too high, that is no longer true.

The_Conductor

timeplease wrote: »

wheres the catch.

The big catch- is the prices are not reflective of the falls in prices in general (or locally). I imagine the resale value of these is practically non-existent (aside from the contractually tie-in). Developers may have gotten away with selling Wexford/Kildare/Roscommon :eek:/Longford/Louth as dormer towns for Dublin over the past decade- on the basis that people would 'trade up' as their circumstances changed, to live in more appropriate property in a more appropriate location- when they could afford it. The whole selling point of a lot of these schemes was as 'starter homes' - however now that they've locked over 200,000 into these 'starter homes' with little prospect of ever moving in many cases, even if their financial circumstances mean they can afford their mortgage repayments- the whole mess becomes apparent.......

D.McC

Timeplease

That is the exact area I was looking at, also offered the same full fit out service. But I didn’t want to give to much detail as I didn’t want to appear to be touting for the developer.

Is it a good deal then?

Can I ask if you work in the area, I plan on commuting to Dublin as I use the airport a lot?

AARRRGH

D.McC wrote: »

Is it a good deal then?

No, it's a terrible deal.

I had a look at their prices and they are about 100k - 150k over priced.

You will be in negative equity for a number of decades if you buy one of these properties.

Oh, and never trust a positive post from someone with 1 post in total on boards.ie. They are nearly always a shill.

timeplease

Well I work from home,so I don't do the commute daily.Is it a good deal to be honest you have to decide on that one yourself,but I would never be critical of a developers innovative approach to selling.I would consider myself a reasonable intelligent guy and I feel the houses here offer good value sure I purchased one.
I often wonder if there are posters out there who have a completely different agenda, wheather its the developer they want to muddy or the development itself.
In my opinion the meadows offers a very good selection of properties in a very good location,that was one of the main reasons we purchased here,sweeping statements regarding ridiculous downward valuations will only benefit the ones who wish to play the market down, I don't believe its a qualifed fact because the poster said so,its his opinion only.
Regarding the shill comment the poster made, I collude with nobody,I have an interest in this development as a homeowner and I gave my opinion when it was asked:).

gurramok

Then don't moan if you post here in 5 yrs time giving out that you are massively in negative equity.
You bought what you perceived is good value. The rest of us perceive it as terrible value on a market that will take maybe a generation to recover.

PCPhoto

timeplease wrote: »

Well I work from home,so I don't do the commute daily.Is it a good deal to be honest you have to decide on that one yourself,but I would never be critical of a developers innovative approach to selling.I would consider myself a reasonable intelligent guy and I feel the houses here offer good value sure I purchased one.
I often wonder if there are posters out there who have a completely different agenda, wheather its the developer they want to muddy or the development itself.
In my opinion the meadows offers a very good selection of properties in a very good location,that was one of the main reasons we purchased here,sweeping statements regarding ridiculous downward valuations will only benefit the ones who wish to play the market down, I don't believe its a qualifed fact because the poster said so,its his opinion only.
Regarding the shill comment the poster made, I collude with nobody,I have an interest in this development as a homeowner and I gave my opinion when it was asked:).

seriously do you really think its innovative for a developer to try sell a property higher than its actual market value and claim its a good deal ?

and downward valuations..... how are they sweeping statements ??? they are FACTS based on current market value

timeplease

Don't worry I won't be posting on here in 5years time complaining,I'm not a moaner.Again I rest my case about posters making sweeping statements of facts,its your opinion,the market value will determine the value of these properties not other posters statements of alleged facts.
:):)

AARRRGH

timeplease wrote: »

I feel the houses here offer good value

I'm being totally serious: do you know anything about economics? If you do, how can you possibly come to the conclusion that these houses are good value?

timeplease

you want me to reply to someone that a few posts ago was saying I was a shill and know wants to get into a economic debate about valuations in Newbridge, are you serious!
I'm no property expert unlike you, I obviously hit a nerve when I said good value,why, am I not allowed to say that, do I need your permission, I don't think so,Im going to have to agree to disagree with u on this one.:)

AARRRGH

This isn't as simple as your opinion versus mine.

I am trying to save people from getting into large negative equity and potentially messing up a decade or two of their lives.

The house the OP wants to buy is ridiculously overpriced. This is not just my opinion: I can show you the maths.

According to Daft there are 114 homes for rent in Newbridge. A house in the Meadows is looking for 1000 pm rent. I am going to be generous and pretend the owner will get 1000 pm and will rent it out for 12 months per year.

Professional investors calculate the value of property based upon its rental potential. This is a simple calculation which is the yearly rent multiplied by 12 or 14. Again, I will be generous and use 14.

