Housing Madness

It’s not just housing where the middle class, or is it lower middle to middle class are screwed.

a lot of social housing gone up near me , top of the range is what I would describe the houses as.

when the new owners moved in, the cars in the front gardens would suggest they ain’t broke.

work vans , mercs , audis, BMW’s some with 2 cars, the people carrier and runabout.

madness and sickening at the same time.

middle class get screwed, the welfare state and public services cost can’t just keep increasing when will it end?

so much inefficiency at the expense of the people paying for it.

You directly compared it by mentioning foreign investment. One of the strikes you mentioned was over 100 years ago and was very different. The next you mention was to one particular landlord not all rents. What happens in another country about rent isn't relevant here because different causes and different laws apply.

Irish people love to fight the system as a post colonial chip on our shoulder. It does matter it is our system and not a system that didn't allow representation. You can hope for some revolution from the working class but it isn't going to happen. People have been saying the same stuff all my life and it hasn't happened. Ireland had the highest home ownership in the world that was going to change always but people seem surprised. I don't even know how much of the population are renting do you? Do you think they all have the same background and agree politically? Do they only know people in their own situation?

You are looking for united group to campaign out of a very scattered group. They won't be able to manage it as it would involve too many extremists. Look at the occupation of the office block and how it all fell apart. Dream about revolution all you like but it isn't going to happen.

For those of us that were "lucky" enough to have bought an 80's house with a BER of E2 (when we bought it - single glazing, single leaf cavity block, feck all insulation in the attic etc) its not great either.

We spent a fortune getting it up to C3. We would absolutely love to get the external walls wrapped to get us at a B grade never mind A, but thats just a pipe dream, no way we can afford that.

The new SEAI scheme is a gift to the rich and freebies for those on the dole. The rich get their huge houses upgraded for half price, the welfare recipients get it done for free, and a great many of the rest of us cannot afford the 50% off ~€20k it would still cost to get ours done.

Long story short if you are rich or on the dole the government seems to care about you, the rest of us can eat cake.

The idea, which I don't quite believe, is that you get a top up on your mortgage and the reduction in your heating bills will be enough so you actually pay very little more. I saw bit on Eco Eye and it showed a calculation whereby the owner only ended up paying an extra €1 a month. It seemed a bit basic but if true everyone can benefit who owned a house for a while.

It doesn't just benefit the rich and poor, people are assuming the "rich" just have the cash. Money smart people can see the benefits and borrow on their assets.

I personally got 3 properties externally insulated when the grants first came out over 10 years ago. Our heating is a lot cheaper than people I know plus the house is way more comfortable. The price to do the work now is a good 40% more expensive now but we have had all these years of saving fuel too. It will have paid for itself in 5 more years.

Yes and as I just tried to explain to you standards are different and there is a cost to social improvements. Building standards are better now so a new home will tend to be superior to older properties. The council doesn't own the houses for sale but does the newer properties which it gives to it's tenants. As part of the drive to equality council housing was sold to the tenants at a discount. This gave poor people the chance to own and benefit from having an asset they could pass onto family.

They are the houses you now say private buyers are stuck buying or can't even afford. That is the cost of helping former council tenants own. What exactly do you want to be done? Make the council buy the old places and sell the new builds to people privately at a discount? There is a reason for it as is and I don't know what can be done other than complain.

The cost of building houses now has jumped beyond reason.

If you buy a site and build a house, you will be in negative equity straight away. This means, a house builder or contractor that were building these homes in the boom when the need was there are no longer doing it as there's simply no room to do so.

Why is this? Mainly down to the cost of materials and the also in no small part to the low energy requirements now.

Insulation, heat recovery, underfloor heating, air tightness and heatpumps all come at a cost that were not in older homes, even in the boom

Now it has nothing to do with banks. If they offered 0 interest mortgages the price is too high. No point giving me a 0 interest loan on a 100,000 euro merc. I still can't afford it

Thanks Ray,

Thats if you can get a "top up" mortgage, which i doubt we can. We are already paying as much as we can. Something to speak with the bank about i suppose, if the heating bills are much lower in the winter than i can see it saving us quite a bit over time.

How is it not affordable?

Do you expect housing to be free?

Don’t work… get handed it

wealthy… can afford it

middle class, working, contributing, trying… you get SFA, lots lost medical cards, not entitled to housing, you pay for everything including for the hand outs.