Buying a house in Dublin

[Fiontar649]

We're going to be in a position to buy a house in about 12 months, so have been noseying around Daft at the areas we like. I've noticed that some houses have been on Daft for a while - say a few months - does this mean that they aren't shifting for some reason, or is this normal? I haven't bought a house before, but remember my sister talking about the pain of a house being gone by the time they went to look at it, so I I had of assumed that houses were snapped up quickly.

Also, where we live now, a neighbouring house was up for sale about 6 months ago, and has had a "sale agreed" sign up for ages now. Does this mean that the sale hasn't been finalised (why?)?

Like I say, we are still a year away from this, but I suppose I am more aware of houses for sale now that we're finally at the stage of having a deposit.

[Fiontar649]

Ah- ignore typos 🤦‍♀️

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

The finalising of sales often seems to take forever to me. I thought it was pretty slow between agreeing a sale and exchange/completion when I lived in the UK but honestly I know people here in Dublin who have been waiting months to complete a purchase/sale. There seems to be a variety of reasons why, but a lot of it is to do with the rental market being so stupidly over-heated. It means there is no opportunity at all for anyone to rent temporarily between house moves and there is often a delay because there is a huge chain and the person at the top can't find anywhere suitable to buy or the person at the bottom can't sell.

Plus, I think people in Ireland are less used to chains so they operate less smoothly than in England where it's been like that for generations. There were no house chains in Ireland until after the crash, before that most people got a bridging loan and bought their new house (usually at auction) and then put their old house up for auction. Or they sold and rented or stayed with family temporarily. You'll be in a strong position as you don't have anything to sell.

It's good to keep an eye on the market for a while before you buy. Some of the non-sellers are over-priced for the area, I think Daft and MyHome will tell you what houses have sold for nearby recently. Some of them may be near proposed development that will be disruption, eg road changes, bus corridor things etc.

[Fiontar649]

Thanks Black

Our fear is that if the process takes ages, we could potentially be stuck in limbo renting while waiting to get into the house... not sure how that works- would we end up paying rent and mortgage at same time?

Or we give our landlord notice to leave and end up not having a house ready to get in to.

Oh - one more question - if a house has been online for months at €x - do they still tend to get into the situation where the price goes up and up, with people offering more and more?

I honestly thought houses were advertised on a Monday, then by Friday about 20 people had outbid each other and it was sold by the weekend.

I never really understood - Or liked the sound of - buying in a chain. Interesting to hear that it is becoming more common here

(Appreciate that I am asking questions that possibly can't be answered until we are actually in the situation, but any advice/insight is great to get)

[Apileofballyhoo]

I bought a house many moons ago from a family who inherited from a deceased relative. It took over a year for probate etc. We weren't paying the mortgage until the sale was actually finalised and we had the keys and all that. I don't know if the sign was taken down or had sale agreed or sold on it for a year! So that's one example of why there can be a long delay.

It was during the Celtic Tiger and houses were being sold very quickly. From other family members' experience, when the sale is agreed, there are negotiations regarding possession date.

I was renting a house that was sold and the new owners took possession a couple of days after we had moved out. So I suppose it was sale agreed until the final transaction after we moved out. I know our landlord was anxious about the sale falling through.

It's a really good idea to keep a very close eye on things, and also start viewing houses - open days and show houses are a good place to start so that you're not time wasting for sellers. It'll give you an idea about prices. Driving through areas at different times of day is another good thing to do.

Learn how much things cost. We got a bargain because the house needed a new kitchen and bathroom - but these were far cheaper to do than the money we saved if you get me.

Remember the main thing in a city you'll be paying for is the plot of land rather than the house. Look up the rebuild cost of a three bed semi compared to the price of a three bed semi - it gives you an idea of what you're actually paying for location.

Be careful of buying a house that's advertised as three/four bedroom when the last bedroom is a tiny box or an attic conversion. And think about schools.

[Fiontar649]

Thank you! Good advice to keep in mind. I remember the madness of the Celtic Tiger well - and retrospectively I am so glad that we weren't able to buy back then, a lot of our friends got burned.

We have lived in this area on and off for 15 years, and hoping to stay pretty local. There are currently a number of houses around here that are within our projected budget.

We don't mind having to do a bit of work on it afterwards. Our estimated mortgage repayments look like they are going to be €6k a year less than our rent, so we will have spare money to save up for improvements

[pinkground202]

In my experience if a house in Dublin has been on the market for more that 2-3 months there is either a serious problem with it or it's very over priced.

Long story but a friend recently bought a house in a very sought after area which had been on the market for a good 6 months. They had a survey done, etc, paid a ridiculous amount knowing it needed a big renovation job. It wasn't until the builder moved in they realised the house was subsiding 😵 months of delay, €€€ and so much stress. And the worst part is that the estate agent knew all along but didn't tell them.

Lesson to learn OP, ask the agent directly 'are there any structural issues with this house?', then they have to tell you.

Good luck!

[Fiontar649]

Oh no pink - nightmare!
Things like that and neighbours-from-hell are our biggest fears

[beanaseireann]

I think the Dublin market is really slowing - over a certain price nothing seems to be moving.

[DublinBlowin]

The market has slowed a little since last year, but it was crazy. I bought jan 2018 after a year of looking and getting into bidding wars on at least eight places.

I think there is very little coming on the market - I'm actually still looking as I bought current place as a stop gap - and there's only a couple of genuine sales come on in the broad area I'm looking at.

Estate agents keep properties advertised long after offers have been accepted and the sale process is underway. If you want an accurate reflection of how many are actually available then mark the box upcoming viewings on daft.

[3timeslucky]

Probate can be an issue. A chain also.

But sometimes there is something that is an issue when you visit a house. So maybe the photos don't show that there's something dodgy beside or behind the house. Or you don't realise til you go visit that the noise levels are horrendous. Or there's a nightclub across the road.

And as others have said, houses at the top end of the market with cheeky price expectations are not moving.