Park Gate Estate, Tullow

rosehip

Hi guys,
anyone on here from tullow? I'm looking for info on park gate. Is it a good estate? Are there problems? Does anyone know the builder? All i know is it's not finished. All info greatly appreciated

byhookorbycrook

In a nice area (though it is across from the graveyard!!)The developers are Abood Homes
http://www.completehome.ie/details/Abwood_Homes_Limited/253056/

rosehip

Thanks a mil. I presume the houses are wood framed if Abwood built them?

No worries on a cemetery as neighbours...very very quiet neighbours

Actually, is not for me. Elderly relative looking and just worried as new half-finished estates are not something i'd plough my savings/pension into.

byhookorbycrook

It's a bit of a walk to the shops, if it's for an elderly relative, esp if we get weather like last year here in Tullow. We couldn't get in and out of the estate in a car for a few days.

Carlow2

I've friends who like in Parg Gate. Have stayed there a number of times. Houses are lovely. Timber frames built by Abwood Homes. Friends had no problems other than normal snag list things. House are warm and bright with a good plan. Gardens are big. This may not suit an elderly person.

Only problem is the estate itself. So many vacant houses and then there is a completely derelict section to the read.
Developer is also a problem and difficult to deal with. Residents have had to pay for upkeep of the greens and lighting as the developer would not do it.
Houses that are available would probably be available for less than 100k but it would take another 40k at least to get them complete.

I can put you in contact with my friends if you like.
J

zeds alive

I spent the last year living in a Abwood Home and I had to move out as I could hear everything my neighbours did , nice houses but paper thin walls.
Also why would someone buy a house with a 30 year guarantee , a well constructed house should last far longer than that.

Carlow2

Houses in Park Gate are detatched so no worry about noise from next door. Actually I've been in the house at you can't hear any external noise really, unless there's a noisy car outside. But that's the same in my house which isn't TF.
30 Year guarantee? Am unaware of this re Park Gate but all houses built usually have a 10 year guarentee as any problems connected to construction and/or errors by the engineer usually manifest themselves within that period.

rosehip

Thanks guys. All info greatly appreciated. I see a big closed off section at the back - but since so much of the estate is empty Abwood can't be continuing to build???

Can i ask - what was the problem with the developer? Anything serious?

Zeppi

Rathsillan it's a very nice estate and very quite neighborhood

Carlow2

There has been no building work there for a couple of years. Houses in lower site are fenced off from the residential area but there has been no work carried out there. Developer has been undertaking maintainence work on houses there recently.
Problem with developer was related to upkeep of the green areas, roads and lights. He was expecting the residents there to cover the whole cost of maintaining the estate. I think it has been resolved.
My friends recently got a B3 energy rating on their house so that's pretty good.
Have you bought there? I think a couple of houses have sold recently.

rosehip

Thanks for the info Carlow2,

B3 is average for new builds i think - what with the new specs for insulation etc but wood frame houses are always MUCH warmer than block built.

It wasn't me buying, was a relative, but i think they've found a house they like better as PG hasn't been mentioned for a while.

People buying could be to do with the developer now selling the houses for 180,000 on daft while some poor couple in there are selling theirs for €340!

Newbuyer12

Hey, just read thread on park gate. I'm a ftb looking to buy in Tullow area. Does anybody hav any further info on park gate? Any negatives about the site?
Thanks

rosehip

Afraid i can't help (even though i started the thread) as the uncle bought somewhere else in the end.

Never heard anything bad if that helps...

Regards,
Rose

PS the estate is listed as a ghost one and so is exempt from the Household Charge

Newbuyer12

Thanks rose for your reply.

I had forgot about the household charge not applying to ghost estates.

Regards

Jacques Thelad

Newbuyer12 wrote: »

I had forgot about the household charge not applying to ghost estates.

So far. Give them time. Especially with Phil Hogan starting to take the whole farcical extravganza personally.

BattleCorp

I wouldn't fancy living in Park Gate. So many unfinished houses, and likely to remain unfinished for the forseeable future.

The build quality on some of them doesn't look all that good either.

Just my two cents.

Carlow2

just an update on Park Gate

I was up there last week in friend's house. Five houses have sold there in the last two months!! Couldn't believe it. All at the front and one already occupied. Thomas Byrne is agent.

As regards the build quality it is very good on the houses and the design is good. Timber used for the frames is top quality. Only problem might be that boilers are not big enough to heat the house sufficienty but they could be replaced as a condition of purchase.

The estate looks great at the moment as the residents have taken responsibility to maintain the greens and surrounds. They pay for this themselves but it makes the area nice.

J

BattleCorp

Carlow2 wrote: »

just an update on Park Gate

I was up there last week in friend's house. Five houses have sold there in the last two months!! Couldn't believe it. All at the front and one already occupied. Thomas Byrne is agent.

As regards the build quality it is very good on the houses and the design is good. Timber used for the frames is top quality. Only problem might be that boilers are not big enough to heat the house sufficienty but they could be replaced as a condition of purchase.

The estate looks great at the moment as the residents have taken responsibility to maintain the greens and surrounds. They pay for this themselves but it makes the area nice.

J

Go look at the build quality on the house beside no. 57 (on the side furthest from the road) and then come back and tell me what you think of the build quality. Look at how crooked the skylight is in the roof over the front door. The rooftiles are pretty much in a u shape around the bottom of the window.

Carlow2

Yeah I will check it out next time I'm up. It's quite obvious that you hate those houses lol and you won't be buying.

