Where, what and whether to buy

ShiftStorm

OH and I have been renting the last five years, have about 35,000 saved and have been approved for a small mortgage of 180,000 which is valid til October. He works for his family business, which he may eventually take over, part-time in Cork and part-time from home in Maynooth where we live. I work in Dublin city centre. We would like to buy now while we can as our lease is finishing up at the end of August. My full-time job is also finishing up and I am going self-employed which would soon exclude us for a mortgage. It may sound mad taking on a mortgage when your job is up soon but we figure we would be spending far less per month on mortgage repayments than we would on rent (we currently pay €1,000 per month).

With our budget, our options are:
- buy a 2 bed apartment or a cottage that needs renovation in Dublin city centre, get rid of one of our cars; he'd be cycling distance to Heuston so he can get train to Cork and I can work on my business in Dublin. In terms of life style, acessibility by foot/bike and access to pubs/coffee shops/music sounds appealing. I would just be nervous of the potential noisiness of neighbours and the lack of greeney/garden to sit out in in the evenings!
- buy a 2 bed apartment/cottage in Maynooth which would cause the least disruption to our lives, he would still have easy access to N7 for Cork, but is that a wise investment? How easy would it be to sell a 2 bed apartment in Maynooth?
- to buy a nice house in Cork to allow him to be closer to work but this would hamper my business and take us away from our friends and the life we have built here. It may also be harder to sell than the Dublin/Kildare market.
- find somewhere new to rent in Maynooth but be prepared to increase our current rent to 1,200 - 1,600 per month

Realistically, if he takes over the business, we'll have to move to Cork eventually. The ideal would be to buy somewhere in Dublin/Kildare now, and then sell (for a massive profit obv ) in 5 years and re-locate to Cork but who knows what will happen with the property market. And buying an apartment over a house feels risky!

Basically, all these thoughts have been swirling around for so long and I am now asking asking you Boardsies for any wisdom you can throw my way. This feels like the most grown up decision I've ever had to make and I suddenly feel like a 15 year old again!

tl;dr: total budget of 210,000 (+ 5,000 for cost of purchase) and not sure whether to buy an apartment/cottage that needs renovation in Dublin or Maynooth, or a house in Cork

handlemaster

ShiftStorm wrote: »

OH and I have been renting the last five years, have about 35,000 saved and have been approved for a small mortgage of 180,000 which is valid til October. He works for his family business, which he may eventually take over, part-time in Cork and part-time from home in Maynooth where we live. I work in Dublin city centre. We would like to buy now while we can as our lease is finishing up at the end of August. My full-time job is also finishing up and I am going self-employed which would soon exclude us for a mortgage. It may sound mad taking on a mortgage when your job is up soon but we figure we would be spending far less per month on mortgage repayments than we would on rent (we currently pay €1,000 per month).

With our budget, our options are:
- buy a 2 bed apartment or a cottage that needs renovation in Dublin city centre, get rid of one of our cars; he'd be cycling distance to Heuston so he can get train to Cork and I can work on my business in Dublin. In terms of life style, acessibility by foot/bike and access to pubs/coffee shops/music sounds appealing. I would only miss the greenery of where we currently live and being able to sit out in the garden!
- buy a 2 bed apartment/cottage in Maynooth which would cause the least disruption to our lives, he would still have easy access to N7 for Cork, but is that a wise investment? How easy would it be to sell a 2 bed apartment in Maynooth?
- to buy a nice house in Cork to allow him to be closer to work but this would hamper my business and take us away from our friends and the life we have built here. It may also be harder to sell than the Dublin/Kildare market.
- find somewhere new to rent in Maynooth but be prepared to increase our current rent to 1,200 - 1,600 per month

Realistically, if he takes over the business, we'll have to move to Cork eventually. The ideal would be to buy somewhere in Dublin/Kildare now, and then sell (for a massive profit obv ) in 5 years and re-locate to Cork but who knows what will happen with the property market. And buying an apartment over a house feels risky!

Basically, all these thoughts have been swirling around for so long and I am now asking asking you Boardsies for any wisdom you can throw my way. This feels like the most grown up decision I've ever had to make and I suddenly feel like a 15 year old again!

tl;dr: total budget of 210,000 (+ 5,000 for cost of purchase) and not sure whether to buy an apartment/cottage that needs renovation in Dublin or Maynooth, or a house in Cork

you could buy a three bed semi in dublin 15 for that. easy to sell after or rent. train line and bus services into town. or even cycle

ShiftStorm

handlemaster wrote: »

you could buy a three bed semi in dublin 15 for that. easy to sell after or rent. train line and bus services into town. or even cycle

Most of our friends/favourite amenities are in Maynooth or Dublin city centre which is why we were considering them only, but Clonsilla *is* on train line to Maynooth so that's definitely a thought. Thanks for your reply!

draiochtanois

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draiochtanois

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ShiftStorm

draiochtanois wrote: »

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Oops! Here you are: http://www.daft.ie/sales/allen-square-bandon-cork/672958/

ShiftStorm

Another alternative is to buy a place in turnkey condition in a less popular area but the words 'location, location, location' are haunting me!

galljga1

If you are going to end up in Cork eventually, buy in Cork. You can rent it out and continue to rent in Maynooth. When you eventually move, you are all set.

ShiftStorm

Update in case anyone's interested: we are hoping to close sale in the next few weeks on a 2 bed terraced house in Smithfield!

draiochtanois

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