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

Johnny_Fontane

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320135#Comment_121320135

The large amount would be getting a front driveway so that people can pull in their car. In my mind, that might make the house more attractive. But hey, I'm just surmising, throwing out ideas etc.

RichardAnd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320302#Comment_121320302

Putting in a new driveway on a house you're planning to sell seems extreme. Then again, if the current one is in bits...

If you do do it, get something cheap.

Bacchus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121319687#Comment_121319687

Take this with the context that this is based off one conversation with a broker this week, as a family in a very similar position to yourself (in terms of expected sale price, remaining mortgage, expected new property price)...

I was told, we'd be going to the banks looking for the €550k mortgage, not €330k and make up the difference from the sale of the current property. Without selling up front, the new house is being bought with an entirely new mortgage. You get a new mortgage approval for what you need, and get your deposit in place. When the time comes (and the timing of this part confused me a bit), you put your deposit on the new house but can't go further without your current house essentially sold. With your old house sold, your old mortgage is paid off from the sale and you keep the balance so now you have a new €550k mortgage and €200k in the bank. It looks like you may have the same issue we are faced with. €30k in cash is not going to be enough for a 2nd time buyer deposit on a €550k mortgage.

Bargain_Hound

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320695#Comment_121320695

Interesting, thank you for explaining. I was under the impression the bank would see the equity in your current property as a portion (+excess) towards your new deposit, with the obvious caveat that the house must sell first, old mortgage cleared and balance used towards the new property. Disappointed to hear effectively we will need the normal 20% min for second time buyers and positive equity isn't considered towards this.

Other(risky) option is to sell first, bag the equity and then approach the banks with the house sales as a deposit.

Bacchus

Yeah, and I'd love for someone to correct me on my understanding but that was how it was put to me. If you're not going to sell up front, your current property value has no bearing on the new mortgage. That means a bigger mortgage on a higher interest rate, and having to get the deposit in place for that larger mortgage too.

Johnny_Fontane

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320426#Comment_121320426

theres no driveway there. Its a front garden. Im thinking if we put in a driveway, its adds to the house etc. Parking on the road is tricky, you cant use an electric car, thats the angle I suppose.

I think im overthinking this, but just feel we have to do something

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320839#Comment_121320839

Wouldn't bother.

Clean the house, or pay professionals to do it for you, declutter, remove any furniture that is old and worn, and take some nice pictures.

Put a bunch of flowers on the hall table for viewings.

That's it.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320839#Comment_121320839

If you dont currently have driveway then adding one may need planning permission. Will take time as well as money.

Drog79

Moving using the equity in the house as part of the 20% deposit can be done, but you have to be able to line up a same day move for the whole chain. Solicitor undertook that our house would be sold and proceeds used, when he was drawing down the smaller mortgage.

Cork2021

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320827#Comment_121320827

Yeah so we had to go for the full mortgage amount out salaries allowed. What equity we had didn’t matter but was part of getting fully approved, in terms of clearing current mortgage, paying the new deposit which is 10% but obviously more if you go above the new mortgage amount our actual deposit is 13% as we went slightly over what the 10% was.

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320839#Comment_121320839

As Oddysey mentioned, putting a driveway needs planning permission which could be months and they are expensive.

I agree I personally rate negative the houses without a driveway as I drive so it would cause me hassle to park especially if I paid a large amount on a house.

I think you could comprise and give people discount for not having a driveway and let them put one.

Those houses have a lot of charm.

mykrodot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121319737#Comment_121319737

Does the orientation of the house matter that much? Surely if you have good photos taken in the Summer of the backgarden in full sunlight well that tells a story in itself?? That is what I'd be going for, how much sun the garden actually gets......the wording in the listing wouldn't bother me, I would still have to view it!

Can the EA simply take out the "north facing garden" line and just say lovely sunny spacious garden instead? I wouldn't spend big money. I have sold 5 houses in my lifetime. I always got good photos taken of them, always got them cleaned and some interior painting, some flowers, very tidy and minimal in the photos, zero clutter .........never had a problem selling any of them. Then again I was never in the higher price bracket, always between 200-300K

J_1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121319737#Comment_121319737

If it’s the house I found on daft, having only 1 bathroom is the biggest downside.

cant even spot a 2nd toilet. These have been really sluggish to sell (many smaller houses like this in d14)

also needs considerable upgrades on top.

