Ah yes! Now that you've pointed it out I can't unsee it.
You say If they were a cm or two different fine : but when they are a few mm out it looks as if they half tried but failed.
Do you realise one cm is ten mm.
Yes, I realise that. It is like when Bannon some years ago was doing the windows on the elevation of a renovation or extension once : the builder put the upstairs and downstairs edges slightly out of line and it looked worse than if they were a lot more out of line. Bannon rightly insisted it be changed then / the window position changed. Remember that? Having a window or something slightly out of line looks worse than if a window or switch looks as if it was deliberately sited somewhere.
You cannot un-see something just slightly off.
The level of actual payouts to the vacant homes grant is shocking, Room To Improve seems to have the astronomical odds in somehow getting approval, 1 in 50 in the real world getting actual payment...
For a 'lived in' house as well!
That was my issue with the Cashel episode. Fair play to the couple for getting the grants and I dont think it should be taken off them - but why are so many other people being refused the grants for houses that are both derelict and vacant. The issue needs to be raised in the Dail.
How to make a profit...
https://m.independent.ie/life/home-garden/the-room-to-improve-homes-that-sold-for-up-to-five-times-their-original-purchase-price/a165657047.html
The actual approval rate is over 50% as outlined in the link.
Unfortunately the article has no interviews with people who were approved but failed to draw down.
I think a follow up to identify the reasons behind the problem would be useful.
50% is low though - when you look at the Cashel house which most would agree wasnt a derelict house why are 50% of applications being refused?
So I agree a follow up article would be useful.
Indo seems to have an issue with Bannon recently - was a journalist turned down or something?
Really stupid article. Anyone who bought in 2013 - 2016 and sold in 2022/2023 made a large "profit". But at the same time they are paying much higher for whatever hose they are moving to.
Usually second rate sensationalist rubbish for the indo
I agree. It is not for a TV programme or presenter to explain why there is a problem.
Questions should be asked of the relevant people administering or overseeing the scheme.
I suspect the answer will be lots of flowery talk about pro-active solutions but that is not translating into solutions where they are required.
Not a stupid article at all if it's providing factual information. Where in the piece does it 'have an issue' with Bannon? If anything it's an advert for the value that he can add to a property. An almost 3 fold increase between the purchase and sale price of the Blackrock property.
I agree 100%. I know someone who enquired about the Refurbishment grant ( for a genuinely vacant and derelict building), and did not even bother applying because they were told they had to keep the structure of the whole house. So they did not even end up in the 98% who were unsuccessful in getting payment. Yet along comes Bannon and his team in their swanky cars, having requested a private meeting with the Minister and/or his advisor, and they knock most of the €302,000 house in Cashel (which many would say was lived in ) and they get the grant.
All about as clear and as fair as Tubridy's pay from RTE.
Again it doesn't say 50% were refused.
It doesn't say how many withdrew from the process.
It doesn't say how many of the applications are still in the process either.
It's frustrating when you are left with more questions than answers after reading an article.
They've had 4 headline stories about Bannon in the last month. This is the latest,
Sensationalist nonsense. The general market is responsible for most of the increase. Reading between the lines and combining it with the other articles it suggests some underhand issues.
He is an Irish "celebrity" after all. Tubridy ( whose agent is Noel Kelly, who also manages Dermot Bannon ) had him on the Late Late show over 12 times when he was running the Late late, and sometimes twice in one season....and he has a show for himself at 9.30 on a Sunday night, prime time TV...so if he is good enough for RTE he is good enough for the newspapers.
The price of property has gone up in the past 10 years, that is not Bannon's fault in fairness, is is due to supply and demand, unprecedented mass immigration, wage increases, price of materials increases, etc
Read all you like between the lines but you won't find an agenda against Bannon in that article which is what you suggested. I'd say he is delighted with the coverage. Four articles a month doesn't seem excessive for a weekly primetime show.
It's a TV show. He's an excellent presenter and does the job well.
But why has the indo suddenly had such an interest that makes non stories a headline.
Last week it was that planning had to be asked for retrospectively, the week before it suggested he had advance notice of new renovation grants. (He's an expert, hence someone that should have an input)
Just strange how the indo targets someone like this - gutter journalism
They have had an article every day this week about Room to Improve.
Some sort of damage limitation exercise by Bannon and Coco Productions to dampen down the grant furore.
And houses are so airtight and well insulated now, you could live in one in canada, and so high tech they could be in a 80s sci fi tv show, "kitt, turn on the radio, and set the heating to 20c"
I think yore getting carried away. I really don't see how an article about the value of the houses he is involved in renovating is sensationalist or gutter journalism. Maybe you'd prefer no coverage at all. It's a national paper with a piece on a national broadcasters show. of tabloid stuff out there but thus clearly isn't.
Some of the prices here are nuts:
https://www.independent.ie/life/home-garden/the-room-to-improve-homes-that-sold-for-up-to-five-times-their-original-purchase-price/a165657047.html
Nuts in what way ?
There is a market for houses.
Sellers and buyers make deals.
That's pretty much it.
I have to agree. For example, the house in Tramore, jammed in between two other houses, and which was bought for €305,000, sold last year for €1.7m.
I remember during the Celtic Tiger years there was a overseas property exhibition on in the RDS or some place like that, and these two young teachers were interviewed by RTE coming out of it having paid a deposit on an apartment in Bulgaria as an investment, and I thought to myself - as well as seeing some of the other madness that went on in 2006 etc - this economy is overheating, and it is not sustainable. 1.7 million ( plus stamp duty etc I assume ) for that Bannon house in Tramore is nuts.
What struck me about this, is the amount of houses that appeared on RTI that have been sold on when we were led to believe it was their 'forever dream family home'. Now Im sure some of them seen the opportunity to sell and cash in and grabbed it and some maybe their intention from the start was to renovate and sell. Im also left wondering did some of the houses not work out well from a day to day living point of view for the owners and thats why they sold.
I would love to see a RTI revisited to see how the houses worked out for Dermots clients.
Grand Designs did that and it was far from riveting, they just picked homes that people were happy with. Would be kinda hard to appear back with a film crew and an architect who made their life worse and expect a convivial entertainment. 😁
I'd say there's no single answer.
Every house he's done has gone over budget by ALOT. It's very easy to nod your head and get caught up in the momentum of the experience. However once the dust settles I'm sure the reality of the amount of debt hits hard.
If you could sell it all at a profit and start again minus the debt I can see the appeal.
Also I wouldn't be surprised if marriages were put under huge strain. I know grand design had a few casualties.
TBH while alot of his designs are open plan, which I don't really like, they have all been very functional I don't see "everyday living" to be a problem with them.
Compare with "My Bungalow Bliss" every single one of the designs was "wtf are you doing" without being dramatic, my heart still breaks for that young couple in Wicklow.
I do think Dermots designs are good, his maths could do with improvement.
well yeah but buyers can also make bad deals..
but if they're happy then all power to them
There was no happy ending for that lighthouse in Devon that Kevin McCloud went back to.
Missed that one, worth looking up?
