House Hunting
I thought the day would never *ever* come, but I have just started looking for a *little* house. I know nothing about such things so I have a lot to learn! Any advice and tips from those who have survived the process would be much appreciated. 
So far, I have been working on my wishlist:
- Near town (to minimise the trauma of Dublin commuting)
- Not “in need of modernisation” (since I can’t even wire a plug)
- Near some nice sweet shops
- Near McDonalds
It’s not much to ask for really. 
So that’s the ideal, and my current situation is my bedroom in Blanch, so I hope I will be able to come up with a compromise!
I have also paid my first visit to MyHome.ie. I realise that the Internet has revolutionised the estate agent business and is a godsend to all property buyers, but I’m a bit let down by the undisputed champion of Irish property sites.
I know that everyone uses it and finds it extremely useful (even those who barely know how to check their e-mail). However, from my initial forays, it appears that you cannot even order your search results or do a free keyword search!? The fantastic e-mail alert service available to the special people who register deserves a special mention. I signed up to avail of this and set up a couple of searches. I have been receiving identical e-mails most nights ever since (usually when the new properties have already been on the site most of the previous day) containing the extremely useful information below:
Hello,
You have new listings from MyHome.ie®
Go to http://www.myhome.ie/members and log in to view your new properties.
Well that’s a great help! Maybe they are just afraid you would not be able to take the excitement of actually maybe seeing the addresses of the new houses directly in the e-mail.
Update May 2006: Lo and behold, myhome.ie now include details of the latest 4 properties to match your criteria in their e-mail alerts. Progress at last!
At least daft.ie is a lot more sensible. It’s nice to see a site focusing on the First Time Buyer too.
January 10th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Check out http://www.askaboutmoney.com which I just discovered recently - really, really good stuff over there
January 11th, 2006 at 8:36 am
The trick is to get the house first and then worry about furnishing it later. You’ll find you don’nt need as much stuff as you think. Oh and before I forget, have enough cash set aside to pay the solicitors fees cos theres always LOADS of paperwork to be done. Apart from that its the best move you can make.
January 11th, 2006 at 10:29 am
Oh no, Janine, you have the language all wrong. No house in Ireland is in need of modernisation - they all “offer the discerning buyer a wonderful opportunity to stamp their personality on a property with lots of potential”.
I like the Daft site too…except I take issue with their idea that 300K plus is suitable first time buyer property.
Good luck anyway (I’m looking too, but I want to live in Swords and it is well pricey at the moment).
January 11th, 2006 at 1:21 pm
I bought my house in May (In Sallins, Co.Kildare) and good luck to you if you can find a “cheap house” close to Dublin in a habitable area.
It will be worth it if you can find one as it will save you on your commute. A one bedroom apartment near a regular bus route/DART or LUAS will be a god send.
Watch out for “management fee’s” on apartments they can be really expensive.
Solicitors fees are mad make sure you get the whole price of everything (including expenses and land searches, etc..) before you agree to anything.
Prices are mad at the minute but I can’t see them coming down, good luck with the search
January 11th, 2006 at 3:53 pm
I’ve never posted on your blog before Janine…but I’m afraid that I cannot keep my silence regarding the purchase of a place to live.
Firstly the people I have dealt with, from builder to estate agent, are sub-human scum. I was under the mistaken impression that when there is 300k+ on the line you are entitled to above average customer service. Not the case at all. In fact the amount of money causes a reverse effect. The people involved are so desperate to extract the money from you, they steam roll over you!
My advice if you want to live close to Dublin: buy a tent and sleep with the weirdo’s and the deer in the Phoenix Park…….
January 12th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
thanks for the tips guys. it sounds like i have a lot to look out for! you’re right about 300K not being feasible for many first timers winds… i think daft just use the zero stamp duty threshold as their guide? good luck with your own search in swords.
i contacted 2 agents today who told me that the market will take until february or even march to get fully going.
that’s good news if you find something in the quiet time i guess….
and just what do you mean by ‘habitable areas’ ed?
January 16th, 2006 at 4:19 am
Echoing Justin, builders, estate agents and the like are total scum and the political structure (tent at the Galway races) means they have plenty of room to fuck you over from a statutory point of view. Proceed with caution. Oh, and watch out for “mortgage brokers” too. They don’t do anything for you that you can’t do yourself with a copy of the paper.
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:10 pm
300 Grand would get you something half decent in Drogheda.
That way there would be at least 3.5 bloggers in the town …
February 8th, 2006 at 11:18 pm
thought you were (correctly) calling me half a blogger paul, but then i saw your own blog discussion about spolit child’s multiple blogs!
in case anyone is interested, i have yet to find my dream home or even view many houses full stop. so if anyone hears of anything for sale for reasonable money in ranelagh/rathmines/portobello let me know and there could be lots of fizzy cola bottles coming your way…
March 3rd, 2006 at 11:21 pm
Don’t scorn houses “in need of modernisation”. I bought a house four years ago for €292,500. It had grey nylon carpets which turned up at the edges, all the walls were covered in white woodchip paper, the bathroom suite was turquoise, the three kitchen units yellow. The garden, a total jungle, was described by the estate agents as “mainly laid to lawn”. I did loads of work on it myself and spent a bit on electricians and plumbers. Last week it was valued at €750,000.
(And I sold the bathroom suite to some travellers for €100!)
If you need a solicitor to do your conveyancing, I can recommend one who will charge you €999 plus Vat for everything.
October 19th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
kieron, can you recommend me your solicitor, please.