accept or reject affordable housing offer in docklands?

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statusassign

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Hey there.
Just looking for some clarification.

Last month I was offered an apartment in the Dublin Docklands as part of the Affordable Housing Scheme.

Was initially delighted until I saw the apartment. Ground floor (not the main problem in itself) with the bedroom and living room window directly on the pavement. There is also no outside space. I noticed the other night that all the other ground floor apt have their curtains closed all day, at least whenever I have wandered past to have a look.

I know I am lucky to been offered the apartment but pretty bothered by the lack of privacy and security issues.

By the way when I say right on the pavement, I mean there is no barrier, space, railing, nothing between your living room or bedroom window (floor to ceiling window) and the pavement where people walk by, not to mention car headlights. Usually in other developments, and in fact in the other developments in the area all the ground floor apts have some space separating the apt from the pavement, a balcony, railing or low wall.

One thing in its favour is that it is a very quiet area and there is not much foot traffic or car traffic, yet that is. I imagine as the theatre and restaurants are completed the area will become a lot busier hence a lot more footfall.

The other thing is the lack of outside space. All the other apartments have a balcony, so in the summer I dont have the option of stepping outside or opening a door to the outside without worrying about security.

What do you think? I have some time to decide and would appreciate some feedback, especially from people who live in ground foor apts. If is at a reduced price but it is still a lot of money and a mortage and a place I intend to live in(obviously).

Either I take it or I let it go, take my chances and put my name back into the lottery.

Thanks.
 
Hey There. I was offered a place there too. Now I have not seen it yet, so obviously can’t say for 100% If I will take it or not.

What development did you get offered it in, if you don’t mind me asking? I will be looking a two bed in forbes quay, if they ever get there act together and arrange the viewings for that particular block. :rolleyes: Anyone else got an offer in this development?


Now I though long and hard about which ones to tick when I was putting my selection in something I would advise all people filling in their first DCC affordable home draw preference form to do, so I only ticked two bedroom units, as I don’t think I could live 10/15 years in anything smaller. This was my second draw, in the first one I stupidly ticked pretty much everything, it was only after I had submitted the choices that I though, mmmm I may have to live in one of those places for 20 years, and also would I even be able to get a mortgage for some of the more expensive properties?

Anyway I got offered one out in Dublin 13 there in July. I would have needed a guarantor and the fact that I don’t know anybody in that part of the city and amongst other things, I eventually made the decision to turn it down and let some one else have a chance of that place. I was a bit gutted having to do it, but you know what, it was just not right for me at the time, and I thought I would take my chances with the next lot of draws.

It’s hard to advise you as ultimately you have to decide what’s right for you, If when I see the apartment that I have been offered and say I don’t like it or there are issues with it I have to say I would have to think long and hard about it. Just because you have been offered the place does not mean you *have* to take it, and when making your decision to proceed or not, bear in mind the strict conditions imposed on you as regards selling and moving on etc, (which I personally have no problem with and agree need to be there to stop profiteering), ie you will have to stay there for a considerable amount of time, and doing so in a place you don’t like may be a difficult thing to do. Also you would not be a first time buyer any more.

Honestly if you don’t think its right for you, as hard as it might be, the best thing may be to let it go and go for the next lot of draws. Remember after 6 months on the DCC panel you are entered into each draw for each property twice and then three times after 18 months, so you will get another offer eventually.
If you did take it and you ended up not liking it then you would be chained to a mortgage, unhappy, unable to move, and back to square one again.

On the flip side its not all bad, it is a great location, and more then likely a fantastic price. So you may want to think about that too. While I live in an apartment at the moment and have no problem living in one, I have never lived on the ground floor so have no personal experience on that note.

As some one in the exact same position as your self I though my 2c may help you weigh up the pros and the cons.

Good luck with your decision! I will post mine if I ever manage to get a look at my one!
 
I had a friend who lived in a similar sounding ground floor apartment and hated it. He couldn't leave the windows open as local kids used to try and climb in or throw half finished drink cans in going past. Plus he was paranoid about people being able to see into the apartment and break-in during the day when he was working.
 
