Room to Improve (v2)

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623336#Comment_121623336

So it seems all they had to do to qualify was get an affidavit signed by a solicitor or commissioner of Oath and say on telly that they are not living there!

Deeec

If I was someone who was refused grants under either scheme I would refer the authorities to this episode of RTI and ask them to explain how this house qualified.

TinyMuffin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623397#Comment_121623397

Yeah but a school principal could be trustworthy.

pjohnson

This episode seems to be a huge error with the apparent backlash. A principal and a business owner that can afford to blow at least 500k getting an extra 100k of grants is not aging well.

PARlance

It'll be interesting to see what comes of all this but I wouldn't be in the slightest bit surprised to see a few of the owners coming out in the near futures to say they didn't get the grants that DB had informed them of / led them to believe they would get.

The way this show is edited can be very different from reality. I know that for certain, as I know of one couple who had an absolute nightmare and a lengthy legal battle coming from one of the episodes.... and you wouldn't have had a clue while watching it.

I would certainly hold off on any anger at either of the couples so far this season. The grant talk is all on the side of DB / RTI. And it seems that some of it was very poor / reckless advice.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623301#Comment_121623301

Colm Ó Mongáin is presenting the LiveLine today. He wants to talk about Sunday's RTI lady of the house having a miscarriage! In itself, this is extortionary intrusive into a persons private live.

The cynic in me says it has come from RTE Senior Management, to deflect questions on the Grants issue.

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623484#Comment_121623484

If an episode of RTI is making people that angry then those people should take a step back imo.

We haven't a clue about the couples real financial situation.

Some people seem to think that the budget is all that the couple should or do have. It would be very foolish if your budget was indeed all the money you had to play with, with DB around.

There could be inheritances, land to be sold etc. etc. sitting outside of budgets.

I am very fortunate not to have any inheritance yet and I wouldn't dream of spending the money the couple did on their home... but that's their own business. And it's their own business not to disclose if they're sitting on loads of money.

MisterAnarchy

My missus thought she heard the couple say they had worked abroad in Dubai for a few years and they had saved up money.

Anyone else hear that on the episode ?

event

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623484#Comment_121623484

What backlash? A load of whingers online moaning and saying "its not fair its not fair". I dont think Bannon will be in front the Oireachtas any time soon.

--

People saying they didnt do this and they didnt do that and its fraud this and fraud that. How do you know? You are aware that this is a TV show and there is a lot of clever editing in place, yeah? Maybe this all was explained but they didnt show it, cos it would be pretty boring for us to see DB explain step by step how to apply for a grant and how to get one. This isnt a youtube tutorial, its a TV show in a prime time slot. These people getting grants are not what stop you getting grants or stopping you from getting on the housing ladder. Thats a government issue. A bit of perspective here folks.

I'll go out on a limb here and say these grants are going to be a feature of every episode from here on in. So if its gonna annoy you, dont watch it.

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623579#Comment_121623579

Ignorance of the law is no defence. 30 seconds googling would show the couple what the Vacant and Derelict House grant was for. If they lied in order to get grants - and a bigger and fancier glass box extension - that is inexcusable.

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624161#Comment_121624161

If they did that of course.

The couples don't edit the show. We have no clue what really goes on in the build.

All we really know from the show is that DB didn't seem to have much of an understanding of the grants, yet despite that, it didn't stop him from factoring the grants in.

freshpopcorn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623729#Comment_121623729

My sister is currently in the UAE and if they said it I think we'd have picked up on it.

Personally I think there a hard working young couple and they may have a bit extra than some and that's life.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624273#Comment_121624273

Or an inheritance they may not want to mention or mammy daddy money.

So many reasons the financials are fudged or made up.

bfclancy2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121621219#Comment_121621219

why shouldn't they get the grant, its not means tested nor should it be, to be honest its their taxes being used to fund it, stop being bitter that people did well for themselves

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624300#Comment_121624300

I could'nt care less where they got their own money from. But as Dermot Bannon said a few weeks ago, this seasons shows are all about the grants. So many people around the country are thinking of upgrading heating or insulation or maybe doing a small renovation or even getting an old cottage or house and doing it up.

The show is not transparent, far from it. I would say it is even murkier than trying to find what Tubs was paid by RTE. A school teacher and a business owner that can afford to blow approx 700k ( between the house cost of 303k and building of the "new-build" as the q.s. called it ) getting an extra 100k of grants in order to build a better Bannon glass box extension is not aging well. And not just that, most people inc neighbours are of the opinion the house was not vacant for the 2 years?

