Curious about buying a house

jmaralv

Hi guys,

From time to time, mainly when I'm bored, I look for houses. We're currently renting an apartment but we would like to live in a house... The point is that a few days ago I searched by mistake in the TO BUY section and some of the prices really surprised me...

I find that prices kind of tricky... It might be that the area is crap but anyway that aroused my curiosity, What would I have to add to the price of the house? I mean, what other taxes or fees would increase the price of the house?

Cheers!

January

Moved from the Dublin City forum.

the_syco

How much do you and your partner earn, and do you have much savings (deposit)?

Moonbeam

You need to add surveying costs 150+ solicitors fees (no memory of what these are) land registry fees but you pay them to your solicitor.
That is all I think.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Stamp duty. First time buyer -. up to €1,000,000 @ 1% (linky). Life insurance, house insurance, yearly property tax, water charges coming in soon, waste charges (yearly or per pick up).

Depending on the age of a house, things like alarm, locks, windows, insulating, electrics, heating etc might need an upgrade or servicing. Although these obviously aren't required these costs add up. A lot of this can be done very cheaply if you're willing to do the work yourself.

Another would be decorative costs - paint etc. Again not required but if you were to give a house a once over with paint would set you back a few hundred euro in paint alone. If you're "lucky" enough to live in a secure estate, there would be management and/or parking fees.

My only piece of advice - get a really good solicitor that you can trust.

Edit: Monthly running costs is another subject and would be dependant on your lifestyle of course. Heating, Electric, TV (+licence), Gas, Phone etc. It is something to consider though. You may not have some of these costs while renting. Consider this - you use all your savings and have a mortgage, you move into your perfect home - great! you'll very quickly have bills in the door. Some looking for deposits and up front costs. I'm reading on boards that some utility companies are looking for EUR 300 in deposits.

Moonbeam

Is there stamp duty for 1st time buyers now?:( it is a good few years since I bought.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Yup, just updated my post with the citizens information page. There are a few exceptions but generally you must pay stamp duty.

Moonbeam wrote: »

Is there stamp duty for 1st time buyers now?:( it is a good few years since I bought.

Mightymouse vs Dangermouse

Esb and Bord gais look for a 300 euro security money if you dont set up a direct debit.
I have refused to go direct debit, in all areas of financial transactions, phone, insurance etc.
I havent paid them either of them th e300, or will I. Just keep paying your actual bill and youl be grand

jmaralv

First of all, thanks a million for this answer. I think is just what I was looking for. Now, I've other question... you say I've to get a solicitor... How much that guys are and... what's their job/what do I need them for?

Jaime Short Crap wrote: »

Stamp duty. First time buyer -. up to €1,000,000 @ 1% (linky). Life insurance, house insurance, yearly property tax, water charges coming in soon, waste charges (yearly or per pick up).

Depending on the age of a house, things like alarm, locks, windows, insulating, electrics, heating etc might need an upgrade or servicing. Although these obviously aren't required these costs add up. A lot of this can be done very cheaply if you're willing to do the work yourself.

Another would be decorative costs - paint etc. Again not required but if you were to give a house a once over with paint would set you back a few hundred euro in paint alone. If you're "lucky" enough to live in a secure estate, there would be management and/or parking fees.

My only piece of advice - get a really good solicitor that you can trust.

Edit: Monthly running costs is another subject and would be dependant on your lifestyle of course. Heating, Electric, TV (+licence), Gas, Phone etc. It is something to consider though. You may not have some of these costs while renting. Consider this - you use all your savings and have a mortgage, you move into your perfect home - great! you'll very quickly have bills in the door. Some looking for deposits and up front costs. I'm reading on boards that some utility companies are looking for EUR 300 in deposits.

L1011

jmaralv wrote: »

First of all, thanks a million for this answer. I think is just what I was looking for. Now, I've other question... you say I've to get a solicitor... How much that guys are and... what's their job/what do I need them for?

You need a solicitor to do the conveyancing on the house, its effectively impossible to do it yourself. They'll also handle all the documentation, and they should find any legal issues with the sale.

There are usually local cartels of sort on pricing so they'll all be the same price - every solicitor in my town charges €800 for their own fee, plus VAT, plus any charges they incur - my total was about €1600, but the Land Registry charges went up quite a bit a week later. However, still shop around, you may find someone cheaper than the rest. I picked one that was a bit quieter and didn't do criminal law so was less likely to end up dragged to court randomly.

I bought a relative dump and have spent just under 8k on parts, tools and equipment (furniture, appliances) so far in doing it up, that's in one year. Its now perfectly habitable and redecorated including refurbing the kitchen units, fixing the wonky shower and replacing most of the lighting. However, I've not had one single person in to do anything - the very few things I couldn't do myself I press-ganged my brother in law in for!

You'll probably want a survey done, I used said brother in law to poke around instead as I could already tell what needed doing, this will cost anywhere from €150 upwards. The bank will likely require you to pay for a valuer, this cost 130 for me (BOI).