Single and Buying in Dublin

coffee_cake

No harm thinking about it that way in fairness. or for a mortgage eg every 10k borrowed might be 20k to pay

Graham

Shelga wrote: »

Do you view every purchase that way? "My €600 TV costs €1100 gross"

+1

It's very odd. I can't imagine many people stood at the bar working out how much a pint is in terms of gross pay.

Back on topic, there's not a huge difference between most management charges and the costs of insuring/maintaining a similar sized house. Particularly when you consider the sinking fund to cover the major 20/30/40 year maintenance requirements. Less of a difference again if the service charges includes refuse collection.

vandriver

brisan wrote: »

To pay a management company 2000 euro out of your bank account you would have to earn 4000 gross before tax to put that money in your bank account.
Assuming you are on 40% income tax rate and pay the temporary USC and PRSI

A single person on 80k pays 35% tax.Not 50%.

mrbrightside11

Heres Johnny wrote: »

You'd afford plenty in Lucan. Some parts of it better than others but should be something to suit

I'd be wary of Lucan, traffic is insane from some parts, hour+ commute into the city.

Graham

Mod

ok before we vanish down that particular rabbit hole, please take the taxation discussion to the appropriate forum. Thanks

brisan

Shelga wrote: »

Do you view every purchase that way? "My €600 TV costs €1100 gross"

No but the money used for management fees could be used for mortgage payments .
Management fees are out of your control.
Too many issues in the past regarding building standards .
Priory hall being the most extreme of many examples

https://www.scsi.ie/documents/get_lob?id=1126&field=file
https://www.inspex.ie/tag/building-defects/
Loads more articles if you google them

brisan

<SNIP>

guyfawkes5

brisan wrote: »

No but the money used for management fees could be used for mortgage payments .
Management fees are out of your control.
Too many issues in the past regarding building standards .
Priory hall being the most extreme of many examples

https://www.scsi.ie/documents/get_lob?id=1126&field=file
https://www.inspex.ie/tag/building-defects/
Loads more articles if you google them

Management fees and sinking funds fix those kind of problems.

Technically you're much better off if they occur in an apartment building, as the cost is shared between all the owners and the directors and/or management company will organise and manage the needed repairs for you.

If you were in a house that had a big structural problem, the entirety of the cost would fall on you and you'd have to initiate and organise the whole thing yourself (or at least pay someone who would do it for you).

Graham

Money used for house insurance, maintenance and bin charges could be used for mortgage repayments if you wanted to look at it that way.

I can't help but think houses have also had their fair share of building standards issues over the last 20 years.

antimatterx

<SNIP>

Truthvader

Only advice. Avoid apartment if you can. Not because of management fees. You easly spend the same maitaining and insuring a house. Two reasons. A sustantial number of builders and architects are and were utter cowboys. Fire and structural issues emerging day after day even on developments 20 / 30 years old.

Plus no space for a godamn thing. Where do you keep ironing board, bike tennis / golf football gear, dry clothes, shopping. Invariably end up in squalor unless very top of the market. If you have a baby - forget it. And no room to improve or extend or even decorate in any way

guyfawkes5

I don't think apartments are any more likely to have structural problems over houses, although just as with houses I would say look very hard at any apartment building built around 2005-2008. I moved into one in Grand Canal Dock recently that was only just now having its fire escapes brought up to code.

Storage is an important thing in any property, but I don't think a small apartment has any more of a problem with that compared to a small house, etc. Having a storage closet in an apartment is pretty common, and you can always introduce storage furniture like you would in a house.

It's true that you can't extend an apartment, but decorating it like changing flooring or a kitchen is not a problem.

SozBbz

Hi OP,

As to the house v apartment debate, if I were you, I'd ask myself the following.

How long can you live there? If an apartment, can you see it working for at least 5 years, preferably 10? If not, then its not wise to go that route. There are a lot of costs involved in buying/moving, so you don't want to do it too often.

There are some brilliant apartments out there. I bought one (own door duplex) when buying on my own about 5 years ago. Management fees are circa €1.4k per year and for that I get all the maintenance you'd expect as well as insurance, bins, CCTV etc. Our sinking fund is also solid. If you're trying to avoid high management fees, then avoid places with lifts or electric gates, as these are hugh line items on annual budgets. Finally, if you want oversight of how money is being spent, then join the board of directors or at least attend your AGM. You'd be amazed how few attend AGMs, yet whinge about the OMC. In my case there are ~85 units, (maybe 65 owners, as some ppl own more than one) and we'd be doing well to get 10-12 people turning up to the AGMs.

The duplex has loads of storage. Huge attic and under the stairs storage as well as the wardrobes in the bedrooms.

I have it rented out but lived there happily for a good few years. For me, I was being constantly outbid by couples on houses that were supposedly within my budget but ended up going way over ( 2014/15). The market for a duplex is smaller, but they're a great option for single people, especially someone like me who wouldn't be overly practical and wanted a low maintenance option. Also, location was more important to me than buying a house for the sake of it being a house. I was happier to buy a duplex rather than compromise in other areas but that's a personal choice.

I'm fortunate in that my circumstances enabled me to move elsewhere with my OH, but had I stayed single, I could have happily lived there for years and years.

Earthhorse

Here's a house in Nutgrove just within your budget:

https://www.daft.ie/dublin/houses-for-sale/rathfarnham/60-nutgrove-avenue-churchtown-rathfarnham-dublin-2616295/

I don't know. The only thing to do is filter on Daft and keep trying. The more properties you see the more you'll realise what you're willing to compromise on. You will almost certainly have to compromise on something.