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624382#Comment_121624382

I think for starters that the show has not caused much of a stir bar among a few.

It's an entertainment, if somebody cods themselves that because x got a grant then y and they should too in a situation which is so variable and site specific, then maybe they shouldn't be embarking on the grant route.

TinyMuffin

Room To Defraud.

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624425#Comment_121624425

Not the point. It is funds collect from all our taxes. If someone gets €99,000 tax free in grants that there is confusion about (some would say they should not have got and they may have lied in order to do so) , it is up to the programme producers to clarify the situation.

Otherwise can the rest of us not have €99,000 too please?

To date, the silence from RTE is deafening. The programme was supposed to explain what grants are available and to whom etc.

ec18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624525#Comment_121624525

yes you can have 99,000 provided you renovate a derelict/vacant property and apply for the grand in a way to be awarded the sum

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624547#Comment_121624547

If that logic holds, all a savvy home owner needs to do is vacate their property for a couple of years, arrange for a bit of water damage. Meanwhile rent at say €18K a year, €36K and then claim €99K - net benefit €54K. That's better than any SSIA ever was. Going by this, the SEAI grants really need to be ramped up so that honest homeowners can avail of this sort of public funding.

ec18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624669#Comment_121624669

They don't just give you the 99K there is limits for what can be claimed for different parts of the renovation. so yes it would be a net gain provided you spent that on the renovation.

Some on here are acting like they got the 99,000 just into their bank account. It has to be spent first and included in a planning application. some people are acting like they stole the money to go on holiday

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624696#Comment_121624696

No that's fully understood. However one of the issues for ordinary householders currently is how to afford the retrofitting work being promoted by the government. A solution seems to be a loan scheme which pushes the burden of costs onto the home owner. Joe Public would prefer a nice sweet deal like this couple I suspect.

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624696#Comment_121624696

Why should some people who spend money on renovations get €99,000 and other people who spend money on renovations not get 99,000, depending on peoples different definitions of derelict or vacant.

There were / are "more" vacant and "more" derelict houses elsewhere in the country refused grant money. Its like the "who you know" "Tubrity-RTE" " Galway races tent" "planning scandals" type of wink wink nudge nudge that annoys me. Why the inconsistencies in different areas?

99k net takes 200k gross to save / earn for most people, it is a lot to lose. Because you are not "inner circle"?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623484#Comment_121623484

Correct.

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624778#Comment_121624778

The guidlelines are easy to get and read on what the different grants are available

Do you have anything to back up statements that if "wink wink nudge nudge"?

Normally you find the reason someone hasn't got the grant is because they don't understand the process/applications etc. That's why the likes of a QS/Architect/ect who do this all the time will help fill in information to get the grants.

ax530

The usual suprise at costs, size of budget and where/how the extra money available if understandable and part of show at this stage.

But the issues with grants should be raised and questioned further as it public money. I for one will raise it with any politician I meet or who asks for votes ect.

Can't have a case where public money is being assigned incorrectly especially if done for sake of TV audiences.

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624807#Comment_121624807

Yes,I know someone who contacted the relevant person in the council who deals with the Vacant and derelict house grant. Their home was much more vacant / genuinely vacant for many years and much more derelict than the one we saw in Cashel on TV the other night. ( nobody could really say - with a straight face - the bungalow in Cashel was derelict ).

And a long discussion was had on the grant, and even though there was no question the house was properly vacant for a very long number of years and properly derelict / holes in roof / growth inside the house etc etc the potential applicant was told most definitely that they could not remove the rest of the roof or knock down wall, that the structure had to be kept. They could repair and refurbish, but not replace half or most of the house. The grant was for refurbishment, not to replace. That was a condition of the grant and was for environmental reasons too, he said.

Clo-Clo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121625136#Comment_121625136

So vague story with no facts and the system is corrupt

Got ya

mykrodot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623484#Comment_121623484

its irrelevant what occupations the couple have and how much money they make. These grants are NOT means tested.

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624669#Comment_121624669

You do not even need water damage, by the look of it. Or vacate it for 2 years? And the gain would be more than €54k , as the rent lost is taxable ( and in much of the country would not be 18k a year anyway ), and the 99k in grants is tax free / would be like 99k in after tax income.

event

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624669#Comment_121624669

Yeah there are load of places to rent in Ireland, this is a fool proof plan