Summer2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121319737#Comment_121319737

If it’s the house I think on daft I’ve one or two suggestions. Sand and restain floorboards , they’re letting down the sitting room.Consider painting kitchen cupboards and ceiling (pine). It’s very dated and a lick of paint would transform it. We did similar in a pine sunroom and the difference is amazing. Personal items (Lego I think) , I’d remove them from photos and during viewings. People want a blank canvas when viewing , it helps with the aesthetic. I think a lot of professionals would recommend this approach . Also a lot of emphasis in the photos on fireplaces, I get theyre original features but to me they just highlight that’s it’s going to be hard / expensive to heat house. No need for closeups of bottle of wine also, it’s little things like that annoy me in property ads. If it’s not selling consider changing agents .

personally speaking also I wouldn’t even consider a house with no parking , especially living close to Croker. You’re restricting yourself to families who don’t drive / can put up with the hassle of on street parking

crisco10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320695#Comment_121320695

again we are similar to both of you and @Bargain_Hound (even the 2 kids bit) except we executed the move over the summer.

our financials roughly:

sale price old house 500k

outstanding mortgage 250k

saved deposit 100k

new house price 750k

new mortgage 400k

Process:

Went Sale Agreed on existing house and new house at same time (within 2 weeks of each other). Our mortgage offer for new house had a condition that old mortgage needed to be discharged before drawdown. (The only proof they need for this was an undertaking from my solicitor that she would do it).

Exchanged the contracts, did all the engineers inspections etc. then signed contracts and exchanged the contractual deposit. This is where it gets sticky for you with only having 30k saved. You need 10% of the new house value to send with signed contracts but that’s before you have sold. So you look a little short there (you’d need 50k).

finally, moved out of our house on a Thursday , had money by Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite get the new keys on Friday, instead it was Monday morning first thing.

So yes we got a mortgage that fully recognised the equity in our old house but still needed a decent amount of free cash and even then we were a few nights without a house.

Bargain_Hound

Thank you for sharing, that is positive.

And is the 10% deposit on signing contract a fixed percentage always, no negotiation on this?

in that case, we could probably find that difference by loan off a family member to return once both sales complete.

crisco10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121323014#Comment_121323014

Not sure really. At a guess that’s up to your sellers and their solicitor.

Cork2021

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121323014#Comment_121323014

My situation. House cost €355k

mortgage approved and loan offer issued at €312k

we need to give a total of €43k deposit to match up with our loan amount. So basically we’re using around €9k from our sale on top of the 10% deposit to get to our mortgage amount!

Summer2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121323014#Comment_121323014

We were the same position, mortgage offer for the new house had a condition that the sale of the old house would go towards it so didn’t need a new mortgage for the full value of the new house. We were short about 20k to make up the 10% deposit, but the other sides solicitor accepted this.

Drog79

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121323014#Comment_121323014

Only thing to be careful of here is the bank will look for proof of how you are funding the deposit and it can't be another loan (even family). They'll likely ask for a letter stating it's a gift. You might be better off just saving the 10% and then no worries.

Johnny_Fontane

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121322936#Comment_121322936

lots of interesting stuff above. Sanding floors, an option. Kitchen is what it is. Weve been looking at places on Iona in Glasnevin, Hollybrook in Clontarf etc., none have their own car space. Doesnt bother me in the slightest. But I know it bothers others. particularly those that might want to have an electric car etc.

Planning for replacing front garden would be necessary, our neighbours did it recently, it turned out very nice. It was about 3 months all in. Considering our EA is talking Feb to relaunch, we have plenty of time.

We did get the place painted recently enough, like less than 10 months ago, so its definitely fresh. The single bathroom is what it is, but there is tons of room in the main bedroom to put in an ensuite.

Its really interesting what people see in houses. We all see different things, but I really appreciate all the feedback from people on here.

We had a viewing today, fingers crossed, there is interest!

VW 1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121323014#Comment_121323014

We were in the same position using equity as deposit, our solicitor explained to the vendor solicitor and they agreed it was fine.

EchoEmber

Bought our first house (second hand) few months ago. What is the process when it comes to property tax next for the next calendar year ? Is there anything we need to register or is there any letters we are supposed to get ?

joebert80

We recently sold our 2 bedroom apartment in Drumcondra area. Nice apartment, great condition. Was priced in line with other apartments in the development which have recently sold. I was very surprised by the numbers that showed up to the viewings. The first viewing had 4 viewers and the second viewing had roughly the same. I would have expected a lot more considering the shortage of supply out there at the moment. Anyone else had a similar experience of late?

banie01

Our buyers have signed and returned contracts to our solicitor. The delay in any close date? Is our solicitor, everything on our side moves like molasses until we contact the office. It's not an office we've used before and rather than use our regular solicitor, the Mrs decided to use a new office for the sale. It's an office we won't be using again.

Our sale is relatively straight forward, selling to sitting tenant, clean title, only query raised was as to whether estate has been taken in charge and that was closed out weeks ago. No chain or other impediment.