So...

12,000 x 14 = 168,000.

If you were to buy this house you would pay 260,000 so it is overpriced by 100,000.

Even then, this is still being generous. I am totally confident these houses will be selling for less than 100k in a few years time.

stepbar

timeplease wrote: »

Don't worry I won't be posting on here in 5years time complaining,I'm not a moaner.Again I rest my case about posters making sweeping statements of facts,its your opinion,the market value will determine the value of these properties not other posters statements of alleged facts.
:):)

So you think a property that produces a yield of less than 3% is good value? Rent yield is a fairly true "statement of fact"......

Have a look around at savings interest rates and then come back to me.

timeplease

I don't have to come back to you mr poster,I've said what I've said and I stand by it.
As I said if you read my posts it is the market who will decide property prices. you can get into a theorectical debate if you want too but I will not be participating in this, good luck in what ever you do op.:):)

rocky

If we could all just think positive, give our opinion and then 'stand by it' but not participate in arguments about numbers and facts, we'd be out of this recession very quickly and upwards with Celtic Feline v2.0.


... please?

AARRRGH

Letting the correction happen is good for everyone in the long run...

The_Conductor

AARRRGH wrote: »

Letting the correction happen is good for everyone in the long run...

Much as I hate to admit it, its very true. We all have this notion of Ireland having turned the corner on its difficulties of the '80s and now being a wealthy little island, albeit in temporary difficulties- when in actual fact, that wealth is a total illusion- based on a property bubble that took 15 years to inflate.........

We have used the high price of property as justification for incredibly high wages, a high minimum wage- and social welfare entitlements up there with oil producing states who are trying to disburse oil gains to their citizens...... Something really has to give- and much more affordable accommodation is a key plank in trying to regain our competitiveness.

We got away with major cuts in the 2010 budget- but the only lamb we didn't sacrifice were the pensioners- things are going to get very hairy, very fast- if there are further public sector pay cuts, further social welfare cuts, cuts to pensions- and all the time money is being borrowed to shovel it into a sickly banking sector that refuses to lend- in the process stiffling small business and entrepreneurs (and even larger business- such as the large firm of architects who went up the wall yesterday).

We need to regain some sense of normality in the economy- where the government spends money in tandem with its tax receipts, people have a reasonable rather than exuberant standard of living, banks function as they are supposed to- and people are treated in a fair but responsible manner- both in and out of employment.

Housing prices are still at unacceptable levels, salaries are uncompetitive, social welfare entitlements are indefensible, pensions and the lack of private provision are a future (and present) timebomb, our economy is at a practical standstill, our government are running headless- and then we have commentators alternating between- the sky is falling down- and sure the property bubble will reinflate itself...........

What is lacking is a forum where cold hard facts are in the public domain, reasonable and reasoned prognosis are debated, people are made backup analysis with possible events or facts to support their theories etc.......

The big catch we all have- is we have gotten used to the good life- and expect that somehow the policies and current and future events of government will return us to the good-old days. Much I like Portuguese holidays, a nice car, a kick ass computer system- and all of these updated on very short cycles- it wasn't sustainable, and isn't going to return.......

Victor

smccarrick wrote: »

and all the time money is being borrowed to shovel it into a sickly banking sector that refuses to lend- in the process stiffling small business and entrepreneurs (and even larger business- such as the large firm of architects who went up the wall yesterday).

In fairness, I imagine many of their non-paying clients were developers. It wasn't so much cash flow problems as not being paid at all.

alejandro1977

timeplease wrote: »

Hello, I purchased my 4 bed in 2008, phase 1 the meadows.They were offering the full fit out package then and not the one you are describing.
Everything that was agreed with the builder was honoured. I had a few minor snagging issues after I moved in but these were rectified.I found the builder to be helpful and approachable who had a fair approach.
If you feel the mortgage deal they are offering is to good to be true then structure it to your advantage.I don't know the ins and outs of what they are selling,but if the interest rates are similar to other lenders and the duration of the loan is acceptable, and they are giving you a cheque for 10k then wheres the catch. I assume the 10k would be given on closing, if this was not the case I would put a stipulation in the contract to that effect.
Also if the builder is paying your legal fees wheres the catch, the developers lawyer cant represent the builder and purchaser at the same time,there has to be two solicitors acting independantly of each other, certainly when I was buying here there was no title issues,the conveyancy went very smoothly imo,
Good luck in what ever you do

hmmmm.

anyone drinking the Kool-aid here should have a look a this thread on thepropertypin.com

http://www.thepropertypin.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=28451


a few newbies with very few posts singing the praises of Barrack Homes there too.

timeplease

Your implication is totally untrue.
The original posters qustion I think has been lost in this thread. That is the reason why I replied because I live here.
No other agenda.

alejandro1977

timeplease wrote: »

Your implication is totally untrue.
The original posters qustion I think has been lost in this thread. That is the reason why I replied because I live here.
No other agenda.

