TV Documentary on Ireland's new housing developments

[Docunit]

RTÉ is in the process of making a TV documentary which will examine the human stories behind the recent property boom in Ireland.

As part of our research we would like to speak to people around the country who are living in apartments and houses that have been built in the past 10-15 years.

If you have a story about where you live then we would like to hear from you. We’re interested in hearing all sides, both good and bad. We’d like to speak to people who are owner occupiers, investors, tenants and business owners in these new developments. Perhaps you or someone you know lives in an unfinished estate, are experiencing negative equity on your home or are unable to pay your mortgage for various reasons? Or perhaps you’re trying to make the best of a bad situation by building local community spirit and finding solutions to ongoing problems.

If you think you have a story to tell please email or write to us before Friday February 12th 2010
Email Address: [email protected]
Postal Address: Documentary Research, The Documentary Unit, First Floor, Stage 7, RTÉ Television, Donnybrook, Dublin 4

 

[venice]

We all know that Irish people are obsessed with property but do RTE need to keep banging on about it all the time wasting licence fee money.
We had too few houses now we have too many. They kept going up in value now they keep going down. One day they will keep going up again. some people made money and some lost. Move on….

 

[Howitzer]

Try and do some research on the back story to anyone moaning and cribbing this time. RTE's track record in this regard is pretty poor, to say the least.

 

[tiger]

Hmm, a report on poor planning, poor construction quality, poor building regulations and lack of enforcement thereof, lack of public and private facilities...
About 15 years too late me thinks

 

[canicemcavoy]

They should get that nice Liz O'Kane back on the TV again.

 

[Howitzer]

They should get that nice Liz O'Kane back on the TV again.

Or possibly just look through the back catalog of I'm an Adult .. with John McGuire. There's plenty of people there now living in the This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language end of nowhere with negative equity coming out of their ears.

Wouldn't that be educational too?

 

[Murt10]

We all know that Irish people are obsessed with property but do RTE need to keep banging on about it all the time wasting licence fee money.
We had too few houses now we have too many. They kept going up in value now they keep going down. One day they will keep going up again. some people made money and some lost. Move on….

Easy to say if it doesn't affect you, but a sizeable proportion of people who invested all their savings, borrowed up to the hilt , and committed vast amounts of their future earnings are not in a position to be quite so flippant.

Marriage breakup, divorce, suicide, not having children are all going increase because couples won't be able to afford their repayments. I'm sure there is nothing like people chasing you for money, that you don't have, to get you down.

It's only right and proper that RTE and other media sources "keep banging on about it" until we establish why it happened, who was responsible for it, who profited from it, who could have stopped it, were any rules broken, what are we going to do about it and how are we going to rescue the poor unfortunates caught in the poverty trap.

As a public service broadcaster RTE should have been shouting much more loudly during the boom that the rises were unsustainable. I heard some economic expert on the radio earlier this evening predicting that the ECB will raise interest by 1/2% later this year. That is going to cause a lot of misery and thats only the beginning

They should get that nice Liz O'Kane back on the TV again.

Am I mistaken, or did she buy a property or two down in Cape Verde on one of the programmes, where she was helping novice investors to source a property down there? If so, I hope they interview her and show how her investment has fared. Nice to see some of these salespeople squirming if they were stupid enough to believe their own propeganda.

 

[venice]

why it happened, who was responsible for it, who profited from it, who could have stopped it, were any rules broken

We know all the answers to those questions

some economic expert on the radio earlier this evening predicting that the ECB will raise interest by 1/2% later this year.

the same economic experts that got it so so wrong?? we all know interest rate will go up and probably later this year, ye don't have to be an "expert"

 

[canicemcavoy]

It's only right and proper that RTE and other media sources "keep banging on about it" until we establish why it happened, who was responsible for it, who profited from it, who could have stopped it, were any rules broken, what are we going to do about it and how are we going to rescue the poor unfortunates caught in the poverty trap.

That would be good, but I have severe doubts that this program will address any of those points. In fact, I have no idea why they want to create a program as described; it sounds light, like "Nationwide" with houses.

Am I mistaken, or did she buy a property or two down in Cape Verde on one of the programmes, where she was helping novice investors to source a property down there? If so, I hope they interview her and show how her investment has fared. Nice to see some of these salespeople squirming if they were stupid enough to believe their own propeganda.

