New House V Second Hand in same estate

I am FTB and I am considering buying a house in a nice estate. There are two options but am I am unsure which would be better financially. There are new 4 bed houses with a garage (not converted) being released in the next week or two for €25,000 less than a three year old house (with garage conversion to an en-suite bedroom) in the same esate. The second-hand house is in good shape and ready to walk into (with wooden floors in the four upstairs bedrooms and fully tiled bathroom and en-suite). Does anybody have a rough time-frame for fitting out a house once the builder hands over the keys? The builder is asking €12k to convert the garage. My friend seems to think this is a lot?

We had floors, carpets, sanitary ware, curtains etc. fitted within one week of receiving our keys. The floors took the longest cos the guy was a cowboy (I'm not naming them), but we could have got them done in a day. The carpets took a few hours. We did the sanitary ware (bathroom fittings) and curtain rails ourselves. This was a 2 bedroom apartment, 840 sq. ft. A lot will depend on availiability and efficiency of tradesmen.

Stamp duty may also be an issue, i.e. it is higher on second hand properties, even for FTBs.

Is the second hand property exempt from Stamp Duty for a FTB (i.e. under €317,500)?

Yes the second-hand house would still be under €317,500 so stamp duty is not an issue. Thanks

Also worth considering if there are stage payments - especially if you are going to make these along with rent. What is the estimated completion date for the new build? Does the €12k quoted by builder also include en-suite?

Timeframe:- Bear in mind, it can take anything up to 20weeks for couches and up to 12 weeks for some tiles? Carpets & timber floors are generally in stock. Beds can also take upto 4 weeks. You could be waiting quite some time to get a good tiler also. But do shop around and you may be able to source shops with these items in stock or alternatively you could take shop model and save some money in the process!

I already have the couch I just need the house to go around it now!!

Yes there would be stage payments. Because I am not paying rent at the mo (living with parents) I am not in any hurry to move but I would be anxious to get everything done asap after drawing down the mortgage and the full repayments become due as I will hope to have some rental income from a room or two. Against this the second-hand house is ready to move into.
Yes I think (hope!) the conversion would include an en-suite. I have asked a few people and most think that I would be better off asking the builder to put in the window in lieu of the garage door and do the plumbing for the toilet but do the rest myself. (ie partition walls, plastering, plumbing for sink/shower, tiles and floors) And still do it for less than €8k Does this sound viable?

Bacically I am wondering if it is possible to convert the garage to an ensuite and also kitt out the house with floors/tiles/paint/light fittings (assuming that I am going with the builder's kitchen/fireplace and wardrobes so no cost for these) for less than €25k all other things being equal....??? Am I dreaming???

If you cannot afford to pay the mortgage without the rental income from 2 rooms, I would run with the second hand property. You will find that the final stage payment is usually nominal and you will be paying almost the entire monthly mortgage repayment for the last couple of months. Also, bear in mind that the estimated completion date is just that - an estimate! They generally tend to run behind schedule!

As a FTB I wouldn't draw the hassle of a garage conversion on me unless you have family/contacts in construction. It's very hard to find good, honest & reliable tradespeople (especially with all the SSIAs maturing). If the finish of the 2nd house is good and is to your taste, then I personally would run with that!

Be warned - there are a LOT of rooms advertised on daft.ie and the like so you can't expect to be able to fill the house with lodgers from day one. As a matter of interest (and I'm presuming you are single if you are still living at home) why are you buying a 4/5 bed house?

Sarah

www.rea.ie

I have two friends who would like to rent rooms so that will help with the repayments and it is preferable to sharing with strangers.
I started out looking at 3 beds but there isn't a huge difference (15k approx) between that and a 4 bed in the area i am in - Clare. (and the house with the garage is on par price-wise with many others without it) With the extra rental income I can afford the repayments and I will still have 1/2 spare rooms so I won't feel like i'm living in a commune....

sheena1 said:

Yes I think (hope!) the conversion would include an en-suite. I have asked a few people and most think that I would be better off asking the builder to put in the window in lieu of the garage door and do the plumbing for the toilet but do the rest myself. (ie partition walls, plastering, plumbing for sink/shower, tiles and floors) And still do it for less than €8k Does this sound viable?

Click to expand...

That figure does sound viable for what you propose. I don't mean to sound sexist here, but you do realise that there's a vast amount of work in putting up a partition wall, plastering, plumbing, tiling, etc? Do you personally have the equipment/expertise for this or do you know someone who does? It's just that I've seen some horribly botched tiling and plastering in otherwise lovely homes.

Nope I don't have a clue personally but I do have relatives who are in the trade and would be willing to help out. I am leaning towards the second-hand house though because if there wouldn't be a huge financial advantage to purchasing the new house it would be much easier to go with the house that is ready to move into. (ie, 25 grand seems to be reasonable for a converted garage and kitting out the house after speaking to a few people and even by some estimates it is conservative???)