You must be the only person in the country who purchased a house in 2008 who doesn't regret it.

timeplease

I think we all have regrets in life, but you post makes no sense in this thread and is full of sarcasim.:)

sobaga

A bit too late, but will share my experience of Barrack Homes and their incredible "deals". In a nutshell - I was stupid to buy a house from them, 4-bed detached that started to fall apart after we had lived there for only a couple of months. Endless snag list that still has not been sorted out. Various allowances were there, the sum of which depended on the developer's or one of his associates' mood: allowance for appliances is 2500. No, it's actually 2200 and you have to pay us the difference. Was it really 2500? Do you have it in writing? Allowance for lights is 250 euro. (I asked someone living in a 3-bed, theirs was 250, so ours should be slightly more, after all we have one more bedroom and one more bathroom, don't you think?) No, it is the same for 3 and 4 bed. Allowance for the bathrooms? 1200. For one? No, for all of them (5 in total). Laughter! Have they seen prices of bathtubs, toilets or sinks even? Of course you can choose what yo want, but you have to pay the difference. Where do they take these numbers from, the Moon??? They are not able to give you any concrete numbers in writing if yo ask them. Or should I say: they will not give you anything in writing. Once they get your money, they stop answering the phone calls, nobody is ever available (including the owner, who used to be soooo nice to you when he was trying to convince you to buy one of his puppies) and you spend time chasing them on the building site if you want to talk to them.
They are launching phase 3 of The Meadows - whoever would be tempted to buy a house from them - talk to people who live there first. Or, if you don't want to be frustrated for months, have wrecked nerves and grey hair before you eventually move into your "dream house"... just continue renting

Victor

sobaga wrote: »

A bit too late, but will share my experience of Barrack Homes and their incredible "deals". In a nutshell - I was stupid to buy a house from them, 4-bed detached that started to fall apart after we had lived there for only a couple of months. Endless snag list that still has not been sorted out. Various allowances were there, the sum of which depended on the developer's or one of his associates' mood: allowance for appliances is 2500. No, it's actually 2200 and you have to pay us the difference. Was it really 2500? Do you have it in writing?

Sounds like you, your snagger and your solicitor didn't do a very good job.

wyndham

sobaga wrote: »

....They are not able to give you any concrete numbers in writing if yo ask them. Or should I say: they will not give you anything in writing. Once they get your money, they stop answering the phone calls............

Was your contract drawn up on a beermat or on the back of a cigarette packet? Seriously, did you have a solicitor?

Victor

Victor wrote: »

Sounds like you, your snagger and your solicitor didn't do a very good job.

Hi, I was a bit harsh in saying the above. However, in making what is likely to be the biggest investment of your life, one really does need to be careful and get professional advice.

lollypop23

Bought a house there this year. Fantastic house and the builders are still on the site if we needed anything small done. We were looking around for a house in newbridge and found one for 180K in a lovely estate at the time and went to view and there was a severe problem with dampness so that's why we opted for a new house, at least we'd have some come back. They were very helpful and as they say 3 bedroom houses, they really are regarded as three bedroom with storage - storage being a MASSIVE third floor bedroom or home office.. My neighbour even has it split into two rooms so she has a 5 bedroom house!

Best of luck in whatever you do..

lollypop23

sobaga wrote: »

Various allowances were there, the sum of which depended on the developer's or one of his associates' mood: allowance for appliances is 2500. No, it's actually 2200 and you have to pay us the difference. Was it really 2500? Do you have it in writing? Allowance for lights is 250 euro. (I asked someone living in a 3-bed, theirs was 250, so ours should be slightly more, after all we have one more bedroom and one more bathroom, don't you think?) No, it is the same for 3 and 4 bed. Allowance for the bathrooms? 1200. For one? No, for all of them (5 in total). Laughter!

That is crazy! As I have just said in an earlier post, I live in the Meadows and when we were buying we were sent to pick out out tiles and bathrooms, kitchen, carpets, wardrobes, even light fittings.. No expense spared. Even chose marble tile and nothing said.. Must be just the difference in time. When you bought yours it was a sells market - now the tables have turned.

Victor

lollypop23 wrote: »

Bought a house there this year. Fantastic house and the builders are still on the site if we needed anything small done. We were looking around for a house in newbridge and found one for 180K in a lovely estate at the time and went to view and there was a severe problem with dampness so that's why we opted for a new house, at least we'd have some come back. They were very helpful and as they say 3 bedroom houses, they really are regarded as three bedroom with storage - storage being a MASSIVE third floor bedroom or home office.. My neighbour even has it split into two rooms so she has a 5 bedroom house!

