Currently buying/selling a house? How is it going? READ MOD NOTE POST #1

Ciara26

Is anyone buying the new build in elder heath tallaght? I’ve done all the paperwork and the timeline keeps moving. Be nice to hear I’m not the only one worrying.

JimmyVik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118866783#Comment_118866783

Dont see anyone losing a sale for the sake of 10k on a house. Just make sure someone else hasnt bid more.

MeheeHohee

Is 20% over the asking the norm selling price in cork suburbs? Seems to be around that number for everything we're looking at at the moment ?

Brock Turnpike

Have been SA on a house for a couple of weeks now. Survey still to be carried out and waiting for mortgage offer to come through.

However... Today I listened to a podcast which has shaken our belief in whether we should be buying right now. Paul Somerville was on The Stand and is basically saying all signs in the bonds and investment markets are indicating a global recession is incoming. He is not just pulling his opinion out of thin air not rather hang out on the historical trends seen before other recessions hit. He was also one of the analysts to warn if the recession in '08.

Does anyone have an opinion on this? We are buying at the top end of our budget, and while we are both in stable jobs in stable industries, we are now starting to doubt if we are making a mistake buying right now. On the other hand, time is against us in terms of age and mortgage so we are really torn. Anyone got any opinions or advice?

ec18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118881368#Comment_118881368

you can never predict what will happen, there's a reason it's all referred to as speculation. If you pull out now and he's wrong, you've lost your house and waiting for the next recession to buy. There's never a perfect time to buy where you're getting maximum bang for your buck.

In short you'll never know, if you are genuinely spooked that you might be lose your job at some point in the future then you'll never buy a house.

byron55

Have many people on here taken the jump and sold their property before finding somewhere to buy again? Fed up of agents not entertaining us because we're in a chain, and being outbid, we've decided to sell up. Viewings are going well but the reality of renting (and how long we could still be waiting to buy) has now hit us hard. Are we mad selling up to rent in hope we'll find new home quickly, now we'll be 'ready to go' and have more exact figure of how much we have to spend?

Warwick green

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118881368#Comment_118881368

When we bought in 2017, I was reading these kind of threads on forums and listening to economists, etc talking about how you would be mad to buy now, there's a crash around the corner. (Prices had almost doubled from 2012-2017 so it felt believable). Cue 5 years later and our house is valued 20-25% more than we paid for it. If we had listened and got spooked, not only would we be in a worse position now (having to pay 20+% more for the same house), we would also be down around €130,000 in rent by my calculations. (We had to live somewhere). I read of people saying the same thing in the 1980s here too. I don't think there's going to be a major drop in prices over the next 5 years, looking at all the factors (supply, cost of building materials, labour, land, population growth, etc). I think inflation will actually see the absolute prices go up a lot in that period, but the money will be worth less. If you like the location, and can afford the mortgage deposit and repayments - go for it is my advice.

alwald

In case of a recession there will be less supply both new and used. Builders won't built and sell at a loss and homeowners won't sell at a loss either or trade. On top of that, based on the population growth, there will be more demand for rent and thus renting prices will remain high.

Dodge

If you’re buying a house you want to live in, and want to live in for a long time, there’s never a wrong time to buy. Negative equity doesn’t effect you if you don’t want to leave

Brock Turnpike

Thanks, all, for the feedback. Definitely given us some food for thought.

AlmightyCushion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118882754#Comment_118882754

This reminds me of a recent episode of How to be good with money. There was a woman who was on it who had bought a house with her partner some time during the boom. She has since split up with the partner. She was on reduced payments for a long time (I think it might have been interest only) and reckoned the house was worth a lot less than they had paid and how much was left on the mortgage. Eoin asked her what would be her ideal situation with the house and she said hand the keys back to the bank. I think she even said if she had to make up the difference between what was owed on it and what the bank gets for it she doesn't mind as she just wants rid of it. Eoin didn't ask her where she would live then as obviously she won't get a mortgage and given how much she was paying on the mortgage I would say rent anywhere else would be way more expensive. I reckon handing the bank the keys would have left her in a much worse situation, even if she didn't have to pay the difference between what it was worth and what the bank sold it for. She would be entering the rental market at a time when everyone and their dog are doing everything they can to get out of it.

