Where are all the books? Perhaps Dermot had them removed for filming…
You mean without renovation? So you are implying that they made a tax free capital gain of over 300,000 since they bought it about 5 or 6 years ago?
If what you say is true then for the 316000 renovation to wash its face financially the house should be worth over a million now? I think the renovation, some think excluding upstairs, cost 316,000, excluding Dermots fees, which are paid by the tv company?
Prices have gone up so much recently that their house is easy worth 700k now.
Does anyone else remember a past episode when Dermot was brought in to renovate a house in Dublin and he warned them that the amount they bought the house for coupled with the amount of their desired renovations would be greater than the potentisl sale value of the house and was very cautious about the spend on the renovations?
I'm trying to wrap my head around last night's couple spending 400k plus another 300+k on their house.
Just watched it and would echo all that. I had skimmed through the thread in advance and can't really figure out the resentment.
You didn't miss the bathrooms, they moved back into the house with just the ground floor completed. The final costings they gave allowed for the work to complete upstairs. They moved back in to save on the rent they were having to pay iirc.
You seem extremely hung up on these grants. It was the same last week.
The grants are there to promote more energy efficient houses, that's it. There's no means testing. And a fire won't disqualify you from one, it doesn't need to be a passive house or carbon neutral house to get the grant.
An important consideration that I don't think has been mentioned yet. This couple will have forked out a huge amount of VAT in their spend. Not sure what the split would be between services and materials (different VAT rates), but they've probably paid somewhere in the region of 40-60k to the exchequer for their extension.
They've almost certainly achieved a grant neutral house if that makes it easier.
I'm not sure about means testing on grants in the UK but I'm certain that the UK government do offer non means tested VAT exemptions on new builds. New builds are sold at zero % VAT and self builders can claim all the VAT back.
We are not alone in our "unfair" non means tested incentives.
Its a nice idea the little room with the little stove and the nice compihy chairs and the little table for the glass of wine and the snacks, trouble is I wouldn't last 10 minutes in there on a Friday evening before I would fall a sleep, **** happens when you hit mid 50s.
Have a Stanley superstar myself, heating 14 rads and hot water of timber logs and my own turf off my own privately owned bogland. Honestly it’s the cheapest system you could run providing you have access to your own supply of solid fuel. will be upgrading the house greatly with extension, will be insulating big time and upgrading windows and doors. I will be upgrading the Stanley range to a Stanley Reginald solid fuel stove along with an oil firebird.
I’d say my solid fuel usage will be drastically reduced with the heavier insulation, but there something so nice about sitting around a stove and seeing the fire lit.
Anyone I know that has gotten rid of the stove and blocked chimneys for the heat pump miss the stove and the visual fire that subconsciously warms them.
Well Said!!!!!!!
i think most of the work was done downstairs and the new extension was built the house was insulated to a high standard .anyone can apply for a grant to improve insulation and and upgrade the heating system
i think they were very likeable both working full time bringing up 2 children in a cold house with no insulation
I thought the downstairs was lovely, open plan kitchen, dining, sitting area very nice and scandi but cosy too. I liked the family as well not getting where the criticism is coming from at all, I think it's obvious they have to go along with the made up mini dramas (kitchen colours etc). They are clearly massively focussed on their kids, no bad thing, they can repurpose that room I am sure down the line, doing a clear out on the old house would have helped (I saw loads of kids toys, plastic chairs etc). Like other have said I would have liked to have seen the rest of the house.... especially the bathroom(s) that they really needed? Or did I miss them?
But it is saving them money.
I do have a stove similar which is why I made the point.
There are pros and cons to means testing grants. The US and UK means test theirs, while it appears Germany means tests some ( eg the replacement of boiler to a climate friendly boiler, according to www.cleanenergywire.org ) but not other grants.
The young couples who cannot get on the housing ladder at all or emigrate to Australia ( no grants there afaik) may not like the idea of some of their taxes here going towards people doing 300,000 euro plus renovations who would upgrade their insulation anyway.
If someone is getting a 35k energy grant and the aim is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, do you think they should have to get rid of their fossil fuel burning fire in favour of a more climate friendly alternative?