Best of luck in whatever you do..

Unless there is appropriate fire protection (primarily that the stairwell is protected by fire doors), using the attic as a bedroom may not be appropriate.

sobaga

wyndham wrote: »

Was your contract drawn up on a beermat or on the back of a cigarette packet? Seriously, did you have a solicitor?

Oh, yes, we did have a solicitor. Recommended by the poxy company, as we did not know how to go about it and according to them, most of the people who bought the house from them used that solicitor. I am not familiar with the legal stuff, this is the first house I have ever bought, if the solicitor tells me the contract is OK, it is OK. Turned out in the end that the solicitor was actually working for them. Long story. That is why I am warning people so that they do not make a similar mistake.

sobaga

Victor wrote: »

Hi, I was a bit harsh in saying the above. However, in making what is likely to be the biggest investment of your life, one really does need to be careful and get professional advice.

No, you were not harsh, I was stupid.

The person who did a snag list for us was not bad, he noticed lots of things before we actually moved in and spent a lot of time chasing the workers to do things right. What was discovered afterwards was included on the snag list that was given to the company, but there is still a lot to be done off it. And since there was a High Court ruling against them recently, I do not think they even intend to do anything about the snag list at this stage. They have not paid their employees for the last 3 weeks and they don't pay their subcontractors, so it looks like they are planning to wind up or something...

sobaga

lollypop23 wrote: »

That is crazy! As I have just said in an earlier post, I live in the Meadows and when we were buying we were sent to pick out out tiles and bathrooms, kitchen, carpets, wardrobes, even light fittings.. No expense spared. Even chose marble tile and nothing said.. Must be just the difference in time. When you bought yours it was a sells market - now the tables have turned.

@lollypop23 Where in The Meadows are you? Will be happy to meet up and have a chat, obviously it was not the same company we bought from

No cost spared, you say? We were told to pick our tiles, so we did, without looking at prices. The next day we are getting a phone call saying that we need to pay a lot extra because the price of tiles exceeds the allowance. Well, Joan did not mention any allowances in the beginning, she just said go and pick your tiles from this and that company, which we did. That was when we started to ask about the amounts of allowances for other stuff to avoid paying extra, and they were different every time, depending on their moods. And no, when I bought mine it was definitely a buyer's market (end of 2010), so I do not believe there was much difference in time.

Neadyk22

sobaga wrote: »

And since there was a High Court ruling against them recently

Did the High Court ruling result in a wind up of the company, we were interested in buying one of their homes.

macshean

..........bought an apartment in Newbridge from Barrack, ......... houses and apartments build to a very poor standard, ............ bought for 280k, now only worth 80/90k..........................:mad:

The_Conductor

macshean wrote: »

..........bought an apartment in Newbridge from Barrack, ......... houses and apartments build to a very poor standard, ............ bought for 280k, now only worth 80/90k..........................:mad:

Macshean- I've had to edit your post- please be aware that some of what you posted was potentially libellous. If you have any facts that are in the public domain and can be posted in support of what you're saying, fine. Otherwise- wide sweeping comments, are not permitted.

With regard houses and apartments built at the height of the boom being a poor standard- unfortunately taking any development in the country and imagining its somehow worse than anywhere else- simply isn't the case. Standards did slide as the boom went on- yes, shoddy buildings went up, and finishes were poor (to say the least). This is a commonality though- it is not unique to your development.

If you bought an apartment for 280k at the height of the boom and its now worth 80-90k- this infers a fall in value from peak of 67-70%. Once again- for apartments in the greater Dublin catchment area- this is also fairly typical. Prices for apartments in particular, have plummeted. You can go all the way into Kilmainham- and see prices falls akin to what you're suggesting- it may be shocking- but its entirely normal (and while I don't mean to scare you- they are continuing to fall, regardless of what any economic commentators or other vested interests say- prices have not stabilised- if anything, price falls have accelerated again, and are now falling faster than at any time over the past 36 months.

If you need to get work done- then you need to galvanise the Management Company and organise to bring the development up to standard. It is the duty of the Management Company to manage the development and ensure its safety alongside the structural integrity of the buildings vested in it.

I understand your frustration- I live in townhouse in a development too- but you're not going to achieve anything at all by flinging accusations willy nilly around the place- if you have a legitimate issue that falls under the remit of the Management Company- bring it to them and allow them rectify it. If they don't rectify something for which they have responsibility- that is another matter entirely.