New home sale in Belmont, Stepaside, Dublin 18

Jolisa94 · 02-12-2013 9:51pm

Sorry to hear that Pom. Hope you find something else soon. We are a long way off signing yet, but are being very cautious.

Looks like people have started to move into the first phase houses. When I came home this evening the barriers were gone and there lights on in at least three houses with cars parked in front. So it looks like some people completed in spite of the difficulties. No street lights yet, they are there but not lit, what a surprise...

Jolisa94 · 02-12-2013 10:25pm

Correction, nobody's moved in yet.

Curiosity got the best of us and we drove in to have a look. Lights are on, but the cars are security guards, not residents.

Lillian123 · 03-12-2013 11:46am

Hi Pom,

God that is just so worrying that the vendor's solicitor is not willing to clarify the situation with the AIB charges. How do they actually expect people to sign over for a house they won't officially own..its crazy but it doesnt surprise me the way we have been treated so far. We had stopped looking for houses since we put our deposit down so probably missed out.

You must be so stressed with all of this, like you get your hopes up about moving in there and the most basic things are not sorted in order to proceed with the purchase; the planning for some type houses has only been lodged last week. They want you to sign on a wing and a prayer and hope for the best. Did your lending institution have an opinion on this or had it not gone that far?

Has anyone else received clarification or an update on the AIB charge?

The Bishop Basher · 03-12-2013 12:01pm

How have you all not walked away ???

I can't believe that some people on here are still standing in line willing to hand over such enormous sums of money to these cowboys despite the countless red flags.

This thread alone would have me running for the hills.

Think of it this way, if you were messed around this much buying a car, would you complete the sale ? I doubt it....

You have a chance to walk away from this. You may be emotionally invested at now but that's nothing compared to the financial tie once you sign over the cash. Too late then to complain about the myriad of problems you will encounter when these guys run out of cash, let alone the build quality etc.

Run, run and then run some more.

Lillian123 · 03-12-2013 12:12pm

No Swanner, some of us actually want to live there and like the houses and the price is good for the size of the house, the energy rating and proximity to amenities. It is hard to find a similar priced house in SCD the way things are at the moment.

Obviously we will not be signing over cash until we know everything is in order. If its not then we will pull out simple. This board is just about sharing our experience thus far.

Jared20130204 · 03-12-2013 12:30pm

Agreed Lillian. I, like you had stopped looking but having seen POMs message, I am resigning myself to similar action( ie walking away). It is a pity and there's nothing to lose leaving the solicitor wait for a response, but I suspect it will be advice to opt out.
I'm going to wait til the New Year to start the Sat/Sun viewings again, but it is hugely disappointing...That said, I reckon We might all look back on this with a sigh of relief if these guys get away with dodgy contracts and homeowners being liable for a charge that was inherited from AIB.

What is really going to annoy me is having to pay legal fees for being sold a pup by the estate agent. Those guys need to be held accountable on some level.... We will have all forked out alot of cash to solicitors for something that should have been straight forward but in the end were forced to walk away from. I wonder how the agent would feel if all the people that pull out take a case to get legal fees recouped...Might put lessons on them going forward!!

The Bishop Basher · 03-12-2013 12:50pm

Lillian123 wrote: »

It is hard to find a similar priced house in SCD the way things are at the moment.

Have you asked yourself why ?

Look, I'm just offering an objective opinion, based on what i've read on a public forum. It's not my money at risk so ultimately I don't care.

It pains me however to see so many people continue down such a treacherous path, ignoring so many blatant red flags, driven by emotion and a desire to "get on the ladder" at any cost.

We all know where that leads...

Maybe i'm wrong. Maybe it will be the dream you all imagine. Maybe it will become a fantastic place to live, maybe you will get out of it unscathed. But the overwhelming evidence on here would dispute that and this seems to be backed up by a couple of solicitors in full posession of the facts.

It's the biggest purchase of your life, it should be a happy and exciting time. Don't let some shower of cowboys rob you of that.

nakom · 03-12-2013 1:02pm

Swanner wrote: »

Have you asked yourself why ?

Look, I'm just offering an objective opinion, based on what i've read on a public forum. It's not my money at risk so ultimately I don't care.

It pains me however to see so many people continue down such a treacherous path, ignoring so many blatant red flags, driven by emotion and a desire to "get on the ladder" at any cost.

We all know where that leads...

Swanner, reasons are notorious.
A. No one is building new homes
B. Whoever has a house to sell is waiting for the prices to go up.
Result, I've been looking for the last 12 months for a decent house and found none except the one in Belmont.
It's not the case to "get on the ladder", it's just the first decent house that I (and probably it's the same for the others) found in such a long time.
Also, no one here is going to risk anything; everyone is going to wait for their own solicitor. I trusted my solicitor when he told me that there was a problem and I'll trust him in the same way IF the problem will ever be fixed.
If they are not willing to fix it, well... then I'll walk away as all the others already said.

