Former Former Former wrote: » I'd love to see some incentive to get older people to downsize. D15 has a huge stock of 3 and 4 bed semi-detached houses, most with generous gardens, that are populated by one or two retired people. My own parents are rattling around a big house with an enormous garden. They should downsize but don't see the point. Maybe with a bit of a nudge, they would. I don't know what such an incentive would look like but it seems that if we could get the right people in the right houses, we wouldn't need quite as many new builds. Not limited to D15 obviously.
Patches oHoulihan wrote: » i was only talking to my ma about this yesterday. she lives in D15, where i grew up and she is still in the 3 bed semi where there used to be 7 of us, Dad is dead so she is there alone. she said she would have to be brought out in a box - thats her home. Has been for 43 years. No intention of giving it up
LorelaiG wrote: » Houses like that are people's inheritance also. Maybe if there was some tax incentive to sell the house and retain most of the tax so that the sum of money could be inherited instead it would be more viable.
Former Former Former wrote: » Well yeah, that's the mentality of a lot of older people ....Still, I think it's worth exploring.
Former Former Former wrote: » You can sell the house and gift the money to your kids, it's treated the same as inheiritance. However, you then need somewhere to live. In fact, the 'Fair Deal' scheme actually incentivises people not to sell their home. It's better to leave it vacant until the owner's death than to sell while he/she is in care, which is a bit mad. But again, politicial dynamite.
Home care has shown to be cheaper than institutional care, with improved patient outcomes.
Former Former Former wrote: » Well yeah, that's the mentality of a lot of older people and it wouldn't be easy to change that at all. It could be political suicide if some minister was seen to be throwing old people out on the street too. Still, I think it's worth exploring.
Nijmegen wrote: » .... Same could be said for a widow living in a 3-bed semi. The emotional tug is really strong, even though from an "efficiency" point of view you'd rather see them living in 1-bedroom colonies somewhere with medical facilities nearby, maybe out in the sun.
Nijmegen wrote: » Ha, good luck. Any proposal that smells of putting someone out of their home... I remember chatting to a councilor down in a south co Dublin ward, telling me that she had gotten an ear full off a retired and widowed chap who claimed he was working part time partially to cover the cost of his property tax. He was living alone in a massive house on a massive plot on a highly desirable road, the type where someone would buy the house and probably knock it and build something new for the times or extend it massively. He claimed to have a property tax bill north of €5k to pay annually and his pension brought him above the income threshold to defer or not pay it. The reason he was still in the house and working a job to pay his property tax was because he inherited the house from his parents after growing up in it himself. Hard to tell him he's actually a multi millionaire who could live on easy street if only he let that house go. Same could be said for a widow living in a 3-bed semi. The emotional tug is really strong, even though from an "efficiency" point of view you'd rather see them living in 1-bedroom colonies somewhere with medical facilities nearby, maybe out in the sun.
Former Former Former wrote: » I'm not talking about retirement communities, I was thinking more about the apartments that are going up everywhere. They're all designed to be wheelchair accessible from day one, they don't come with gardens that need maintenance, get an apartment with a lift and you never have to worry about stairs again. I'm just thinking out loud, Irish people have such a visceral connection with home ownership that it's probably never going to happen, but we give first-time buyers a tax break on buying a new build, why not give downsizers something similar to encourage it? As it stands, all these apartments will be bought either by large landlords, or by first time buyers who live there a few years to get on the ladder then rent it out. Neither is a great outcome for any sort of sustainable community.
Former Former Former wrote: » I'm not talking about retirement communities, I was thinking more about the apartments that are going up everywhere. They're all designed to be wheelchair accessible from day one, they don't come with gardens that need maintenance, get an apartment with a lift and you never have to worry about stairs again. Agree with you about the large landlords. Not a good policy move with 198 people with the same landlord, who is focused on managing investor interests. My mam is 87 and wouldn't be moved from her home, garden and neighbours. Starting over/downsizing is really a discussion for the active retired, as health is such a factor in the decision. What I would like to see is more analysis of the existing social housing stock. I read an article a couple of years ago, which said Dublin City Council had on ave 5,000 empty beds each night. For example, soneone who has raised their family, now living in the council house alone. In contrast, families living in hotels and b&bs. If private renters have to house share, then why can't council tenants be matched with accomodation which better suits their family size? That would also take the pressure off building multiple units in new builds. Probably hard to sell the idea politically.
Pat Dunne wrote: » What sad black and white world you live in. Seems fairly obvious that you don’t live in a place that you call Home! You’re not a Accountant by any chance?
