Parklands Citywest

Jess2019

Hi all, we have put a booking deposit down for a 3-bed mid terrace in Parklands Citywest. This is a brand new housing development of approx 500 houses in Citywest, near the Saggart Luas Stop.

I wanted to start this thread for people to discuss and share their experiences with buying a home in Parklands.

We were advised of a change in the plans for our house type with no option to revert to the original plans. Has anyone else experienced this?

sparkle109

Jess2019 wrote: »

Hi all, we have put a booking deposit down for a 3-bed mid terrace in Parklands Citywest. This is a brand new housing development of approx 500 houses in Citywest, near the Saggart Luas Stop.

I wanted to start this thread for people to discuss and share their experiences with buying a home in Parklands.

We were advised of a change in the plans for our house type with no option to revert to the original plans. Has anyone else experienced this?

Congrats on the house! What sort of changes are they?

Jess2019

sparkle109 wrote: »

Congrats on the house! What sort of changes are they?

Thank you! There is a change to the downstairs plan. On the original plan there were double doors from the living room to the dining room/kitchen. Now there is a wall, and we were told the double doors have been omitted.

robo

That's a fairly significant change - are you happy with this? Do you have an option to get your deposit back, I gotta say if this was me, I'd be fairly peeved at such a change.

Jess2019

robo wrote: »

That's a fairly significant change - are you happy with this? Do you have an option to get your deposit back, I gotta say if this was me, I'd be fairly peeved at such a change.

No we’re not happy. We rang the developer who told us the agent went with the wrong plans during the launch. And that there will be no double doors. They will not be going back to change them. We have our heart set on this house. We haven’t signed any contracts yet and feel like we have no choice but to go along with this change in the plans.

thepolymath

Hi Jess2019, We are exactly in the same situation. Booked the house looking at the floor plan printed on the Brochure and now when we went to the last viewing we saw the physical house completely different. I took this matter up strongly with the H&M however they are blaming this on the developer. Even we like the house but now are not sure what to do.

Meanwhile, any ideas about the location especially about safety considering it is very close to the Lidl in Fortunestown. We presently live in North Dublin so are trying to find out more about the location.

chevra13i

We've put a booking deposit down on a mid terrace but it's one of the three storey houses so it isn't affected by the design changes. It's exactly the same as the show house as far as I know.

When I went in to meet H&M the fella was saying they have to get the whole brochure re-printed because the developers got those plans wrong.

The area should be grand tbh, it's far enough away from the shopping centre and the Lidl to be worrying too much about the dodgy estates which are nearer Citywest Village (we did have our names down for one of them but it was too close to the Luas stop so we cancelled). There's going to be apartments going up nearby so I'd imagine it'll get quite busy but you could say the same for pretty much every affordable new development in Dublin.

thepolymath

Did anyone receive confirmation on the number of parking spots allocated to the house?

When we booked, verbally it was mentioned by H&M that 1.5 parking spots will be allocated, but now they have confirmed in writing that only 1 parking spot will be allocated, at least for the Type 1 house we booked.

Furthermore, any idea on the % allocation of social housing and where they will be located?

robo

Regarding the parking spaces, your neighbouring estate Cuil Duin residents were also told that they have 1.5 parking spaces for the majority of houses (4 bedroom got 2 spaces). And there were a handful of visitors spots also marked out - the biggest issue in the estate is now people parking in their neighbours spot, residents parking in visitors spaces that are residents and not leaving them available for residents visitors. Clearly most households have 2 cars, so if H&M are saying you will get 1.5 spaces (dunno how that works btw) and you have 2 cars, you will definitely have issues parking the 2nd car.

As far as I know - Cuil Duin & Parklands has the same estate agent and builders.

Caranica

1.5 spaces is 1 space and a share in visitor parking. It's usually a nightmare with most units having 2 cars or more. Scary thing is this used to be a minimum requirement but it was done away with in the panic to build more homes. Some new developments don't even have half as many parking spaces as homes!

chevra13i

I was told by H&M that it's 1.25 spaces per house so that'll only be one visitor space per four houses.

We asked where the social housing was going but understandably they're not allowed to say.

robo

chevra13i wrote: »

I was told by H&M that it's 1.25 spaces per house so that'll only be one visitor space per four houses.

We asked where the social housing was going but understandably they're not allowed to say.

The allocation of parking space of 1.25 is a joke - like it doesn't make sense. So by 0.25, Parklands will have less visitor spots than Cuil Duin.

Jess2019

Has anyone heard what access to the Saggart luas stop will be like?

