Can I buy?

C

coolgal

Guest
Hi,

I am 29 now and feel like I should stop renting even though rent is only 220 euro a month where I am living at the moment.

I earn 30k a year and have savings of 13k and no debts.
Should I keep saving for another while? I don't think I would have enough
for a deposit as it is?

Ideally I would like to buy an apartment around the same area that I am living in so I can have it for a few years and then eventually build a house in a site that I have already.

Apartment prices in my area are €200 to 250k.

I haven't gone to any mortgage provider yet but I am just wondering if I would be eligible or am I just wasting my time thinking of buying??
I would like to know what my options are.

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks, :)
 
not to burst your bubble but I'm at the same age, earn 52k basic with a 10% bonus, 5000 per year tax free in shares in addition, have 70k in cash and the banks are telling me 4 to 4.5 times salary max.

I get the strong impression some of them are looking at their loan books over the last couple of years and going "oh my god what have we done" - there's a post somewhere on these boards of banks lending people 8 times salary with no guarantor - I think there's a big change in the way some of the institutions lend their money.....
 
On €30,000 over a 35/40 year term with room rental and no loans you qualify for a mortgage of €175,000 (this will reduce if interest rates go up agan today). Would you consider buying jointly with a friend, colleague or sibling? Alternatively you will qualify for the affordable housing/shared ownership schemes from your local authority.

Sarah

www.rea.ie
 
at 220 euro rent per month i think it would be foolish to even consider house purchase until your savings have increased considerably,unless the area you are in is bad place to live regarding commuting entertainment etc, and you have a site which is a very big asset to you, why not keep renting until you can build on this site
 
Last edited by a moderator:
At the moment, your housing bill is E220 per month - I'd guess at this price that you are in a house-sharing situation..? If you buy something, your housing bill will likely be over EUR1000 a month and you'd still only be in a smallish one- or two-bedroom apartment, which won't feel a lot different to renting, as you'll still be living on top of strangers. This will especially apply if your ideal housing situation is building your own home on your own land.

I wonder are friends and family leaning on you to "grow up and buy your own place"? If so, tell them that you are choosing to rent in order to save a substantial deposit and you hope to buy Next Year (when, of course, you can change your mind). Renting is not necessarily the "immature" way to ensure a roof over your head and buying is not necessarily the "adult" way, but most Irish people won't believe that, even as they fork over your monthly rent and more in wasted interest payments every month. Stick with your low rent and save enthusiastically for the house-building.

This all leaves aside the fact that E13k isn't really that much as a deposit, that it may be difficult to get rid of the apartment when you want to sell it to fund the house-building and of course, whether an apartment is a good buy or not in the current housing market.
 
Would owning your own apartment have a negative effect on your chances of getting planning permission on your site? They might be inclined to think you already have a home.
 
I agree with moneygrower. Be very careful about buying a property if you will have to look for planning permission to build on the site you own. Many county councils will only give planning permission if you can show that you have a genuine "need" to build on the land. If you have already bought an appartment, the Co Co could easily decide that you don't have a "need" to build.
 
Thanks for the comments guys. I think I just want to buy an apartment just for the sake of it at the moment while I wait to build a house.
No I would prefer to buy on my own if I were to buy one.

Basically alot of my friends have either bought places or are building houses and I still feel like I'm going no where at the moment by just renting even though the rent is attractive relative to other areas.
Also the area is a good area so I can't complain.

This time next year I plan to have 22k saved.
Just to add in the meantime, I will be applying for planning permission in the new year just so I can have that out of the way and then I can have a window of 5 years to build on the site.

However I was thinking should I just now stay renting(sharing with the 3 others)cause it's so cheap and just focus on saving to build a house on the site and forget about buying an apartment?

I realise that you don't need a deposit to self build but a typical house to build does not come cheap.

Realistically would I qualify to build a decent house(2500sq feet) this time next year with 22k savings,with the assumption that I would be on 30k salary?

I know I sound clueless,I know I should really go to a mortgage provider but I'm just interested to know your thoughts on my situation before I do.

Thanks again.
 
does it really have to be 2500sq ft to be considered a decent house? you'd never be happy in an apartment! Ask around what it costs to build a house in your area they can usually give you an idea, e.g. €100 per sq ft.
 
If you really want to build the house, and plan on doing it in the next few years, then I'd forget about the apartment. If we get this "soft landing" that all the politicians and economists are talking about, your apartment will be worth about the same amount of money when you go to sell it in two/three years time. When you consider all the expenses associated with buying (legal fees, stamp duty perhaps, moving fees, apartment management fees, etc, etc), you may end up making a loss.

The econimists could be wrong, and prices may continue to rocket. But also prices may even drop. So consider all three scenarios when making your decision.

If you're sick of sharing, why not rent one of these apartments that you're currently considering buying. The way the current market is, your rent will probably be alot less than the repayments on a 25 yr mortgage on the same property, and you won't have to pay property management fees. In fact, the rent will probably be equal to the interest part of the mortgage, and interest is as much "dead money" as rent (unless prices continue to rise significantly above general inflation).
 
Please tell where you 'found' 50K. I could do with finding some myself!
Seriously though for the rent you're paying, it would be better to keep saving the difference until you get the house you want. Also remember if you buy somewhere in the meantime the mortgage company will take your repayments into account when you look for another mortgage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top