I don't know if Nutgrove would be an hours commute for you.

Closer to town there's this cottage in Ranelagh:

https://www.daft.ie/dublin/houses-for-sale/ranelagh/19-colliers-avenue-ranelagh-dublin-2275928/

But it is quite small.

There's plenty within your price range but only you can decide whether they're worth it.

TypicalDub

that is great information there. I am 28 and single and just trying to think about what I want to try and buy and I think its true what you said about having to make a load of compromises if you want to buy a house, where as I could probably get a nice apartment or duplex.

I have heard it said that duplex are very hard to sell on as they fall between two stools, do you have any insight if that is true or not ?

TypicalDub

SozBbz wrote: »

Hi OP,

As to the house v apartment debate, if I were you, I'd ask myself the following.

How long can you live there? If an apartment, can you see it working for at least 5 years, preferably 10? If not, then its not wise to go that route. There are a lot of costs involved in buying/moving, so you don't want to do it too often.

There are some brilliant apartments out there. I bought one (own door duplex) when buying on my own about 5 years ago. Management fees are circa €1.4k per year and for that I get all the maintenance you'd expect as well as insurance, bins, CCTV etc. Our sinking fund is also solid. If you're trying to avoid high management fees, then avoid places with lifts or electric gates, as these are hugh line items on annual budgets. Finally, if you want oversight of how money is being spent, then join the board of directors or at least attend your AGM. You'd be amazed how few attend AGMs, yet whinge about the OMC. In my case there are ~85 units, (maybe 65 owners, as some ppl own more than one) and we'd be doing well to get 10-12 people turning up to the AGMs.

The duplex has loads of storage. Huge attic and under the stairs storage as well as the wardrobes in the bedrooms.

I have it rented out but lived there happily for a good few years. For me, I was being constantly outbid by couples on houses that were supposedly within my budget but ended up going way over ( 2014/15). The market for a duplex is smaller, but they're a great option for single people, especially someone like me who wouldn't be overly practical and wanted a low maintenance option. Also, location was more important to me than buying a house for the sake of it being a house. I was happier to buy a duplex rather than compromise in other areas but that's a personal choice.

I'm fortunate in that my circumstances enabled me to move elsewhere with my OH, but had I stayed single, I could have happily lived there for years and years.

that is great information there. I am 28 and single and just trying to think about what I want to try and buy and I think its true what you said about having to make a load of compromises if you want to buy a house, where as I could probably get a nice apartment or duplex.

I have heard it said that duplex are very hard to sell on as they fall between two stools, do you have any insight if that is true or not ?

Truthvader

guyfawkes5 wrote: »

I don't think apartments are any more likely to have structural problems over houses, although just as with houses I would say look very hard at any apartment building built around 2005-2008. I moved into one in Grand Canal Dock recently that was only just now having its fire escapes brought up to code.

Storage is an important thing in any property, but I don't think a small apartment has any more of a problem with that compared to a small house, etc. Having a storage closet in an apartment is pretty common, and you can always introduce storage furniture like you would in a house.

It's true that you can't extend an apartment, but decorating it like changing flooring or a kitchen is not a problem.

At least with a house defects are uncovered on a survey. Defects in apartments are usually hidden in common areas and not discovered for years

Graham

Aren't the majority of houses purchased on the basis of a visual survey?

brisan

Graham wrote: »

Aren't the majority of houses purchased on the basis of a visual survey?

I/we have bought lots of properties and never relied on a visual survey alone.
Dampness tests etc all come into play.
It should be a structural engineer that carries out the checks

Truthvader

Earthhorse wrote: »

Here's a house in Nutgrove just within your budget:

https://www.daft.ie/dublin/houses-for-sale/rathfarnham/60-nutgrove-avenue-churchtown-rathfarnham-dublin-2616295/

I don't know. The only thing to do is filter on Daft and keep trying. The more properties you see the more you'll realise what you're willing to compromise on. You will almost certainly have to compromise on something.

I don't know if Nutgrove would be an hours commute for you.

Closer to town there's this cottage in Ranelagh:

https://www.daft.ie/dublin/houses-for-sale/ranelagh/19-colliers-avenue-ranelagh-dublin-2275928/

But it is quite small.

There's plenty within your price range but only you can decide whether they're worth it.

These are bargains at those prices IMO. Buy either if you can afford it

SozBbz

TypicalDub wrote: »

that is great information there. I am 28 and single and just trying to think about what I want to try and buy and I think its true what you said about having to make a load of compromises if you want to buy a house, where as I could probably get a nice apartment or duplex.

I have heard it said that duplex are very hard to sell on as they fall between two stools, do you have any insight if that is true or not ?

Humm... yes I've heard that argument but I think like all things, if you buy a good one, they'll always sell.

They sell regularly enough in the development mine is in, and are always in demand. If its part of a good development thats well managed (our OMC is flawless - place is very well presented, landscaped, zero arrears on management fees, solid sinking fund) and they seem to really suit people who want something the size of a small house but a house of the same size would probably cost €200k more. A lot of the owner occupiers of the duplexes in our place are divorcees and/or people who only live part time in Dublin. They're really just two story own door apartments.

More and more people are living in single households so I think there will always be a market for good ones. Same as all apartments really in that respect.