Yellow_Fern

Caranica wrote: »

1.5 spaces is 1 space and a share in visitor parking. It's usually a nightmare with most units having 2 cars or more. Scary thing is this used to be a minimum requirement but it was done away with in the panic to build more homes. Some new developments don't even have half as many parking spaces as homes!

I can confirm the 1.5 spaces per a house in CD is a problem for residents. There is Whatsapp group were people try to deal with it.

chevra13i wrote: »

I was told by H&M that it's 1.25 spaces per house so that'll only be one visitor space per four houses.

We asked where the social housing was going but understandably they're not allowed to say.

1.25 for 3 beds or 2 beds? You'd have to assume that social housing is there. It is everywhere these days.

Jess2019 wrote: »

Has anyone heard what access to the Saggart luas stop will be like?

At the moment its not full at Saggart but it can get full at Fortunestown

chevra13i

Jess2019 wrote: »

Has anyone heard what access to the Saggart luas stop will be like?

I think the pathway from Parklands to the Luas stop will be built fairly quickly - as in before those apartments start going up.

That's what my Mrs told me anyway but I can't remember where she got that info.

Jess2019

We were told our house would be ready in May and were then told it could be April. Has anyone else been told anything different?

Yellow_Fern

Also if it is anything like CD, I'd take the BER scores with a grain of salt

thepolymath

Any issue with the BER rating in Cuil Duin? Same Developer is building Parklands as well and the housing concept seems very similar.

chevra13i

Jess2019 wrote: »

We were told our house would be ready in May and were then told it could be April. Has anyone else been told anything different?

We were told late summer for ours.

Yellow_Fern wrote: »

Also if it is anything like CD, I'd take the BER scores with a grain of salt

Is this something we need to get independently assessed or will the developers just slap an A2 on all of them?

Yellow_Fern

chevra13i wrote: »

We were told late summer for ours.




Is this something we need to get independently assessed or will the developers just slap an A2 on all of them?

I saw some issues at CD. Hard to explain here but I could Pm you details to look out for.

Joey2020

We are considering a 3 bed 2 story type 3 house but there are none actually on view. Has anyone seen one of these? If we put our booking deposit down can we get it back if we see it and aren't happy with it? It is defo only 1 parking spare per house? Won't work for us if it is. Tia

thepolymath

It was mentioned to me today that the houses will be handed over in July 2020.

Suprisingly H&M mentioned all house types irrespective of no of beds have only 1 allocated parking space, rest of the parking spaces will be marked for visitors.

Yellow_Fern

thepolymath wrote: »

It was mentioned to me today that the houses will be handed over in July 2020.

Suprisingly H&M mentioned all house types irrespective of no of beds have only 1 allocated parking space, rest of the parking spaces will be marked for visitors.

If you stay too long in the visitor spots there can be trouble. Also there is a risk of clamping.

chevra13i

Joey2020 wrote: »

If we put our booking deposit down can we get it back if we see it and aren't happy with it?

Yes the 5k deposit is fully refundable up to the date that contracts are signed.

If you've engaged solicitors in this timeframe and then cancel they'd still expect to be paid.

Jess2019

Hi,

We booked house type 3 and were told they should hopefully be available to view next month.
We were told they will get all house type 3 buyers in to see a type 3 house as soon as they can.
This was sent to us via email on Monday.
There is a show house similar to the house type 3 but without the family room at the back.
By show house I mean, it’s totally empty no furniture etc.
We’ve viewed this and are hoping the type 3 is pretty similar.

Joey2020 wrote: »

We are considering a 3 bed 2 story type 3 house but there are none actually on view. Has anyone seen one of these? If we put our booking deposit down can we get it back if we see it and aren't happy with it? It is defo only 1 parking spare per house? Won't work for us if it is. Tia

robo

thepolymath wrote: »

It was mentioned to me today that the houses will be handed over in July 2020.

Suprisingly H&M mentioned all house types irrespective of no of beds have only 1 allocated parking space, rest of the parking spaces will be marked for visitors.

Just take these dates with a pinch of salt - in Cuil Duin (same estate agent & builders) - the waiting times were well over a year AFTER the month they were initially told. Just for planning on moving etc - wait until you get a snag date & even then, I know for some it still took a few months after this to get the keys.
Think the issue was mainly with legal stuff & water or electricity connections.

Gatling

Yellow_Fern wrote: »

If you stay too long in the visitor spots there can be trouble. Also there is a risk of clamping.

Only if there is a management company who hires them in housing estates it doesn't happen

Jess2019

I’ve never heard of clamping in a private housing estate before. Once there are no double yellow lines it’s fine to park there. Unless the law has changed?