Former Former Former wrote: » Yeah, see this is exactly the sort of reaction that any politician would get. Utterly irrational, totally missing the point and genuinely nasty. What minister would risk getting this sort of reaction from voters? I live in a 4 bed house with my wife and kids. However, if I wanted to buy something similar tomorrow, I'd be very hard pressed to find one. That's the problem. All these apartments and duplexes are of no use to families. At the same time, we have thousands of retired people who simply don't need 1500 sq feet of house. Doesn't seem like rocket science that if there are older people who might want to move, that we could do something to encourage it.
Former Former Former wrote: » .... I live in a 4 bed house with my wife and kids. However, if I wanted to buy something similar tomorrow, I'd be very hard pressed to find one. That's the problem. ...
Chrisam wrote: » .... It seems virtually no one wants to to live in apartments (unless as a stepping stone, to the desired house), yet that's what the developers keep telling us we want. It might be what we need, but it's certainly not what the majority of people want.
beauf wrote: » It interesting how on the property thread people are complaining about the lack of supply especially for people first timer, or singles who don't want a house. Rarer than hens teeth was one comment. Eye watering prices. But when it comes to downsizing supply (or price) doesn't seem to any issue at all. They seem to plentiful, in ideal locations, with medical facilities on tap. Whereas everyone else can't even get a place in a GP.
Former Former Former wrote: » Well, yeah, this is the problem that we have to tackle. A huge part of that is building decent apartments and the ones currently being planned are ridiculous. I honestly didn't realise studios were allowed again until I saw the planning for the new scheme at Windmill in Coolmine. A studio apartment, in Coolmine? Who the hell could possibly think this is a good idea? Making all these new builds somewhat more attractive to anyone other than landlords might be a start. I'm not optimistic that anything will happen but ploughing down this current path is just going to lead to a lot of problems down the line.
Nijmegen wrote: » ....As you say, the issue is that any proposal - even a well thought out one - would instantly be met with headlines and grey vote meetings about putting people out of their homes. And to be fair, the associated memories are not unimportant for these folks or anyone really. But there is an issue that right now, today, there are a lot of single or dual occupancy family homes (or worse, empty homes waiting for the aul Fair Deal to wash through after someone passes away). It's clearly inefficient but also clearly not something you'd want to even attempt to fix if you wanted to keep your seat as a politician...
Nijmegen wrote: » .... I think the thesis is that we have a large, young immigrant workforce that is driven by foreign direct investment and they will live in apartments. Saying "nobody" wants apartments is untrue. .....
Former Former Former wrote: » Well, yeah, this is the problem that we have to tackle. A huge part of that is building decent apartments and the ones currently being planned are ridiculous. I honestly didn't realise studios were allowed again until I saw the planning for the new scheme at Windmill in Coolmine.A studio apartment, in Coolmine? Who the hell could possibly think this is a good idea? Making all these new builds somewhat more attractive to anyone other than landlords might be a start. 1. Build MUDs that people might actually want to call home 2. Incentivise people to downsize 3. Free up traditional family homes for families I'm not optimistic that anything will happen but ploughing down this current path is just going to lead to a lot of problems down the line.
beauf wrote: » It not inefficient. You only think that if you only look at space as the only criteria. Its also not a quick fix. Anyone who thinks it is, doesn't understand the complexities involved. There are also older immigrant, wealthy and with families. Looking for upmarket homes and living standards on par with that they are used to in other countries, which are often than much higher than we have in Ireland. A lot of work isn't in the city. Its in the industrial and business parks in the suburbs and outskirts of the city. Thus apartments are also needed in the suburbs.
Namer wrote: » Another Strategic Housing Development for Dublin 15 http://www.clonsillashd.ie/ The construction of a residential development of 198 no. Build to Rent apartment units (120 no. one beds, 59 no. two beds and 19 no. three beds) in 8 no. blocks (ranging in height from four/five to seven storeys in height)
Former Former Former wrote: » Build to rent, disaster. 198 apartments, 100 car spaces. Really?
IngazZagni wrote: » This is the planning dilemma. Provide 300 parking spaces and it's blocked because there would be too much traffic. This development is only a 10 minute walk to the train station. Short walk to lots of local facilities. Modern Ireland doesn't need as many cars. That's why there are about 2 cycling spaces for each apartment. Development looks good. Just need to get them to commit to high quality materials. Edit: I've just been reviewing the documents. Very interesting to see that GoCar have agreed to base 8 cars in the development and this rental car can be used by all residents. Is this something we could see more of moving forward? I think it's a great idea.