Clay Farm, Leopardstown, Dublin 18

ARJn

All houses sale agreed , although I did not like why they are taking booking now when houses are scheduled to be delivered in next 6-8 months , seems they are hedging against the housing price fall and passing the risk to buyers

dubliner10

Just got sale agreed and awaiting contract. Anyone else in the same boat? Was told the build will be complete around August.

tingtingjung

Hi there. They told us that houses planned to be finished by August-September. We are hoping to get a house on Clay Farm Copse, awaiting a contract now as well. Anyone have been there? I'm concerned about green way being right infront of it. How bad it is? Too many people passing around? Or it is fenced somehow?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120246481#Comment_120246481

dubliner10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120248444#Comment_120248444

I would think having a greenway in front is a positive as no building development will come up in front.

My main worry is about contracts not having subject to loan clause. It’s a standard law practice so wonder why Park Developments don’t include it. The economy is pretty volatile right now with layoffs so a huge risk to sign without it, especially since the gap between now and drawdown is 6months. If either me or my partner are laid off in the worst case, this means we lose our 10% deposit that is our lifetime of savings.

tingtingjung

Hi everyone!

Was there any changes allowed to make on the house? E.g. pay for appliances upgrade, switch from floor laminate to tiles, choose wall colours, etc.? I'm not particulary keen on laminate in the kitchen and was hoping that we will have an option there.

pixrem

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120249307#Comment_120249307

We were thinking of buying there in the next release, this is my exact worry. Put in 10%, and then having to wait until December for drawdown and risk one of us getting laid off. -.- Although I would believe that you would be able to find a new seller who would then give 10% and you could get some of that (if not all) money back.

dubliner10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120260159#Comment_120260159

Finding a seller would be ideal. But the 4 beds in clayfarm being near €750k and interest rates rising this year, not sure the demand will be as strong later in the year. Should have been ok till last year when the economy was still strong, but pretty risky this year.

ClarmerFaye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120252394#Comment_120252394

Everything in the house is standardised and it is very unlikely that the developer will make any changes. From the things in your question, the only thing you will have a choice with is the floors. The house does not come with any flooring at all. The ground floor is just concrete and the upstairs is just unfinished wood. You organise the floors completely independent of the developer after closing.

JDD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120264466#Comment_120264466

Agree with the above. We asked for wardrobes not to be put in the second bedroom, and they basically told us that we were welcome to take them out once we got the keys. Absolutely no room for individual changes, which I guess I can understand. If you're building 90 houses you can't be keeping track of all the little changes that everyone wants. Different if you are only building three or four houses down the end of a road.

We were also worried about the lack of "subject to loan" clause. The Law Society does say that it should be standard in all residential house contracts but it's not the law, so Park can really include or exclude whatever they want. From the chats on the estate and in this thread, no-one has been able to get that clause in. I guess Park really got their fingers burnt at the start of the Big Recession and were left with a load of finished houses which the buyers couldn't now get a mortgage for, and had to refund all the deposits.

It was just a risk that we decided to take, in 2018. We decided that the market was so full of buyers that, even if we couldn't get the mortgage at the time the house was finished, Park could definitely find another buyer. While legally they could hold on to your deposit even with another buyer, there wasn't a chance they would do that. Dublin is small - you'd be on to Joe Duffy (or on to this very thread) and I guarantee you'd have your deposit back the next day, and Park would get really stung reputationally from it.

tingtingjung

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120265111#Comment_120265111

For me the worst part is in Building agreement - General Conditions relating to “Price Variation”. This clause allows the Contract Price to be adjusted in respect of “an increase or decrease (unlikely) in the cost to the Developer of performing the Agreement due to increases or decreases after the date of this Agreement in the cost of labour, materials, fuel, provision of plant or other expenses”.

So they can increase house price any time (I assume before your pay full price), and this is bizarre!

JDD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120283852#Comment_120283852

I agree that that seems unfair. I'm not a property solicitor so I can't say whether that's a standard new build clause, but I don't remember our solicitor raising any particular issue with it. Again Park is highly unlikely to vary the price from contract stage to completion. It's just not done, and if they did they'd be in the Irish Times before you could say boo.

iamrnjn

Hey Folks,

I'm a first time buyer and was looking at Clayfarm Apartments that are coming up. I have been told a 2 bedroom apartment around 88 m/sq will be starting from 475K. I'm now confused if I am making the right choice - Is it really worth paying that much for an apartment in Clayfarm ? If I decide to move on to a house in 6-7 years will this property be appreciated or have good rental return ? Considering you can pretty much get a 130m/sq 3 bedroom house in Kildare for that much does the benefit on living in Dublin outweigh living in a bigger house in Kildare ?

PreetiPR

In the same boat.. I have the sales appointment booked for 30th of this month and still confused if 475k is worth for an apartment.

