Should we sell off the ghost estates for nothing?

johnmcdnl · 27-02-2011 09:31PM

well seeing as NAMA is part of the government I guess we won't have to build any more council houses for a long long long long time...

otherwise just try to sell them at least in a few years time...

giving them away for free is kinda stupid is it not

My name is URL · 27-02-2011 09:34PM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

True, it would be unpleasant. But to get a "refund?"

That's the hazards you take when you are an early adopter to something new, should it be a new computer device, or a first house on an estate.

Aye, but people buying houses in estates didn't do so with a view of being left living on a building site.

The state should finish them imo, and sell the homes at a time when it's profitable to do so. They could rent them out until then presumably.

epgc3fyqirnbsx · 27-02-2011 09:35PM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

See, it's this kind of thinking that'll get out of a hole. Some people want to give them away, **** that for a game of tiddlywinks, charge people for it!

It makes money, money is then spent, people get paid, jobs are kept.

Too much doom and gloom in these parts lately!

You're not wrong, we could do something ridicolously crazy and cool with them, something that would make the papers worldwode and get the internet buzzing and that people would actually come to see!

Battle Royale platforms for international delinquents?

amacca · 27-02-2011 09:50PM

Ada Damp Vengeance wrote: »

Free premises for start up companies?

not such a bad idea

they would be suitable for some startups as office space surely

ilovesleep · 27-02-2011 09:50PM

Would these ghost estates be owned by NAMA in which the tax payer now pays for?

The best thing for these ghost estates, finish them if they are not finished. Unemployed construction workers could do the job. Scrap rent allowance. People, who were in receipt of rent allowance, now gets a NAMA house. Scrapping rent allowance would save money, and would reduce rents for everyone renting.

Owen · 27-02-2011 09:54PM

If the Government had half a brain, they'd look at these empty houses, and then look at people like who've been paying rent without a bother for x amount of years but can't get the money together for a deposit. They'd offer us the houses with pre-approved mortgages and hey presto, things are moving again.

Course, that's a very simple plan, full of holes no doubt.

Pauleta · 27-02-2011 10:19PM

There are 120,000 ghost houses in Ireland according to RTE. I would imagine most are under the reign of NAMA. I think they should used for the social housing list and then when everyone is off the list it ends. No more free gaffs for having children you cant afford and if people turn down the houses then as a goodwill gesture the state shall send them a good luck card :cool:

27-02-2011 10:24PM

Actually I was having a conversation with someone about these. Does squatters rights still exist and, if so, could you squat in one of these ghost houses and possibly own it afterwards?

ilovesleep · 27-02-2011 10:25PM

Pauleta wrote: »

There are 120,000 ghost houses in Ireland according to RTE. I would imagine most are under the reign of NAMA. I think they should used for the social housing list and then when everyone is off the list it ends. No more free gaffs for having children you cant afford and if people turn down the houses then as a goodwill gesture the state shall send them a good luck card :cool:

I wonder how much people are in receipt of rent allowance?

ilovesleep · 27-02-2011 10:26PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Actually I was having a conversation with someone about these. Does squatters rights still exist and, if so, could you squat in one of these ghost houses and possibly own it afterwards?

Go for it!

epgc3fyqirnbsx · 27-02-2011 11:09PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Actually I was having a conversation with someone about these. Does squatters rights still exist and, if so, could you squat in one of these ghost houses and possibly own it afterwards?

Yes you could as long as you do so for 12 years without anyone else asserting their ownership

fontanalis · 27-02-2011 11:34PM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

Just think of the paintball/airsoft session you could have in one of them.

Proper urban combat.

That was my first though. No stealing my thoughts or ideas. :mad:

I had it first!

poppyvalley · 27-02-2011 11:55PM

johnmcdnl wrote: »

otherwise just try to sell them at least in a few years time

Wont they get dilapitated and rundown in the meantime, it wont make them very sellable

CorsetIsTight · 28-02-2011 12:23AM

johnmcdnl wrote: »

well seeing as NAMA is part of the government I guess we won't have to build any more council houses for a long long long long time...

otherwise just try to sell them at least in a few years time...

giving them away for free is kinda stupid is it not

The houses in ghost estates probably couldn't be used as council houses without having a lot of extra money spent on them, because private houses are built to a much lower standard than council houses.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 28-02-2011 12:30AM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

Just think of the paintball/airsoft session you could have in one of them.

