Buying my first home in Dublin

Hi, I am 30 years old and have been living in Dublin for almost 5 years. I´ve been thinking on buying a one bed apartment in Dublin city centre as I feel rent is going to start on the increase and I am tired of sharing apartments (I never thought it´d be worthwhile to waste my hard earned money on 1000 euro rent). I have saved up a good deposit (50k). If I buy a one bed I think I will be able to pay it off, max in 10 years but am not sure if buying a one bed is a bad idea to re-sell. I´ve seen some nice apartments in the Smithfield area, do you think this area is going to get better as the years go by or should I go for the IFSC or something older around George st etc. My idea is that if I buy a 1 bed in good condition I´ll be able to later on rent it to a couple or a single person with money and that (hopefully) will not destroy it as much as a 2bed will. Any suggestions? Also as a first time buy do I have any benefits (I have no credit card, no loans,etc) and make around 50k/year. Should I stick to renting? Thanks for anyone´s help.

Hi there,

This forum and others are full of 30 somethings who bought apartments as a stop gap.

You need to consider where you will be in 5 - 10 years in your personal situation, again a family home is what most people aspire to have and you are in a good position with deposit.

If I were you I'd consider pushing the boat out and considering buying at the next level if you can afford it.

Hi Joe_90, thanks for your reply.
I know more people look for a family home but I don't think I will be settling down here (of course I can't guess, it may happen....but if so I can then sell the one bed, right?) The other thing is if I do buy a 2 bed apartment I will be spending more and so the probability of not having some difficulties to pay it off during these 5-10 years will be higher, unless I end up having to go back to sharing. Would it not be a good idea to rent the apartment further on as I know there's a lack of nice one bed apartments in city centre?

I think it's good time to buy as the deposit rate is so low at the moment. I don't think in future it is hard to sell or rent out the one bed apartment in Dublin as plenty single person work in Dublin. If its in a small town then its not wise.

Thanks Taohua,
I´ve been bidding but geez it's difficult...an apartment for rent at 130k easily goes up to 160k! It seems like everyone's wanting to buy now!

I love AAM but thepropertypin is also good for this type question.

How much is the apartment, the rent would apparently be 1K per month. 50K is a seizable amount. What exactly do you get for a one bed, size and description etc. Are there management fees, a sinking fund etc?