JDD

Jesus lads. The three bed houses went on sale for €470k in 2017. I know it's six years ago and the market has continued to steeply climb, but €475k for a two bed apartment outside the M50 seems like too much for me. While the convenience of the Luas outside might have been a real carrot to some people in the past, with a lot of people hybrid working now, the commuter towns in Kildare/Wicklow must be more attractive. I can't tell you whether we're at the top of the market or whether there's a ways to go, but a house will always keep it's value more than an apartment will. If you are looking to trade up in five or six years and if you are hybrid working, I'd buy the house in Kildare. At least then if the market crashes you will have room for a family, if you are at that point.

I live in Clay Farm, and it's lovely. And I don't want to be talking down the price of my house. But don't pay that. It doesn't make any financial sense.

godtabh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120265111#Comment_120265111

We bought our first house of Park Developments in 2009. We got a 4 bed duplex cheaper than a two bed apartment underneath use. That was a time when you could negotiate on new build prices!

markpb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120397561#Comment_120397561

In 2009, most people either couldn’t get a mortgage or weren’t sure if they’d have a job in a few weeks.

JDD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120398684#Comment_120398684

Well, that's why it was a buyers market. I used to live in Booterstown, and neighbours bought their three bed semi detached for €280k in 2013. They sold it for €650k in 2019.

Deepsea

Hey Folks,

I'm a first-time buyer and we've booked an apartment in Clayfarm in the recent launch - Kiln view (Clayfarm way). It's a 3rd-floor, 2-bed apartment priced at 492k. There are two blocks in kiln view, beside the block we've got, the other block is fully sold to the Iveagh trust. I heard about the local county council having bought some of the duplexes opposite the kiln view as well.

Is it okay to buy the apartment here? Will it lower the value of the apartments over time, because most of the apartments and duplexes around us would be owned by the trusts or the county council? I am thinking from a resale perspective. Kindly share your thoughts!

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120528270#Comment_120528270

Yes, it will lower the value and 490k for a two bed is a lot, considering you are out in Leopardstown.

You could get a cheaper 2 bed, closer to town but still on the green line and not be surrounded by social housing for less than that.

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120380180#Comment_120380180

It does seem a very top heavy price for Leopardstown, especially if there are loads of social homes being bought up there as per previous posters comments about Kiln View.

You could get a better located, closer to town 2 bed, 2nd hand, that wouldnt be surrounded by social housing for less money.

But then perhaps you want to be specifically in Leopardstown?

dubliner10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120528339#Comment_120528339

Agree with this. Social housing will be there in every estate and is generally ok but in your scenario it looks like another block of same apartments is allotted for social housing that could have an impact on your re-sale value. 490k is a lot for a 2 bed in this area, but then the market seems to be peaking currently. If you plan to upgrade in the next 5 years, then this may not be the right investment imo.

youllneverguessmyname

A genuine question from someone who hasn't been long in Ireland. How bad is social housing per se? Is it going to trouble me if I end up living nearby?

As for the price, yes it's not peanuts but I tried to shop around and couldn't find any 2 bed apartments for the price falling under HTB limit. Where are those closer to the town and walking distance from the green line?

MRXMRY

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120546720#Comment_120546720

If you want to buy a new apartment, there will be between 10% to 20% of social housing units in the estate. If you are planning to buy apartment and upgrade in 5 years, probably new apartment is not the best idea, considering that you could get cheaper second hand apartment with no social housing units in the area. Although older apartments, built in the Celtic tiger era, suffer from a lot of issues like poor fireproofing, water ingress etc. that could create hidden costs, adding up to lower purchase cost of older units. As previous posts did not provide any details as it comes to better/cheaper locations you can not eliminate owners of such older apartments who are willing to sell, trying to steer you that way. Look up Beacon apartments and all the board threads about fire safety issues over there.

Underground

Any idea on what price level the 3 bed houses are at now?

dubliner10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120916213#Comment_120916213

In the June launch, the 3 bed Fern started from 615k, 3 bed Elder started from 640k and 3 bed Bilberry started from 695k

hmehta

We are very close to buying a ground floor apartment in Beech Hall at 475k!

Wanted to understand if there is any problem with the ground floor apartments because of eco park path from stepaside or the Bees in the eco-park. Is there any previous case of breaking in etc we should be careful of? :)

We saw 3 out of 4 houses came out in the market in the last few months. So kind of confused to understand if there is a reason that we don’t know about.

clayfarm1234

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120963312#Comment_120963312

Apartments in general have been safer than the houses. There haven't been any break ins which I have heard of in any apartment or the houses in Clayfarm. There is a general trend of people upgrading from apartments to houses as their family grows - hence you may see several apartments in Beech Hall, Sycamore Hall, Maple Hall, Whitebeam Hall being sold in the last year or so

tribbiani

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120246481#Comment_120246481

Hi, just wondering if you got the house around August or if it got delayed

mr_ak

Hi, anyone here buying in the current phase?