Back to your cars comparisons, it's like you want a new BMW and all you can find is a brand new Fiat or a rotten second hand BMW at the same price of the new one. Wouldn't you wait for the opinion of your mechanic before walking away knowing that there aren't any available on the market?

_Kaiser_ · 03-12-2013 1:16pm

Lillian123 wrote: »

No Swanner, some of us actually want to live there and like the houses and the price is good for the size of the house, the energy rating and proximity to amenities. It is hard to find a similar priced house in SCD the way things are at the moment.

Obviously we will not be signing over cash until we know everything is in order. If its not then we will pull out simple. This board is just about sharing our experience thus far.

I live/work in the area and I can tell you now that it's not great for "amenities". SCD is massively overrated in my opinion.

- You'll be coming out onto 1 road which is ridiculously congested from around half 7. Ditto getting home if coming from Dundrum/Sandyford

There's 1 shop in the complex (The Market) which is OK but expensive

You have 2 Dunnes in the wider area, neither within walking distance and also very expensive

- Nearest decent pub is in Stepaside village. Again not really within walking distance

- Dundrum SC is a disaster for traffic and parking is at €2 an hour or part thereof. It's also full of what I call "Celtic tiger" era shops just as with the Beacon SC in Sandyford

Given this and all the other issues that have been described on this thread I'm with Swanner on this - walk away while you still can!

Wallander · 03-12-2013 1:19pm

I agree with Nakom. "Getting onto the ladder" is not our motivation as it implies some sort of game. We purely want an affordable and nice base for a young family without renting accommodation from a fairly miserable landlord who could decide to sell his place at any time. If solutions are somehow found to the torrent of problems reported here and the Belmont state passes all the proper checks (which may seem unlikely from some people's experiences but I live in hope) it would represent great value.

_Kaiser_ · 03-12-2013 1:24pm

Wallander wrote: »

I agree with Nakom. "Getting onto the ladder" is not our motivation as it implies some sort of game. We purely want an affordable and nice base for a young family without renting accommodation from a fairly miserable landlord who could decide to sell his place at any time. If solutions are somehow found to the torrent of problems reported here and the Belmont state passes all the proper checks (which may seem unlikely from some people's experiences but I live in hope) it would represent great value.

But you're missing the point.. As long as ye all hold on hoping it'll all work out in the end, what'll likely happen is it'll get to a point where they make some token effort to resolving some of the problems, you will decide "that'll do and sure we can keep at them" but by then it'll be too late.

This is exactly how so many people ended up so badly stuck the first time round.

Wallander · 03-12-2013 1:33pm

I think whether we accept token efforts to resolve problems would depend on our individual judgements in this situation Kaiser.

Clearly there is a danger of being sucked into something with an overriding desire to buy, that point is valid. But by remaining careful, which seems to be the case for all perspective buyers posting on this forum, this danger can be avoided. Sharing experiences on this forum has been very helpful in this regard and long may than continue.

minotour · 03-12-2013 1:35pm

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

But you're missing the point.. As long as ye all hold on hoping it'll all work out in the end, what'll likely happen is it'll get to a point where they make some token effort to resolving some of the problems, you will decide "that'll do and sure we can keep at them" but by then it'll be too late.

This is exactly how so many people ended up so badly stuck the first time round.

I'm one of these people and i couldnt agree more. I actually went up to Belmont for a gawk when it was viewing and i was astonished at how much it reminded me of the time i was suckered into a half Mill mortgage. There was even the same SF people there holding their clipboards. How yer wan survived the downturn ill never know.

Anyway, 6 years later and im in an unfinished complex owned by NAMA but recently put under BNP control who appear to be somewhat competent but its still far from the ideal situation we expected for that kind of money. Someone said it earlier, dont let these compromises ruin what should be a joyful experience.

Regarding SCD as a location, all those points expressed above are true but easily avoidable by simple life planning. The biggest fear i have is my girls growing "Local loike ya know"

Enduro · 03-12-2013 3:33pm

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

I live/work in the area and I can tell you now that it's not great for "amenities". SCD is massively overrated in my opinion.

- You'll be coming out onto 1 road which is ridiculously congested from around half 7. Ditto getting home if coming from Dundrum/Sandyford

There's 1 shop in the complex (The Market) which is OK but expensive

You have 2 Dunnes in the wider area, neither within walking distance and also very expensive

- Nearest decent pub is in Stepaside village. Again not really within walking distance

- Dundrum SC is a disaster for traffic and parking is at €2 an hour or part thereof. It's also full of what I call "Celtic tiger" era shops just as with the Beacon SC in Sandyford

Given this and all the other issues that have been described on this thread I'm with Swanner on this - walk away while you still can!