If you have any doubts at all its a huge commitment imho I'd say no to this one, the right one won't pass you by you'll get another shot. I used to live in a house with the footpath directly outside, it is annoying not to have some sort of barrier, everytime anyone walked by you look to the window so end up keeping the curtains closed which makes the room dark, if you have the window open it can be very noisy as you can hear peoples conversations going by.
 
To be honest status, I think you are answering the question yourself - you have alot of doubt and understandably so. If it were me I would share the same concerns and would not move there - esp since you will be living there for 15/20 yrs....
 
Status, I'd have to agree with all the other posts. If it doesn't feel right don't go for it. I nearly took one previously I didn't really like and when I think back now I thank God i didn't. I got another offer recently and straight away it felt right and i'm going for it now. Remember also the mad property rush is over for now, so you don't need to feel panicked about getting a place or that you'll be left behind and never get your own place. I think with prices slowing (dropping) then a lot more people will be able to afford their own place and the numbers going for affordable might ease a little. Best of luck what evere you decide.
 
One thing that you could consider is having the glass "frosted" (I've also heard it called "smoked" glass) which stops people being able to see through it. It either comes as a type of glass, or as a contact-type sheet of plastic that you can have fitted to an existing clear glass. I've seen it installed professionally and it looks pretty good (probably better to have it done by someone experienced, as you don't want to end up with tiny bubbles).

I appreciate that you might not want to do that to the entire window, but could you do it to the bottom half or two-thirds - the advantage being that you still have light into the room, a view and your privacy, all without having to close the curtains.

Don't know if it would suit what you're hoping for, but it may be an option...
 
Hi,

like others i think you've answered your own question.. when you have that many doubts about so huge a decision its not right for you. i live in a ground floor apartment i got through affordabble housing also.. i have no concerns about security in fact i like it i dont have to carry shopping up flights of stairs!!however i live in a very rural area so i think its prob very different... curtains in my apartment block are closed all day too but i think thats more to do with people leaving for work in the dark and coming back in the dark so just not opening curtains... i have a patio area that is enclosed by glass and its an important feature for me i wouldnt like having no area outside.. i think something better will come up for you... ground floor apartments are fine just not this one!!Good Luck!
 
I suppose the thing that would bother me is having a bedroom with the window facing on to the main road. I wouldn't feel safe leaving a window open at night. In the summer when its a lot warmer you need to have a window open at night.

Good luck with whatever you decide
 
If you wouldn't view it if you had a free choice then I'd imagine you would regret taking it.

There are a lot of apartments in the docklands and opposite them with similar "issues", they should have put the parking on the ground floor.
 
I am in agreement with other posters, I know there is a certain amount of guilt that comes with turning down such ood offer but really need to think long-term about these things! I am in a similar position, not 100% about accepting offer, think you need to go with your gut feeling on it. Ground floor in area which will get more and more built up is a no no in my opinion, you're losing out on one of the major benefits of apartment living, security.
 
Not sure if this will help or not but here goes. I am on the list for affordable housing on cork city and recently went to view a development. Lovely houses and apartments, however there were a few duplexes in a very bad position, practically on the road with floor to ceiling windows so I know myself, even though I would love a house, I would refuse those if I was offered them.

It's affordable maybe but you still have to be happy there. Would you live in a 'bad' area just becaus it was cheap? Good luck with your decision in any case
 
Hey everyone...
Thanks for all your replies..didn't expect so many and all the advice/suggestions is gratefully received.
The good news (for me) is that some of the folks on the list never managed to get their mortage approval so I have been bumped up the list in terms of ranking. So... it looks like I may be able to choose another apartment. I will know some time next week for definite.
By the by, for the person who asked...the dev. is on longboat quay. From what I have heard, the details for hanover,forbes quay and the remainder of longboat were handed to the estate agents before Xmas and they were expecting to begin viewings before Xmas...obviously the holiday period intervened but I expect you will get a call soon...good luck with it!
Once again thanks for taking the time to post replies.
 