Still hoping to close in next week or so, but sooner we close the better. Not for us, we'd rather the buyers wouldn't have to worry about any rent/mortgage cross over or any other worries.

FledNanders

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121326089#Comment_121326089

I think others have mentioned it but I would say there are too many photos in the listing, and a lot of them are not adding value, or are highlighting things that don't show areas in a flattering light (3/4 front hall/door photos is too many, fireplace close ups, pic of kitchen door hitting the fridge, washing machine area of the kitchen close up etc). I would also remove the photo that shows the old electric fire in the back room.

Having sold our house recently I think we only had 18-20 photos for everything which is plenty to give a nice general overview of the place.

Good luck!

Johnny_Fontane

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121332503#Comment_121332503

Yep, I will get those amended. I think sanding the floors and repainting the kitchen is something we will do. The front driveway, we might just get the planning done, its a 2 day job to do it once you have planning I think. I'll start on that this week.

Really appreciate all the help on here, lets see how it progresses.

Toots

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121326089#Comment_121326089

If it's the house I think it is, it's a gorgeous house. The few suggestions I would have (having recently sold myself, so going on what advice we were given) would be:

You need to be more aggressive with the de-cluttering. The back sitting room with all the shelves of models, and the bookcase completely full can be off-putting. Clear all that out and leave the shelves almost bare with one or two little knick knacks like a candle or something, just so there's not all bare space. Is the thing behind the couch with the brown sheet covering it part of the couch or is it a bed or something? If it's not part of the couch, get it out of there. The bookcase in the landing could do with clearing also, and the bedroom with the stack of books on the dresser. (I found this difficult because I'm a bookworm, so my place was similarly packed with books).

Re-do the floor in the front room - I think the fact that the colour is so dark makes the worn bits look worse than they actually are, but definitely should be smartened up for the sale. Surprised the EA didn't mention this tbh

Reduce the amount of pics on the advert - 51 is far too many to be scrolling through. The fireplaces are gorgeous, but there doesn't need to be an individual shot of each one. There's 7 pics of the kitchen, probably only 2 of them are worth keeping. 2 shots of the master bedroom would also be enough and 11 shots of the back garden is total overkill (including the pic of the random bottle of wine) Pic #28 is a terrible angle of that bathroom, I'd either re-shoot that or else just omit it entirely. Did the EA have a professional come out to do the photos or did he do them himself? One other thing that I found slightly annoying as a buyer was when a listing had a "video" of the property, but it was actually just a slideshow of the photos that were already in the listing.

We were told not to bother replacing the kitchen (ours was about 15 years old) because we wouldn't make the money back in the sale and also the new buyers might just rip it out anyway if it wasn't to their taste.

One thing would say about the lack of a driveway is you're probably putting off a decent amount of buyers at the outset with that. I moved out of an apartment where my parking spot was a 2 min walk from my front door and it was fine on a sunny day but in the winter it was the absolute worst - especially when I had a load of groceries in the car. It was worse when I had kids. A driveway was an absolute dealbreaker for us when we moved and I wouldn't have even looked at a house that didn't have one. I'd say it would be worth the outlay to get a driveway in.

Leg End Reject

I'd second the driveway being a must, declutter and then declutter again, sand the floor and I'd just paint the pine ceiling in the kitchen rather than doing all the cupboards too.

If I bought a house and planned to change the kitchen in time I'd rather have unpainted solid pine units, rather than painted ones that will chip.

It's a fine house in a great location so you'll get there.

James 007

@Johnny_Fontane

I had a look at this house over the weekend as I was passing by the area & knew when you posted the location/house from Daft.ie.

Your main issue is the driveway. The problem with Clonliffe Road is that parking is only on one side of the street only, you mentioned Hollybank Rd/other streets, but all these have parking on both sides, whereas your house is competing with the houses on the opposite side of the road, where the parking is located on that side only.

The other thing it is a busy road so if you do plan to put in the parking, I'd suggest you have a look at this house below on Jones Road, up the road from you. They have a carparking space, I think a small shed to place bikes in, storage for timber, a place to hide the bins and a nice hedge to give some privacy, not only that, you wont have to stare at a bonnet of a car from your sitting room.

You mentioned about buyers disappearing. Generally if they are, they are probably seeing bargins in the more affluent areas of Drumcondra, so do a price comparison between your house and these houses. I'm not saying your house is over priced but what I would say couples may get more bang for their buck in these areas. Keep it in mind if selling in Feb '24.

43 Saint Anne's Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, D09E5R7 is for sale on Daft.ie

225 Charlemont, Griffith Avenue, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, D09RP22 is for sale on Daft.ie

466 Griffith Avenue, Glasnevin, Dublin 11, D11W1E8 is for sale on Daft.ie