How do I use agents to buy a house? New build preferred.

JackieChang

I "registered interest" for a place and was ghosted. Sherry Fitzgerald.

I called them and asked what the story was and they said it's all sold out.

It was my first time. I feel like I made a mistake somewhere.

So how can I buy a new build around Cork city?

is "registering interest" not enough?

I just got an email from Sherry Fitzgerald saying "your account is 6 months old. We will delete it because GDPR".

Can somebody here tell my how to hire a guy who can find houses for me? Like a recruiter.

Padre_Pio

You need to be more active.

EAs don't need to call people when dozens of people are calling them every day.

Go to open viewings and put your name against a house if you like it. That's the only way now.

Anois_

There is a housing shortage so places get snapped up. I know you are buying but even rental places get snapped up as well.

LastApacheInjun

Registering interest isn’t enough. I bought my new build back in 2018 and it wasn’t enough back then. You have to be very proactive with the selling agent.

The way it works now, I believe, is that you make sure you’re on the mailing list to get a queueing card for the launch. Say there’s 20 new houses being launched. Sherry Fitzgerald will send out 50 emails giving people places in the queue. Your place in the queue will depend on how quickly you respond to the launch email. The agents will only give you a vague indication of when the launch email is going out, so best to take a couple of days of work and sit by the laptop. The email usually goes out a week before launch day. This is like trying to get Oasis tickets. I’ve heard of people replying two minutes after receipt of the email and being 100 in the queue. If you can rope in parents, siblings or mates, do so.

So say you get confirmation you’re 19 in the queue. Get there early on launch day. The showhouses and sales office usually open at 10. Go to the sales office first. Pick your favoured house off the plans and pay your booking deposit. Your favoured house may have already been booked by someone ahead of you in the queue. If so, book your second choice, then go look at the showhouses. If it’s not for you, you can back out of the sale and get a full refund of your deposit- as long as you back out before signing a contract. You can always keep checking with the agent whether the person who booked your first choice of house have backed out. It’s highly unlikely but worth checking.

This is my understanding of the process- anyone who has gone through it recently might correct me. At least, unlike us, you no longer need to physically queue at midnight in February Baltic cold to get a ticket number for the queue on launch day.

LastApacheInjun

AFAIK there isn’t a service that you can pay for that would secure you a house - new build or second hand - over and above other punters. If there was, everyone would be using it. Unless you’re in the €10m and above category in which there is limited buyers.

Mrs OBumble

Or you turn into a property developer, buy land, get planning and build your own.