Help for a newbie

ruba

Hi there,
I've been reading some of the posts here to try and get some information or help from you guys. I must apologise in advance if my questions seem amateur but I have no experience of house buying/real estate and would like to get a few opinions on what to do.

Current circumstances-33, single, from Cork, living in Australia for the past 2 years, plan on staying for a few more to get residency and plan what to do then. Have 130,000euro sitting in a term deposit in the bank (due to sale of sale of family home after parents passing away) and everyone keeps telling me I should buy somewhere now due to falling house prices. I have been checking out places online and would be looking at getting 2 bedroom apartment in Cork city to rent out til I come back or decide what to do. But the more I read here the more it seems I should hang on for another few years? As any mortgage I would get would be that big, would it make a difference to hang on get somewhere now?

Again, apologies if it seems like a simple question, I just don't have any where else to get this info.
Thanks in advance.

JuliusCaesar

Well, nobody can tell you what to do, but the market is falling and it seems mad to try to buy-to-let at the moment.

If you buy, you'd probably be better off buying a house rather than an apartment. An apartment will lose value more easily, and has management fees. Either way, you'll be paying an agent to look after the place - and agents are very variable, some good, some lousey.

Wouldn't you be better off banking the money in some accounts? ie not just one.

PS would an Australian bank give you a mortgage for a house in Ireland? Would an Irish bank give a mortgage to a non-resident?

not even wrong

ruba wrote: »

I have no experience of house buying/real estate and would like to get a few opinions on what to do.

So you have no knowledge of property investment or even home ownership but you're not letting that stop you from diving head-first into a collapsing real estate market in a banjaxed economy on the other side of the planet. I admire your spirit, good for you!

Snakeblood

I wouldn't buy for at least five years, personally. Rent and save what you can and it'll buy you a better house than you could get by buying now (I believe).

ruba

Not even wrong-I'm not diving head first into anything, that's why I'm trying to get as much information as I can on the matter.
Thanks to the others for your opinions, greatly appreciated.

bladebrew

i would wait personally, and i wouldnt look to buy an apartment,unless you want to live in the city centre,
just from looking at daft.ie i can see houses in decent areas dropping in price all the time, im no expert in the property market but i cant see anything making prices increase for a while,
keep saving if you can, there are already houses in cork for near what you have in savings although they may be tiny one beds,
from what i hear from friends australia may be a better place:)

D3PO

so your living in OZ plan yo get residency there but want to buy an investment apartment in Ireland.

Even if it were a good thing to do financially why would you buy an investment property thousands of miles from where you are in a market you dont really know about.

Keep the money in the bank

ruba

Thanks D3PO, very constructive.

Victor

not even wrong wrote: »

So you have no knowledge of property investment or even home ownership but you're not letting that stop you from diving head-first into a collapsing real estate market in a banjaxed economy on the other side of the planet. I admire your spirit, good for you!

Actually, he's not diving in and there is no reasons for you to brow-beat new users.

Balmed Out

I can understand people who are weighing up when to buy and living here paying rent and theres a dream house on the market but other then that id really recommend keeping an eye on the market, look at this forum and the soc/politics/irish economy forum and www.thepropertypin.com.

Youre in Oz so dont try to catch a falling knife when you really dont need to.