statusassign said:
By the by, for the person who asked...the dev. is on longboat quay. From what I have heard, the details for hanover,forbes quay and the remainder of longboat were handed to the estate agents before Xmas and they were expecting to begin viewings before Xmas...obviously the holiday period intervened but I expect you will get a call soon...good luck with it!
Once again thanks for taking the time to post replies.
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Thanks for that! I though it may have been longboat quay. I was talking to the Docklands Authority just before Christmas and thy said that the estate agents were most likely going to show long boat first. Then move on to Forbes Quay and so on, which of course was more then likely going to run into the new year. No doubt I will here from them next week, lets hope the place they show me is nice, as you know being in the predicament of trying to choose weather or not to take it can be a bit a a tough one! ;-)
 
How developed is the Docklands area at this point? Last time I was around there (admittedly a while ago) it was still pretty much all in the planning stages... a couple apartment buildings but extremely limited local amenities. I decided not to apply for the affordable housing offered there in 2006 because after scoping out the area I felt it was too desolate and would be scared to walk home after dark. If that's all changed now then grand but personally I would still think twice about buying it if it's only in the expectation that things are going to improve... our track record on that sort of thing isn't very good in this country :(
 
housing offers in docklands

Finally after all that I ended up with a top floor apartment. :D Great views looking over the city. Delighted with how things turned out. The area is great and developing quickly. In a year or less it should be thriving.

One thing I have learned, for those who posted saying that they have also received an offer in the Docklands...it turns out that there appears to be some dispute over paperwork between the banks and the DDA. As a result all the AF in the Docklands hasn't been signed over to the AF scheme yet so the banks cannot sign off on the mortages yet. The banks say they are waiting for the DDA to sign the paperwork and the DDA say they are waiting for the banks to sign. Looks like it may delay the overall process for those who have been offered Apts. there. Anyone else heard anything?

According to my bank it is nothing serious just a delay that has been going on for "some months".
Heres hoping they clear it up quickly;)
 
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Re: housing offers in docklands

statusassign said:
Finally after all that I ended up with a top floor apartment. :D Great views looking over the city. Delighted with how things turned out. The area is great and developing quickly. In a year or less it should be thriving.

One thing I have learned, for those who posted saying that they have also received an offer in the Docklands...it turns out that there appears to be some dispute over paperwork between the banks and the DDA. As a result all the AF in the Docklands hasn't been signed over to the AF scheme yet so the banks cannot sign off on the mortages yet. The banks say they are waiting for the DDA to sign the paperwork and the DDA say they are waiting for the banks to sign. Looks like it may delay the overall process for those who have been offered Apts. there. Anyone else heard anything?

According to my bank it is nothing serious just a delay that has been going on for "some months".
Heres hoping they clear it up quickly;)
Click to expand...

That’s good news. I was kind of nervous about what on earth they were going to be showing me. Apparently I am going to be shown 5 apartments and then I will get to pick the one that suits me the most.

I only have my viewing next week so I am expecting the sale to drag on well into the summer. There are always hitches with this kind of stuff. I am guessing that the DDA are using the same solicitors for all the transactions. I reckon there is about 100 apartments in total between the two blocks? That’s quite a backlog to be involved in for who ever is handling the sales on their side. Let us know how you are getting on anyway.

Have you managed to see much of the paper work yet? Have you managed to figure out how the clawback works with these DDA units? It did seem to be a different system from the normal Affordable housing units not in the Docklands. I have to further investigate all this once I have decided to buy the place, of course I have to see it first …
 
awww congrats-bottom floor to top floor!it worked out perfect....i chose one in fingal,and love my new apt,i think the scheme is great,but it can be nerve racking hoping for a nice one-in our block they only released a certain number at the beginning and told the people moving in that it was all there was-limited choice to sell the first batch-we came along at the end and had more choice(of 4 dif types).... sometimes they say its all thats left but its not necessarily the case-really worth hangin in for what you want.....x
 
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