Indeed:

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showpost.php?p=352526&postcount=145

But as Liz might say: "ask, believe, receive" - it's all mind over matter; see details of her recent interview with Moncrieff: http://quotesfromthebubble.blogspot.com/2009/07/liz-okane-property-tv-show-presenter.html

 

[Knuttell]

Hmm, a report on poor planning, poor construction quality, poor building regulations and lack of enforcement thereof, lack of public and private facilities...
About 15 years too late me thinks

spot on Tiger...you know if you really want to rub salt in the wounds of those up to their necks in NE,why not pay Brendan O Connor to do the V/O...good work as usual RTE... a day late and a dollar short.

 

[canicemcavoy]

Or possibly just look through the back catalog of I'm an Adult .. with John McGuire. There's plenty of people there now living in the This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language end of nowhere with negative equity coming out of their ears.

Wouldn't that be educational too?

That would be a great program; for RTE to revisit that series, talk to the people involved, see their current circumstances and ask would they do it all again.

I can imagine the answers, and I'm sure RTE can too, which is why no such program will ever happen.

 

[Bronte]

I think it's excellent that RTE are doing a programme and as previous posters have stated I hope they look very closely at many issues, it would take quite a few programes, maybe even a series. Things such as where developments were located as commuter towns to Dublin in rural locations, why developments were constructed without any infrastructure, the politicans that voted for those developments, the lack of the councils/corporations properly checking that the developments were built to good standards, the realeasing of the bonds where the estates were not finished, the complications residents have in getting estates taken in charge, the facts of management companies/agents not working properly or purchasers not understanding the implications of purchasing in private estates. The practice of builders keeping the management fee low in the first couple of years and holding on to management control until he had left.

I hope they look at the size of houses and the room sizes in particular, double bedrooms that were only really a reasonable single, stairs where furniture cannot be brought up, no storage space, toilets so small you can't close a door. Lack of green spaces, the fighting over car parking spaces.

That's just a few things I can think of off the top of my head. RTE could really do a wonderful service in doing a thorough investigation. As a public broadcaster should.

 

[Mpsox]

I hope they look at the size of houses and the room sizes in particular, double bedrooms that were only really a reasonable single, stairs where furniture cannot be brought up, no storage space, toilets so small you can't close a door. Lack of green spaces, the fighting over car parking spaces.

I remember viewing a "5" bedroom new build house a few years back, problem was that you physically could not get a bed into the 5th bedroom and if you put a cot into it, you couldn't even close the door.

I think they should also look at the quality of some of the builds. The pyrite saga has been mentioned on other threads but having looked at quite a few new builds a few years back, the poor quality was one of the reasons we didn't buy one.

 

[truthseeker]

That would be a great program; for RTE to revisit that series, talk to the people involved, see their current circumstances and ask would they do it all again.

I can imagine the answers, and I'm sure RTE can too, which is why no such program will ever happen.

This gets my vote, Id like to see how some of these people have fared as well. They wouldnt need a whole series on it, just an hour or hour and a half update special. I doubt it would ever be done though - for reasons.

 

[Towger]

post deleted

Folks

Stay on topic please. This is not for a general review of RTE programmes. You can Let Off Steam about that in the appropriate forum.

Brendan

 

[boxplayer]

I'm sure there is nothing like people chasing you for money, that you don't have, to get you down.

Sure, and there was nothing like borrowing way over your head to get yourself in this position in the first place.

 

[Morlock]

The reason people paid over the odds for low quality housing in the This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language end of nowhere is because they felt they didn’t have a choice and getting on the first rung of the property ladder was better than nothing.
It’s all well and good claiming people should take responsibility for their actions but the board of directors of banks and officials in the planning department should be thrown in jail for the mess they caused or at least have their assets seized.

 

[venice]

Easy to say if it doesn't affect you

It does affect me and every man woman and child in the country.

However harping on and on about it, listening constantly to radio programs, watching Miriam O'Callaghan with those big puppy eyes every other evening like she gives a dam, spending hour after hour day after day on web forums giving your expert opinion before signing off with a stupid looking smiley face will do you or anyone no good.

Nobody will go to jail and we will not learn by our mistakes.

Give us something else RTE. Anything.


Oh

 

[Bronte]

I remember viewing a "5" bedroom new build house a few years back, problem was that you physically could not get a bed into the 5th bedroom and if you put a cot into it, you couldn't even close the door.

I think they should also look at the quality of some of the builds. .

One house I views had a bedroom with the built in wardrobe in the middle of the wall, a window on the other wall, radiatior on another and door on the forth so you couldn't put the headboard against any wall.

Yes I'd like if they looked at the quality of some of the builds, particularly sound quality in apartments.

I'd also like if they looked at the homebond scheme and limits on it. And building contracts where it could take forever to build but purchasers could not get out of the contracts.

I should be a documentary maker myself I can think of so many things that went wrong in this area !