I live in Belarmine currently, so Know exactly what facilities and conditions in the area are like. I love the location. I'm not from SCD so I've no built in bias there, but personally the whole Belmont-Belarrmine-Glencairn suits me very well. Taking you're points:

- I sometimes get a lift out with my wife at 8am. Doesn't seem to be much congestion exiting the area. sometimes a 2 minute wait. No biggie there. Normally I cycle everywhere, so magically enough I don't have any issues with congestion. If I can't cycle the Luas is 10 minutes walk away (and is 10 seconds walk from work at the other end).

- The Aldi in Sandyford is within striking range (free parking). As is the Lidl in Dundrum (also free parking). No celtic tiger crap with either of them. One weekly shop sorts us out. There are 3 roughly equidistant shops within walking range of Belmont. The Market in Belarmine is only one. There is also the shop at Lambs cross, and the shop at Sandyford Hall

- Lamb Doyles is a decent pub. It's as close as Stpeaside. Not that I care anyway. My social life doesn't revolve around the pub.

- Stepaside is easily walkable for me. Maybe us country boys are made of sterner stuff, but I've never considered a bother to walk 20 minutes to somewhere I want to get to.

- The best facility that the entire east coast has to offer from my point of view is the Dublin/Wicklow mountains. Belmont is about 2 minutes running time from them, or even less on a bike. This isn't a facility that can be built near every house, no matter how good value the house may be!

I agree (still) that there are plenty of issues that could cause us to walk away. If our solicitor advices us to walk, then we will. Simple as that. It would be a bit stupid to walk away before we find out if the issues can be resolved though.

ted1 · 03-12-2013 3:38pm

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

- Dundrum SC is a disaster for traffic and parking is at €2 an hour or part thereof. It's also full of what I call "Celtic tiger" era shops just as with the Beacon SC in Sandyford

€2 for 3 hours, you are obviously foolishly parking in the Tesco car park, where they charge per hour. all the main Car Parks are€2 for 3 hours.

Dunnes in the Beacon have free parking

copacetic · 03-12-2013 9:05pm

Enduro wrote: »

I live in Belarmine currently, so Know exactly what facilities and conditions in the area are like. I love the location. I'm not from SCD so I've no built in bias there, but personally the whole Belmont-Belarrmine-Glencairn suits me very well. Taking you're points:

- I sometimes get a lift out with my wife at 8am. Doesn't seem to be much congestion exiting the area. sometimes a 2 minute wait. No biggie there. Normally I cycle everywhere, so magically enough I don't have any issues with congestion. If I can't cycle the Luas is 10 minutes walk away (and is 10 seconds walk from work at the other end).

- The Aldi in Sandyford is within striking range (free parking). As is the Lidl in Dundrum (also free parking). No celtic tiger crap with either of them. One weekly shop sorts us out. There are 3 roughly equidistant shops within walking range of Belmont. The Market in Belarmine is only one. There is also the shop at Lambs cross, and the shop at Sandyford Hall

- Lamb Doyles is a decent pub. It's as close as Stpeaside. Not that I care anyway. My social life doesn't revolve around the pub.

- Stepaside is easily walkable for me. Maybe us country boys are made of sterner stuff, but I've never considered a bother to walk 20 minutes to somewhere I want to get to.

- The best facility that the entire east coast has to offer from my point of view is the Dublin/Wicklow mountains. Belmont is about 2 minutes running time from them, or even less on a bike. This isn't a facility that can be built near every house, no matter how good value the house may be!

I agree (still) that there are plenty of issues that could cause us to walk away. If our solicitor advices us to walk, then we will. Simple as that. It would be a bit stupid to walk away before we find out if the issues can be resolved though.

Agree with this, I'm not sure what the motives from some of the posters is, but the only real congestion getting out of the estate is within 15 mins of the schools starting at 9.00am. Otherwise there is never an issue and there is no issue at all in the evenings.

As for thinking a 1.2mile walk to stepaside is 'not really walkable' that's laughable! Presumably no mention of the 10 minute walk to the luas is because it is also 'not walkable'!

Kaisers entire post is pretty much all factually wrong. Eg the €2 an hour parking in Dundrum, is actually €2 for up to 3 hours, not per hour. Which is pretty reasonable and with a tesco, M&S and a lidl in the old centre, pretty useful.

moving in · 03-12-2013 10:54pm

Hi all, Got my keys today so excited, cant wait to get into my new home. My house is perfect. Role on he future....

moving in · 03-12-2013 11:16pm

Cant really understand why people a speaking so bad about the area or Belmont. When I look out my window I see the mountains, 10 minute walk I'm on the Luas into work, Dundrum Shopping :-) 5 minutes in my car love it. My Dad is an engineer and inspected my house and did my snag list. He was happy with what he seen. So its role on the future for myself and my darling hubby. YIPEEE.....

mad m · 03-12-2013 11:36pm

^^ well done. Enjoy your new house...