Yellow_Fern wrote: »

If you stay too long in the visitor spots there can be trouble. Also there is a risk of clamping.

Del2005

Gatling wrote: »

Only if there is a management company who hires them in housing estates it doesn't happen

Most housing estates are being setup with Management companies as per planning, the council won't be taking these over and too get payment MC's can use clamping.

Joey2020

Jess2019 wrote: »

Hi,

We booked house type 3 and were told they should hopefully be available to view next month.
We were told they will get all house type 3 buyers in to see a type 3 house as soon as they can.
This was sent to us via email on Monday.
There is a show house similar to the house type 3 but without the family room at the back.
By show house I mean, it’s totally empty no furniture etc.
We’ve viewed this and are hoping the type 3 is pretty similar.

Hi there, does this house you mentioned have the kitchen to the back?

Yellow_Fern

Jess2019 wrote: »

I’ve never heard of clamping in a private housing estate before. Once there are no double yellow lines it’s fine to park there. Unless the law has changed?

I have heard this before but it can take years get sufficient leverage in management company to end it. At CD hasn't been an AGM last so you cant even try to end it.

Gatling wrote: »

Only if there is a management company who hires them in housing estates it doesn't happen

Id imagine its common but I am not an authority.

Jess2019

Hi,
Yes house type 3 has a kitchen at the back and a family room.

Joey2020 wrote: »

Hi there, does this house you mentioned have the kitchen to the back?

Joey2020

Jess2019 wrote: »

Hi,
Yes house type 3 has a kitchen at the back and a family room.

Thanks a mill. I'm going tohave another lookkn Sat will look out for this one. Really keen but parking is worrying me as we have 2 cars! Ah decisions decisions!

Jess2019

The house we viewed which is similar enough to house type 3 is just across from the two show houses. It’s beside the house type 8 which has the living room on 1 side and the kitchen on the other. It wasn’t clearly marked last week but we knew it was open as we checked it out when we originally went up to put our deposit down.
I know the parking is a pain, we just have 1 car so aren’t too worried about it.

Joey2020 wrote: »

Thanks a mill. I'm going tohave another lookkn Sat will look out for this one. Really keen but parking is worrying me as we have 2 cars! Ah decisions decisions!

thepolymath

Is anyone aware that An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for almost 488 apartments at the empty space between Saggart Luas Stop and Parklands Development . This seems to have been done despite the opposition of outgoing Fine Gael TD Colm Brophy and a number of local residents.

This was approved on 3rd Feb 2020 and Irish times reported the news on 5th Feb 2020. Just few weeks ago.

This seems quite a lot, considering Parklands itself has close to 500 homes and now with the additional 500 apartments, the total count of houses/apartments now is close to 1000.

How will this affect the area? Especially the congestion at Saggart Luas Stop?

Affect on the number of the council houses?

I cannot paste the news link, however please search for Harcourt Saggart 488 apartments in Google.

Jess2019

Have a look at the Citywest Residents Action Group on Facebook. They post a lot of information about the new apartments which are being built in Citywest.

https://www.facebook.com/citywestresidentsactiongroup/

Jess2019

UPDATE
So I spoke to my solicitor today. He advised there will be 20% social and affordable housing in Parklands. You cannot add an extension to the property. There is a property management company (he is trying to find out the fees involved). And he is trying to clarify the parking situation, how many spaces etc. He said it is not easy to get this information from the developer.

Hamda binte ajmal

Hey everyone, We just gave the booking deposit for Parklands Citywest. Now having double thoughts about the place as I read the news about the new apartments in the near proximity. How is the area and what implications would those apartments have on the residents of Parklands?

Muahahaha

robo wrote: »

The allocation of parking space of 1.25 is a joke - like it doesn't make sense. So by 0.25, Parklands will have less visitor spots than Cuil Duin.

Sounds like living there could be very hard when lots of households have two cars, there is bound to be arguments. Its even more salient given the murder that happened near there last week in a row over a car park space.

Yellow_Fern

Muahahaha wrote: »

Sounds like living there could be very hard when lots of households have two cars, there is bound to be arguments. Its even more salient given the murder that happened near there last week in a row over a car park space.

True as this is, wouldnt much new estates be similar?

Muahahaha

Im not sure but it wouldnt surprise me as developers are squeezing space and car park spaces take up a lot of that. You need about 12sqm to park a car so 2 spaces per apartment would be 25sqm, multiply that by all apartments and suddenly you need a lot of outside space and roads to drive around it.