She was absolutely miserable over the situation with the house. She didn't even do any maintenance or upkeep like painting and things like that because she hated the house and wanted to be gone. Eoin went off and got the place valued. It turns out the place was worth a lot more than she thought. Still less than was left on the mortgage but not far off it. Her mood completely changed. She was absolutely delighted. She started crying she was so happy. She wanted to stay in the house. She started making plans to start doing it up, going out buying paint and fixing broken tiles in the kitchen. Nothing about the house changed, just its value on paper and she went from being miserable and wanting to be rid of the place to being over the moon and thinking about all the things she will do with the house.

jluv

@AlmightyCushion I was just thinking about this today. Sometimes people assume theres nothing they can do but if they speak to the right people there might be a good solution to the problem. Not always but worth investigating.

I was in a situation myself 2 years ago. Could see no way out. I thought actually I would go into mortgage arrears. But I sought advice and that alone helped to alleviate the panic.

That was when I also found this thread. Sold the home that I was concerned about. Bought a very much smaller, old, fixed upper. I've most of the major work done now. But it's the not having the worry or stress that's invaluable.

Cork2021

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118882358#Comment_118882358

We were thinking about it recently, as we could possibly make 100% back on the house.. but then it’s where do we go once it’s sold? Yeah we’d be totally debt free, and we’d pay rent and hope for the best(or move in with my wife’s parents… slim chance of it especially with 2 toddlers) . It’s wrecking our heads.

AhhHere

Expecting to go sale agreed shortly. What are my next steps to speed things up? Have survey set up. Broker informed. Solicitor ready. Anything else?

Barnaboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118882358#Comment_118882358

We have just done it ourselves. We discovered that EA in Dublin area won't even entertain offers when your own house is not SA. I suppose the thinking is that you need to prove that you can afford to buy.

It makes the search more stressful knowing the clock is ticking. People are generally OK about delays if it takes a bit longer.

Buying a new home is always stressful. This is our fourth time doing it, I suppose this time we are older and wiser, so not as bad in that we have learned from previous times. We have done a lot of research, including reading this thread which has been very helpful.

Use every spare minute to research. Go to as many viewings as you can tolerate. Some houses can surprise you, others will annoy you. Found myself getting really peeved at some of the photos on line. Making rooms look much bigger than they are, same with gardens.

Don't panic, try and follow your head, not your heart when bidding. This is not easy.

On your own home, it will be easier from a chain point of view if you accept a bid from a first time buyer. And be aware of seller's circumstances when viewing. The shorter the chain the easier for everyone.

Barnaboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118886046#Comment_118886046

Get good solicitor ASAP. Use word of mouth from friends or family or research on line before selecting. One who specialises in conveyancing and with positive feedback worth paying extra for.

Then get surveyor and valuation from bank once SA.

AlmightyCushion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118885440#Comment_118885440

I agree that some times people just need a bit of help figuring out a solution and Eoin did this with her. He helped her with budgeting and other things. However, in this case a big source of relief for her was finding out her house was worth more than she thought and she wasn't in as much negative equity as she thought. Nothing changed there only the paper value of the house. The value of her house changed nothing in her day to day life or her finances. If she had gotten rid of it like she wanted, she would probably be renting and spending more on rent than the mortgage was. She would actually be worse off by getting rid of the house but that is what she wanted because she was in negative equity. If Eoin had lied to her about the valuation she wouldn't even know but yet the higher valuation gave her such relief/

AhhHere

Any surveyor recommendations for house in south Dublin? One we had is backlogged

Giblet

Went sale agreed on a property, and found out Avant don't actually offer 90% LTV loans in all areas listed on their site! Back to the drawing board regarding mortgage now, hopefully I'll get it done in time.

RINO87

Might seem like a bit of an obvious question, but do you need to be close to your solicitor, or does the solicitor need to be close to the property? Would you need to visit the office in person much I guess is my question....

We are ready to purchase a private sale, but have no experience with the solicitors in the local area, and few reviews can be found online. We do know of a good solicitor about an hour away that friends and family have used.

Can anyone recommend a good conveyancing solicitor in north tipp?

_Brian

Estate agent been to do floor plans, photographer before the end of the week, house should be listed online Monday all going well.. Really want this to go through, don't want tenants in again.. She's positive we will get what were expecting but who knows..

Dodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118890410#Comment_118890410

We visited our solicitor 4 times (buying and selling a house). Once to bring over some originals of documents. Once to sign for our new house. Once to sign away our old house. Once to sign our new deeds. Everything else was email and telephone. They didn’t visit the property so that’s not a factor

JimmyVik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118882358#Comment_118882358

Its a big risk though. What if you are sale agreed for a long time while you are looking and prices have gone up by 20k or 30k.

Plenty of people in that situation at the moment, even on this thread. I would never sell first and wait to buy, unless it was a falling market. its the opposite at the moment.

If you have your house 100% ready to sell, finance arranged with letter from bank, have your solicitor and estate agent engaged and the deeds requested you could have your house sold in 2 weeks in this climate. When you bid just tell them your situation and that you have all in place and will have sale agreed in a couple of weeks.

I know one where they bid on a few properties, went sale agreed on on with the understanding their was going on the market at the weekend. The estate agent already had people lined up to view. 18 people showed up on the Friday, 4 cames back for second viewings during the week. EA said best and final offers on Saturday. 3 offers came in on the Saturday one over 30k above asking, One was 50k and one 45k over asking. They went with the 45k over asking as they were cash buyers.

When I heard that story, i thought to myself, why are all houses not sold like that. Far less stress for all invilved.

demr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118890410#Comment_118890410

We never met our solicitor. She lived in another county but came highly recommended. We do not regret going with her as opposed to somebody local. Anything we needed to sign was sent by post in one batch and did not add any delay to proceedings as post is pretty much overnight and chances are you will always be ahead of the vendors with paperwork anyway. Definitely go with the recommendation. It could make your life far easier!

getoutadodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118882358#Comment_118882358

Same dilemma. I'd luv to move out of Dublin. No problem selling where I am and fully owned but cant risk being homeless and forced into seeking a rental in this crazy market. Some rural towns that I am researching have almost zero rentals. Insane. As a result I'm frozen.. in situ. I might opt to go abroad instead as an extreme option since there's no shortage of rentals in the places that interest me...and it's logical to rent in advance of purchasing ..more so abroad.

what_traffic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118892498#Comment_118892498

Your scenario though shows the cash buyers won out on that bidding? That is the appeal selling up first I guess as one then becomes a more favorable buyer? I agree on the sale process you describe, have had similar experience for two houses I was bidding on in Galway City. Very similar story to the one you describe. There a cash buyer underbid our offer by 5k and the seller went with that.

I am doing it now, am selling up - but am selling to a family member so makes it a good bit easier as can rent off them in the short term, hopefully wont come to that.

byron55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118892498#Comment_118892498

I think finding out we could achieve 90% of price we purchased at after a decade-plus of negative equity completely blinded us to reality after that. Can't get over how bad the rental market is. At least during Celtic tiger days, rental was normal from what I remember. Lot of thinking to be done. Thanks for advice.

tscul32

We've been trying to buy the same house since last summer. We have a very saleable house but are only interested in this one house. Sale had already fallen through once when we saw it. We were beaten by a cash buyer. Then that fell through and they lost a house they were trying to buy, so we tried again. Beaten by a cash buyer again as they again felt it was a safer bet. That then fell through. Third time I think we had convinced them that we were the safest bet (weren'tgoing to change our minds), but we lost to a cash buyer because of a timing issue with them needing contracts signed asap so they don't lose the next house they're trying to buy. Have been told if it doesn't work out this time it won't be relisted and we'll just be getting a call.

Our problem is that the next best house for us in the area is the one we already own so not selling in the hope of finding something else. We need to agree our purchase first.

iColdFusion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118894752#Comment_118894752

Why did all the other sales fall through, is the house haunted or what?

tscul32

Not 100% sure. Was told one was an issue with school places, another one found somewhere else last minute. There are some development plans for the area that might put some people off but we're aware of all that. We've been promised there's nothing bad coming up in surveys. Worth noting it's not really a first time buyer house so not like the places that are being snapped up.

The EA said there's lots of impulsive bidding going on, people bidding on multiple properties then seeing what they win, taking one but ditching it if they win their favourite. Current winners apparently offered full asking the day it was listed, without having even seen the place. We offered more but the timing was more important.

It's frustrating.