All I can say is I know two families living in there. They love the houses and the grounds. The only complaint they have is that the boiler in one house is not large enough to heat the house evenly. That's all I know and I am only listening to what the residents are saying. Anytime I've stayed over the houses seem warm and the area is very quiet. My friends have never said anything negative about the construction, the roofing or the windows. Maybe you know more or have worked on the construction or you actually live there and just hate it. If so fair enough. As I say i'm only listening to the people I know living in the houses.

J

Boreddotcom

Sounds to me like Carlow2 is The property agent using this forum to sell the houses, if you read back through the threads it's obvious. It's hard to get an honest opinion anymore.

I'll like to hear from someone who actually bought one of these houses and is currently living in it. Not a friend of a friend of a friend BS...!

Alwaysone2014

I'm a resident in park gate so I felt in had to reply to this. The houses are well built, warm and have a nice layout. We bought in 2006. Builders very difficult to deal with but are no longer involved in the estate. The management company is not operational and the residents maintain the estate. A lot of the houses sold recently and the front section of the estate is almost full. I think about 4 houses are still available. The estate is very quiet and the residents are nice. A lot of young families too.

Logs Byrne

With regards the build quality of these houses, I would agree with BattleCorp’s comments about the house beside number 57 (think its 56), Even at a quick glance it is noticeable how poor the build quality is, also worth noting is these houses have been derelict for almost a decade now, and the weather hasn’t been kind to them.

Timber frame houses aren’t usually designed to be exposed to the elements for such a long time without any internal heating or maintenance. Another telltale sign is the footpaths around the houses, they were originally finished level and square, but if you take a look around the estate some have dropped and now slope away from the houses, in some cases up to a foot of a drop. This is bad news for the internal walls because, if the ground has sunk that much its only a matter of time before there will we major structural work needed to maintain the integrity of the building and this doesn’t come cheap

With over 30 houses left to sell on the development Poor build quality would be the least of my worries if I lived there, If there is any truth to the rumour that RESPOND are looking to purchase the remaining houses in the development. It would be terrible bad news for the current few residents -Just like happened in Oakley Wood, over night the houses would only be worth a fraction of their current price. I hope for current resident’s sake this doesn’t happen. But it’s hard to see how the current Auctioneers will sell over 30 individual houses given that in the last 4 years they have only sold 15. At this rate it would take over 8 more years to sell them off.

Maybe RESPOND wouldn’t be doing them a favour by buying up the second half of the estate, at least it would be finished off and wouldn’t be considered a Ghost Estate anymore.

Alwaysone2014

Well as one of the original residents in the estate I can't honestly criticise the house we live in. Granted the roof and velux on 57 is off but anyone else I talk to is happy with their house. It's very quiet in here and a nice place to live.

16 houses have been sold and occupied in the last year and now only 4 are unoccupied in the front part of the estate. Obviously the lower part is still closed off and that's a huge problem and of course the elements have led to a deterioration in the houses. It is untrue to say that the build quality is poor. This is not the case. My engineer was on hand for all the build and was very satisfied with the quality of the build.

It's just annoying to hear people give accounts that don't reflect the reality of actually living here as we are very happy here and the 'ghost' status doesn't really bother people here.

Logs Byrne says that there is a foot of a drop on some foot paths. That is a complete untruth. Some of the footpaths are uneven by an inch or so but they have been that way since they were laid. Also they are sections so it's not a situation that paths are uneven in the middle of the section. This is of no structural concern.

As for the rumour about RESPOND. That's simply untrue. There has been no rumour about that. We have regular estate meetings and we are in contact with the County Council and owners of the estate. So I really don't know where that information has come from.

I'm not sure why people are saying things here that are not fact. But if people want to know the situation in the estate and the quality of the build I would be quite happy to meet and answer any questions they may have. I can even show you my house and all the documentation from my engineer and photos of the build as it progressed.

Newbuyer12

I too am a resident of Park Gate. I would like to agree with the posts from "Alwaysone2014". Following glowing engineer/electrician/plumber reports I bought in 2012 and have had no problems since, couldn't be happier actually. House build quality is very good, house very spacious and very warm with new boiler, big gardens surrounding house, location very good well maintained and nice and quite, neighbors very nice, well functioning residents committee. I too do not let the term ghost estate bother me as a quick walk around the estate would quickly reveal that this in not your average ghost estate. Yes the fenced off area at the back of the site is unsightly but in my opinion a blot on an otherwise excellent copybook.

deisecelt

Hi all. I drove around here today and seen that there was a good few half built houses. Have they been left or are they currently under construction. Just curious is all. Not in a pisition to buy right now and was curious about how many properties were left in park gate.

BattleCorp

deisecelt wrote: »

Hi all. I drove around here today and seen that there was a good few half built houses. Have they been left or are they currently under construction. Just curious is all. Not in a pisition to buy right now and was curious about how many properties were left in park gate.

It's been about two years since I last posted in this thread. Since then some of the unfinished houses have been finished but there are still lots of half built houses there. All the half-built houses have been like that since the crash. In other words they were started the guts of 8 or 9 years ago and have been that way since.

It's more of a very slow work in progress rather than a ghost estate. It'll probably be years though before the estate is finished.

I wouldn't fancy buying a house that has been left exposed to the elements for years and was then was finished off. On many of the houses, some tiles and ridge tiles were missing for years which leads to the possibility of water damage to the timber in the roof.

I must pop back up tonight and have a look at progress lately.

byhookorbycrook

Please don't drag up old threads.