The murder over the car park space is obviously an extreme example. But in any apartment complexes Ive lived in there has always been pressure on spaces and arguments between neighbours between them. That was in places with 2 spaces per unit but no visitor spaces. Reducing down to 1.25 spaces per unit will mean it is just simply not possible for 2 cars to be run from one unit as the space just isnt there . But lots will still buy apartments not realising this and then the rows begin. Sounds like potential for a living hell to me.

Yellow_Fern

Muahahaha wrote: »

Im not sure but it wouldnt surprise me as developers are squeezing space and car park spaces take up a lot of that. You need about 12sqm to park a car so 2 spaces per apartment would be 25sqm, multiply that by all apartments and suddenly you need a lot of outside space and roads to drive around it.

The murder over the car park space is obviously an extreme example. But in any apartment complexes Ive lived in there has always been pressure on spaces and arguments between neighbours between them. That was in places with 2 spaces per unit but no visitor spaces. Reducing down to 1.25 spaces per unit will mean it is just simply not possible for 2 cars to be run from one unit as the space just isnt there . But lots will still buy apartments not realising this and then the rows begin. Sounds like potential for a living hell to me.

The owner occupiers are not to bad. It is the houses shares that really consume the spaces in CD and these people are also going to be less considerate than an owner.

Muahahaha

Yellow_Fern wrote: »

The owner occupiers are not to bad. It is the houses shares that really consume the spaces in CD and these people are also going to be less considerate than an owner.

Yeah thats generally the case, you can have a house share with 3 or 4 people and chances are they move into the estate with 3 or 4 cars. Whereas with couples some may have 2 cars but others will make do with just one.

robo

If you have 2 cars & need full-time car park spaces for both, I would not advise buying a house that only has one car park space.
Unless you are easy going, happy to park anywhere in the estate that has a visitors spot or that, and not racing home in the evening to get the nearest visitors spot to your house before your neighbour gets home, then fire ahead.
It may seem like a small enough issue now - compared to the trials and tribulations of getting a mortgage, having the house snagged, working with builders to deliver on time and deliver what was sold to you, the parking issue may seem like something you can get by on now - think long and hard about it cos these estates are saving space by giving the minimum amount of car park spaces. And you will more than likely be clamped if parked illegally, even if you are not blocking the road fully, just your path etc.
It is unreal the wars between neighbours for car park spaces

Muahahaha

Yeah it is a big consideration especially if developers are going down to 1.25 spaces per unit, it is a recipe for disaster.

Whats worse is that in new developments many purchasers are first time buyers to get the grant/help to buy mortgage so they dont really have a choice but to live in developments like these as they cant afford anything better and need the subsidies to afford the purchase. Many might recognise before purchasing that there will be parking problems if they have 2 or more cars but they are left with little choice in the property market but to buy units in new developments so they can get the grants.

chevra13i

Our solicitors emailed yesterday to say they'd sent queries through to the vendor's solicitors on Feb 12th and still haven't heard back.

I can tell this won't be a particularly efficient process. I doubt the current situation is helping either.

Jess2019

We decided not to proceed with purchasing the property in Parklands based on the advice of our solicitor. Our solicitor had just received documents from the developer's solicitor last week and then advised us not to proceed right now based on the covid 19 situation. It's way too much of a risk to take.

Yellow_Fern

Jess2019 wrote: »

We decided not to proceed with purchasing the property in Parklands based on the advice of our solicitor. Our solicitor had just received documents from the developer's solicitor last week and then advised us not to proceed right now based on the covid 19 situation. It's way too much of a risk to take.

Understandable. I don't know a lot about the topic but I doubt new builds could drop hugely in price but you might see this with second hand homes.

chevra13i

I'm hoping they take another while to get back to our solicitors so we can see how this all plays out as long as possible.

I don't want to cancel the process but at the same time I'd be sick if we paid the January asking price and then everything dropped 10-20%

Jess2019

I'll just share my solicitor's advice in case it helps anyone else.
Our solicitor said house prices could drop by 50k in the new few months (not sure if he included new builds in this, but it is a possibility). He said the developer could go bust, and we could end up living in a ghost estate or the local authority could take over the remaining properties.
Our solicitor was not happy with the property management company being involved in the first place or the parking situation. He found out we had 1 parking space.
So to him, he thought it was a no brainer to get our deposit back. Which we did. H&M refunded it straight away. We were sad as we had our heart set on this house, but for us, it was just too risky.
Best of luck to everyone else who goes ahead with the purchase.

Yellow_Fern

I was looking at the house some ago in person. They are timberframed. Seem to be fairly decent build quality but I dont know how to assess this with timberframed. I noticed that the joists ran into the party wall. Not sure if that is normal or abnormal and how sound transfers is mitigated.