Proper urban combat.

That was my first though. No stealing my thoughts or ideas. :mad:

Amhran Nua wrote: »

Hire them out for zombie/apocalypse movies.

I really think you two need to sit down together and thrash these ideas out...!

admiralofthefleet · 28-02-2011 12:31AM

i would love to buy one but i would imagine 99.9% of them arent fit for living in

yrwhu8jxtni06a · 28-02-2011 12:33AM

Only method i see out would be to give a contract of house of really cheap price under condition tenant will waive all their rights and get local builders to undertake the work themselves without need of taxpayer paying council to do it.

Question on rent allowance,91,000 receiving, on most recent report could find-

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/strain-on-rent-relief-as-32000-foreigners-claim-aid-1843632.html

Amhran Nua · 28-02-2011 12:56AM

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

I really think you two need to sit down together and thrash these ideas out...!

Haha, seriously though I was thinking about getting a few people together to shoot an amateur short along those lines with some hardware I'll be getting my hands on shortly, and tying it in with a software project which is being built. It'll probably remain on the maybe list for the forseeable future, I've enough going on already.

K-9 · 28-02-2011 01:36AM

It isn't the worst idea at all.

We haven't seen the long term extent of the property bubble at all yet.

Ghost estates and Apartment complexes in a few years, with banks or whatever few developers are left (with no money) managing them, in charge of them.

Serious problem for the next Government and never was a big issue surprisingly.

They canvassed enough of them. Probably not a clue of what to do!

mikemac · 28-02-2011 01:39AM

The best built houses in Ireland are council houses.
If you go around Dublin you'll still find housing from the 1930's. The housing schemes back then are one of the best things Fianna Fáil ever achieved. Credit where it's due

This apartment I rent may as well have walls of cardboard. My neighbour coughs and I can hear it

Look across the road the council houses aren't lookers but they are solid and as good as when they were built in the 1950's.

You can turn the ghost estates over for social housing but you'll have to spend a lot of money upgrading them if they are to last

Amhran Nua · 28-02-2011 02:29AM

K-9 wrote: »

It isn't the worst idea at all.

It is pretty tempting, things like zombie movies are very cheap to make. Here are a few shorts made for the sub €1000 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnBAULXQQPQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD44wcA-I_A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jNaX9OjAaw

The guns are all airsoft, the muzzle flashes, fires, red chalk dust blood and explosions are just library images pasted in, a few green screens for the craic, and I know some people literally handing out musical scores for free. Your biggest costs would be editing and makeup, really, other than convincing a ghost estate developer to let you have the run of the place in exchange for a share of the take or something.

I'd start out in a well known Dublin nightclub, where for the laugh several of the bartenders decide to feed slops to some lad that's well on it. After drinking the toxic sludge, next thing you know he's ate-ing the face off some young wan. Then we go to our redoubtable heroes, trying to catch a taxi in Dublin city centre after midnight, when all hell breaks loose, so no special effects needed there really. They meet up with a couple of ladies fleeing the trouble, and off they go.

They make their way out of the city into some Countryside, before coming to the place where most of it would be shot, the ghost estate, although you wouldn't let on that it was originally empty of course. Add in some punchy social commentary about travellers they meet along the way, who help them, and you've got a movie.

All purely off the top of me head, it would be like Hollyoaks and Father Ted meets Dawn of the Dead.

Of course, if you're doing it on a microbudget it won't help the ghost estates problem much, but it might inspire better financed people to take advantage of them.