And your new view " electrical pylons being erected"......

Kidding...:D

Baileys4 · 04-12-2013 12:20am

moving in wrote: »

Hi all, Got my keys today so excited, cant wait to get into my new home. My house is perfect. Role on he future....

Hi moving in,

We're soon to be neighbours-hoping to get our keys tomorrow/Thursday! Just wondering did you have any issues getting a closing date from the solicitor? We're all set & house ready but vendors solicitor seem to be dragging their feet! Congrats btw

Enduro · 04-12-2013 11:16am

Good luck to both of you moving in. I hope it all goes well.

Out of interest, did your solicitors make you aware of any of the possible issues witht the title on the land before you signed your contracts.

Do let us know how everything goes with the new home please, good or bad.

Baileys4 · 04-12-2013 11:22am

Enduro wrote: »

Good luck to both of you moving in. I hope it all goes well.

Out of interest, did your solicitors make you aware of any of the possible issues witht the title on the land before you signed your contracts.

Do let us know how everything goes with the new home please, good or bad.

Yes our solicitor had a number of queries on the contracts and I'd agree with what has already been said that they seemed thrown together & copied from Celtic tiger times but the issue re the title was resolved quickly and both we and our solicitor are happy. We would never have proceeded if we weren't.

I'd disagree with what has been said about the area as we've lived in the area for over two years & love it. Lovely sense of community, great facilities & no traffic problems unless you're leaving at 830/9 which you'd experience close to any schools!

Will keep you updated with the move!

Jolisa94 · 04-12-2013 11:24am

Best of luck to those moving in this week!!

Feel a bit jealous, would have liked to have been in by Christmas, but our house is in the second phase, so don’t expect to move in until at least February at the earliest.

moving in · 04-12-2013 10:59pm

Hi all moving in is going well. Got a very pleasant knock on the door this evening, the builder Hugh with a fab hamper, and wished us all the best in our new home. He was telling me there will be 10 families in by friday. Looking forward to meeting you all!!!

Jolisa94 · 05-12-2013 9:02am

Glad to see people have finally started to move in and wish everyone the best.:)

I am curious about the AIB charge though, it's the big issue which is worrying most people on this site, myself included, how was that handled by the solicitors?

We haven't received our contract and have had only minimal dealing with our solictor up to now, so have not had a conversation with him about it yet - all we know is what's being said here.

Would greatly apprciate some feedback on this one.

Thanks

camo · 06-12-2013 7:16pm

How are things working out in the new homes guys?

Lillian123 · 09-12-2013 1:01pm

Hi moving_in and Baileys4,

Can you give us any more information about how you managed to sign your contracts with the outstanding AIB charge? Also was there any problems with the planning, as certain houses have been extended in phase 2 I am not sure if that affects phase 1.

How many people are living there now? I drove up at the weekend and it doesn't look finished

Thanks

Marky Marko · 09-12-2013 10:11pm

Hi all.

Just chiming in to let you know that we also closed today and received our keys.

We were well aware of the AIB issue - but are satisfied via our solicitor that this is a process in motion and not something to be concerned about.

Sherry Fitz were always very pleasant and very helpful when it came to any queries we had along the way - and all our dealings with the builder and people on site has been great.

There has been nothing they would not do and have been more than accommodating throughout the entire process.

It has been 3 long years for us trying and buy a home of our own and we are delighted to be part of this new development.

Good luck to everyone in the process of closing or moving in.

My only advice is to have patience !

Carpenter · 09-12-2013 10:36pm

Marky Marko wrote: »

Hi all.

Just chiming in to let you know that we also closed today and received our keys.

We were well aware of the AIB issue - but are satisfied via our solicitor that this is a process in motion and not something to be concerned about.

Sherry Fitz were always very pleasant and very helpful when it came to any queries we had along the way - and all our dealings with the builder and people on site has been great.

There has been nothing they would not do and have been more than accommodating throughout the entire process.

It has been 3 long years for us trying and buy a home of our own and we are delighted to be part of this new development.

Good luck to everyone in the process of closing or moving in.

My only advice is to have patience !

Welcome to Stepaside/Sandyford great choice

Lillian123 · 11-12-2013 3:50pm

Hi All,

I have been looking at the planning on this site and it appears that they have lodged an application on the 19th of November 2013 (D13A/0611) to extend certain house types and changes to rear elevations. The documents and plans are now up on the dlrcoco planning site. However the plans do not provide detail on the house changes. The application notes the inclusion of social and affordable housing in the development, were people aware of this? This application was then withdrawn on the 28th of Nov.

On the 29th of November 2013 a new application (D13A/0636) was made for the same type of amendments as before. However the documents are not yet uploaded for this application.

Jolisa, have you received your contract yet?

New home sale in Belmont, Stepaside, Dublin 18

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