Mount Stewart Portlaoise

4real

Anyone bought house in Mount Stewart.

We are hearing about delays that are seeming never ending. They are not giving us any final dates when we will be getting our keys. The houses have been re-snagged on 27th.

DavidGarver

Hi, if you have de-snagged may I ask what the hold up is for you? Are there solicitor issues to sort out?

I'm buying close to you, in Foxburrow, it's the same developer I think so likely same solicitor too. We are held up with the land registry maps but the development itself seems to be flying along, just wondering what specific issues you are facing before I comment further

4real

We are waiting on HomeBond, BCAR and Scheme Map.

The house phase we are in is already completed just delay on above with solicitors. We are told people who are responsible for above seems to be on holidays hence the delay.

DavidGarver

We are the same, it must be the same solicitor in all likelihood.

People in the same phase as us moved in last week so hopefully things get moving soon. The auctioneer has been good with communication but there nothing they can do when it's down to three maps and certs.

The scheme maps themselves can take quite a while to issue so even the solicitors may be waiting on those.

Very frustrating! Are you from Portlaoise yourself? We are moving after 10 years in Dublin, bit of a risk but the town seems fine to me

4real

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120958301#Comment_120958301

we are in kilcullen co kildare at the moment.

yes portlaoise town seems fine and is actually safer and quieter than dublin, yes there are a few spots but sure Dublin has more of those!

alot of people are in the same boat as us so hopefully it wont be much long now.

DavidGarver

@4real we got our scheme map today, I know it's not as relevant to you as I am in Foxburrow but just thought I'd update.

The solicitor the developer is using for us is John B O'Connor solicitors and the scheme map was dated August 15th so there was some delay in them getting it or in them sending it which cost us 2 weeks. Would be no harm in getting your solicitor on to them to force an update.

4real

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121038908#Comment_121038908

Yes we got ours on last Fri as well, yes its the same solicitors for us as well.

I would say the timelines is similar between Foxburrow and Mount Stewart.

We are now in the draw down process now.

DavidGarver

Same, best of luck to you getting your keys ASAP

4real

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121046628#Comment_121046628

we moved in last Wed, delighted with it!

all the best with your move!

DavidGarver

Same we got the keys last week, happy to hear it worked out. I drive past Mount Stewart a bit and they look really well, the builds in both estates are more or less identical but I prefer the exterior look in MS.

So far so good for us too. All the best mate.

JT1991

Hi David,

Hoping to get a house in foxburrow. Any issues or anything we should know? Whats the estate like?

DavidGarver

Hi there, so far I'm really happy there, the finished quality was really good and any of the small issues that come up like touching up paint and small jobs or whatever was all dealt with really well on site. So far so good on that front

I can only speak to the farringdon house type, I've never been in the other ones but the general quality seems fine to me, I can't think of anything I've noticed that would concern me so far. The large attic space upstairs is already proving to be hugely useful,I think they are a little different layout in the Kensington houses but they all come floored etc.

As far as the estate goes people seem to keep to themselves but are very respectful and considerate. There's a nice peaceful vibe to the place for the moment. I've noticed no issues with walls from party walls either but if course that's down to having considerate neighbours as much as the insulation.

The gardens are quite boggy at the minute but I think that just needs time to settle and be reseeded.

We have installed a water softener system in the house as we noticed extremely high limescale in kettle etc which was pretty expensive so keep that in mind if you are someone who worries about your appliances.

My impression so far is that the heating can be used very sparingly as the houses retain heat well, beer important to let the trickle vents open for the extract ventilation to keep the home fresh.

Any other Qs feel free to ask

4real

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121213979#Comment_121213979

i am finding the water same as yours, which filter system did you go for and how much did it cost? thinking to get one too.

DavidGarver

We used a company called OneEight they are based in tipp I think.

The water softener was around €730

Then we opted for a water filter system also to filter the water, the softening process takes all minerals out also so we added a stage to put some minerals back in, and it's stored in a tank as drinking water separately to the mains.

This is all totally optional and in my opinion not necessary at all but at least now we don't have to buy any bottled water.

The extra filter nonsense and reverse osmosis we added in cost around €500 (we needed a pump too in the end to give the mains feed a boost for the reverse osmosis filter)

And it meant we lost 2 space in 2 cupboards under the sink instead of just 1 and need to buy a new tap due to having a third feed for drinking water, which was €200, just writing this out makes me realise how ridiculous it was, we should have just got the softening done probably!

I think you'd be grand with just the softener, and there's also options to put the unit outdoors if you were put out about losing cupboard space.

4real

thanks for the advice, there are quite a few providers as i google so will check them out.

DavidGarver

Yeah you have plenty of options, go with whoever has the best deal at the time. Hopefully you wont lose as much cupboard space as we did!

Jjmc64

Hi David,

Thanks for this. Only seeing it now as I never had any notifications on. We were told about the water softeners when viewing the property. Didn't know it was so expensive.

We are getting a Kensington A house. Looking like we will be signing contracts very soon too. The parting wall was a concern of mine but if that's not an issue then I'd be happy out.

Any suggestions for snaggers or things to look out for?

Are you still finding everything ok?

Thanks again

DavidGarver

Yes I'm finding it ok, don't let the softener worry you, you can get a softener for around 400 quid, we just added in filtering and it kinda snowballed from there, just get the softener and you'll be grand.

In terms of snags I used https://www.snaglistsurveys.com/

And found him good, I'll not give any specific info as when you snag, everything is important really but I can just say that we had nothing major at all

Any items were fixed and I'll be honest a few of the minor fixes did drag on into a month of being moved in but the guys genuinely couldn't get the tradesmen on site, as there were all working down in mount Stewart... it was always well in hand was just a matter of timing and the items we were waiting on were really minor like fitting a few door stops. Communication was always good too and if be confident they would see you right with any issues.

fbrain

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120957994#Comment_120957994

Hey folks, thanks for the useful info you've shared in this thread!

A quick question since I'm on that stage at the moment for a house in Mount Stewart. Do you guys have an idea on how long it usually takes for these documents (HomeBond, BCAR and Scheme Map) to be released?

I know it may vary, but just wanted to check how did it go for you..as far as I understood it's pretty much one of the last steps for the closing of the purchase right..

Thank you!

DavidGarver

It varies is the answer, I don't think there's such thing as a normal really. As unhelpful as that is.

All of my stuff was ready bar the scheme map so that held it up, others may have experience of that being ready and other stuff being the delay.

It's a case of just following things up and hoping for the best really. And having all your side either done or ready (snagger etc)

From my experience with Hume up in Foxburrow they were as good as their word and things did happen eventually, the selling solicitor just had a delay with the land registry stuff.

I walked through Mount Stewart the other night with the dog and it seemed really nice there, best of luck with your move.

4real

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121485508#Comment_121485508

i would agree with David there, the scheme map held things up for us too, but I kept on top of things with my solicitors, HUME were good with communications but i don't think they can do much with the land registry and map since its done through the council and can cause delays.

Keep on top of things by ringing/emailing your solicitor but it all depends on things outside of everyone's control, make sure there is no potential delay from your side.

You would be moving into the houses that are behind us, they have progressed those really well as it was still a building site when we got our keys.

All the best with the move.

fbrain

Right, I'll just keep following up with them then and hoping for the best !

Just afraid it gets pushed to next year as I wouldn't expect much action these last two weeks of the year.. but it is what it is.

Thank you guys for your comments, appreciate it!