Unpossible · 28-02-2011 02:40AM

Using empty buildings/estates for film locations isn't a bad idea. If we could set up an industry around it where a studio could come in and have extras and crew readily available it could really work. My wife told me that there is a town in china where they built a replica of the forbidden city and the locals are all drilled in ancient army drills so if you want to film something on ancient china you just pay money and turn up.
Some punk or emo band did it a few years ago.

scheister · 28-02-2011 02:54AM

Its not a bad idea im sure there are kinks in it somewhere

How about Houses are sold at rate of 20k a bedroom so ya get a nice 3 bed for 60k

and apartments for 10k a bedroom.

With the money raised the houses can be brought up to livable state. hire builders off the dole there all ready getting €196 a week off the state so say 300 a week to work on the houses only costs an extra 104. and think of the circle of money effect on the wage. Also the appentices that are near the end of there training but were left short can do there time in them.

Tar.Aldarion · 28-02-2011 04:57AM

should be a lottery for them, come on number 3!

old_aussie · 28-02-2011 05:23AM

Buy one, get another one of equal or lesser value free.

ebixa82 · 28-02-2011 09:02AM

Of the 120,000 ghost houses how many are ready to move into? Very few.

Even if some of the houses are ready loads of these estates have no proper lighting, sewerage, paving etc. And none of the bankrupt developers have money to complete them.

If people are to simply be handed one of these houses for free then those paying mortgages in negative equity next door would go ballistic. Not very fair now is it?

28-02-2011 09:17AM

Love the lottery idea.. 500euro for a ticket.

connundrum · 28-02-2011 09:22AM

The houses should be sold for something i.e.

If a 'shost estate' house was sold for an average of €50,000:

€20,000 from each should go to NAMA to reduce the amount that we as a state have on our debit sheet by approx €3bn (€20,000 x 150,000 units)

€20,000 from each unit should go towards the finishing of the estate i.e. roads, lights, greens etc. This amount could be lowered in cases where estates are near completion.

€10,000 from each should go to maintaining the estate for the coming 8-10 years. This would get rid of the constant battle that management companies have in trying to get years fees from owners, and should also see the estate through to a point whereby the council should be in a position to take over the maintenance of it.

In this system, buyers would get a house for very little - reducing the need for mortgages.

The state would need to provide less in the way of social housing, mortgage relief. The state (NAMA) would benefit from income, and would have to spend less on maintaining unfinished estates etc.

Estates would be self sufficient for 8-10 years.

Sofiztikated · 28-02-2011 09:27AM

Amhran Nua wrote: »

It is pretty tempting, things like zombie movies are very cheap to make. Here are a few shorts made for the sub €1000 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnBAULXQQPQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD44wcA-I_A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jNaX9OjAaw

The guns are all airsoft, the muzzle flashes, fires, red chalk dust blood and explosions are just library images pasted in, a few green screens for the craic, and I know some people literally handing out musical scores for free. Your biggest costs would be editing and makeup, really, other than convincing a ghost estate developer to let you have the run of the place in exchange for a share of the take or something.

I'd start out in a well known Dublin nightclub, where for the laugh several of the bartenders decide to feed slops to some lad that's well on it. After drinking the toxic sludge, next thing you know he's ate-ing the face off some young wan. Then we go to our redoubtable heroes, trying to catch a taxi in Dublin city centre after midnight, when all hell breaks loose, so no special effects needed there really. They meet up with a couple of ladies fleeing the trouble, and off they go.

They make their way out of the city into some Countryside, before coming to the place where most of it would be shot, the ghost estate, although you wouldn't let on that it was originally empty of course. Add in some punchy social commentary about travellers they meet along the way, who help them, and you've got a movie.

All purely off the top of me head, it would be like Hollyoaks and Father Ted meets Dawn of the Dead.

Of course, if you're doing it on a microbudget it won't help the ghost estates problem much, but it might inspire better financed people to take advantage of them.

I'm in if you ever go from "maybe" to "Ah, why not."

MagicSean · 28-02-2011 09:37AM

Give them to people claiming rent allowance. Then they'll have a proper home and we won't have to pay them rent allowance any more.

Should we sell off the ghost estates for nothing?

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