Means testing the grant is a stupid idea.
I like what they did with the house including the storage room which will have multiple uses in the future the small adults only sitting room was gorgeous in my opinion and oasis away from the madness of family life.
Small boot room or cupboard/halltree inside the front door
I just posted up the policy which is not means tested but you seem to want to say Ireland is unusual. Go get the evidence and prove you are right. Why Germany is the same as the USA and UK which are non EU countries is a very strange statement and I don't believe you
Again why do you not want the government to save money for itself and its' citizens?
No, we are not.
The grant last week was for a derelict house, a very different thing to a simple renovation. Getting derelict houses restored to be lived in, is a good thing, dont you think?
That is why stoves are used to heat a house, not just a small room..
If you had one or talked to the lads who sell them, they would tell us as much.
https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123051152#Comment_123051152
We have storage in our utility room for shoes. In my old house we didnt have a utility room so shoes were stored neatly at the bottom of everyones wardrobes. I hate to see loads of shoes stacked by a door.
I actually think the family last night are in reality neat people. The shoes at the front were for affect and drama only to give the impression they have no space - I doubt that lady allowed shoes to be in a mess at the front door.
The new layout leaves a lot to be desired for. That is a lot of money to spend on retrofitting something that to me ended up with that middle room for storage and a pool table, along with a downsized front living room. The extension interior out the back is nice but I bet an awful lot of the budget went on the architecture and aesthetic of the exterior, when a much more cost effective glass patio door setup could have been installed. The extension also looked a bit out of place and out of character compared to neighbouring properties (I know the rear doesn't really apply here, but visually that is my opinion).
Grants for energy efficiency upgrades are strictly means tested in Germany, a.f.a.i.k., same as in USA and UK.
Someone else else pointed out that someone spending over 300k on a renovation is going to ( or at least should) upgrade the insulation anyway.
This is a genuine question - how do you store shoes for a family that is practical and neat? (And how many people in the household)
All you had to do was a quick google to find out because your question is to suggest you believe Ireland is somehow unique. If you think that is a personal attack I suggest you get a thicker skin.
Germany
The upper limit of eligible costs in the BEG WG and BEG NWG for residential buildings is max. 150,000 euros for efficiency houses 40 Plus or efficiency buildings with EE or NH class, otherwise the upper limit is 120,000 euros per residential unit. In the case of non-residential buildings, the upper limit is a maximum of EUR 2,000 per m2 of net floor area, with a maximum total of EUR 30 million.
So the answer is no we are not the only country in the world that give out such large grants. I doubt we are even only one of 2 in the EU. You do get there are rules about how grants from EU funds are given? So if you want to know where we stand internationally consider we stand with the EU
What is wrong with the government saving money for themselves and its' citizens?
I did say earlier it was a lovely extension and the kitchen is very nice. In regards to grants, I also said , and I quote, " I do not blame the couple last night, well done to them but I am looking at the system, the situation of many young couples and wondering if something is wrong?"
Read what I wrote again, more carefully this time before you personally attack me. I asked the question "are we the only country in the world where big grants are given out for home renovations"( 95 k last week, 35k this week). Maybe you can tell us what countries in the world if any give non means tested grants of this magnitude. I am not saying there are not any, I am just asking how do we stand internationally. In America I believe there are grants but qualifications are extremely strict. Being a veteran helps but it's mostly income based, with the household income needing to be below 25,000 dollars per year or something like that? In England I understand there are some relatively small grants for upgrading insulation etc but these are means tested and only available in council tax bands A to D?
Not the same fire at all actually. You may be completely correct by the way. I wouldn't labour the point.
absolutely! The begrudgery from that poster is unbelievable. These SEAI grants are available to anyone, not means tested either.
Like a BER rating? I have to wonder what more you are looking for
Now I simply don't believe you have researched grants all around the world to say that Ireland is the only country to give big grants out for home renovations. I just did a simple Google and found below. This is the same fund we use as other EU countries but you are absolutely POSITIVE no other EU fund is as generous as ours?
https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/financing/financing-building-renovations_en
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