# 36 year old, decent savings, buy a house?



## Panthera Tigri (28 Dec 2018)

Age: 36
Spouse’s/Partner's age: None

Annual gross income from employment or profession: 58k
Annual gross income of spouse: N/A

Monthly take-home pay : 3400

Type of employment: Permanent

In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn, or
(b) saving?
Saving

Rough estimate of value of home N/A
Amount outstanding on your mortgage: N/A
*What interest rate are you paying? N/A*

Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc
None

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? Only Debit card
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? N/A

Savings and investments: 250,000 spread around different accounts

Do you have a pension scheme? Yes, not sure whats in there.

Do you own any investment or other property? No

Ages of children: N/A

Life insurance: No


I am considering buying a house but dont know if its a good time. Currently renting, 700 euro per month and sick of sharing with people.
I would be looking for a house in and around Dublin or in some of the commuter towns. Should I be putting all savings into house?. I was looking at spending around 250 - 400k. The problem is there isn't really suitable houses for single people.
Also is it a risky time to buy?
Right now my money isnt doing much work for me as I have been lazy and there is not much options.


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## Brendan Burgess (28 Dec 2018)

Hi Panthera

We do not allow speculation about house prices on Askaboutmoney so posts which tell you "prices are due to rise/fall" will be deleted.

When you are ready to buy a house and can afford to do so, you should buy a house. 

It is a super investment 

Renting money is much cheaper than renting property 

Any increase in value is tax-free 

If you ever need social welfare, the value of the property is ignore in any means test. 
So, yes, you should buy now.

And, yes, you should be putting all your savings into the property.

With an income of €60k , you should be able to borrow around €200k. With €250k cash, it means that you can look at buying a house for €450k.  

You don't really need to buy a house suitable for a single person.  Buy the type of house you want in the location you want. For the first few years, rent out a room. Again, subject to certain limits, it's tax-free.   When you have the mortgage down to a more comfortable level, then you can stop renting out a room. 

Brendan


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## cremeegg (28 Dec 2018)

Panthera Tigri said:


> Also is it a risky time to buy?



This is not a relevant question. If you find a house that you want to live in and can afford, what's the risk.

If you mean would it be cheaper next year, who knows, aside from such speculation being disallowed on AAM, its a fools game. Once you buy unless you want to move what difference does the resale price make.


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## messyleo (28 Dec 2018)

With rental prices so high and with your significant savings I agree that buying property makes sense.

An apartment is also an option especially if you are planning on staying single/not having children - some people can be very negative about them, and I can understand this in some cases, but if you do your homework and buy one in a well managed development, they can work well. Low maintenance, and allow you to live in a location where you would perhaps not be able to afford a house. It depends on your goals and what you are willing to trade off / compromise on e.g. better location/less commute vs a garden etc.


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## Panthera Tigri (28 Dec 2018)

"This is not a relevant question. If you find a house that you want to live in and can afford, what's the risk.

Mainly I could buy something better next year."


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## messyleo (28 Dec 2018)

Panthera Tigri said:


> Mainly I could buy something better next year."



And what about the year after that? And the year after that? You might never end up buying somewhere at that rate as the fear of something possibly better would always put you off.

Even if house prices were to fall 10% next year (this is not a discussion of house prices, just speaking 100% hypothetically!), you may not get finance as banks may reduce lending, supply may fall back even further, so you may not even find a property you like! Life is short, sometimes it is important to think about the "Now" as well as the future.

Sure, everyone always wants more/better but sometimes "enough" is plenty.


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## Panthera Tigri (28 Dec 2018)

gravitygirl said:


> With rental prices so high and with your significant savings I agree that buying property makes sense.
> 
> An apartment is also an option especially if you are planning on staying single/not having children - some people can be very negative about them, and I can understand this in some cases, but if you do your homework and buy one in a well managed development, they can work well. Low maintenance, and allow you to live in a location where you would perhaps not be able to afford a house. It depends on your goals and what you are willing to trade off / compromise on e.g. better location/less commute vs a garden etc.



I did think about apartments. But the problem is any cheap ones are pretty bleak.
Any expensive ones I could afford to buy a house for similar so wants the point.

Also no plans on children one way or another.


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## messyleo (28 Dec 2018)

Panthera Tigri said:


> I did think about apartments. But the problem is any cheap ones are pretty bleak.
> Any expensive ones I could afford to buy a house for similar so wants the point.
> 
> Also no plans on children one way or another.



There are a lot of nice apartments for 350k-400k in areas where a small house would cost maybe 500k+. Again it depends on your personal priorities.


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## Panthera Tigri (28 Dec 2018)

gravitygirl said:


> And what about the year after that? And the year after that? You might never end up buying somewhere at that rate as the fear of something possibly better would always put you off.
> 
> Even if house prices were to fall 10% next year (this is not a discussion of house prices, just speaking 100% hypothetically!), you may not get finance as banks may reduce lending, supply may fall back even further, so you may not even find a property you like! Life is short, sometimes it is important to think about the "Now" as well as the future.
> 
> Sure, everyone always wants more/better but sometimes "enough" is plenty.



Thanks, good response.


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## Sarenco (28 Dec 2018)

In the current market, €250k would buy a decent one-bed apartment in most Dublin neighborhoods.

To own a mortgage-free home in a location of your choosing at 36 would be pretty impressive but as @gravitygirl says it’s all about your personal priorities...


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## Gordon Gekko (29 Dec 2018)

Sarenco said:


> In the current market, €250k would buy a decent one-bed apartment in most Dublin neighborhoods.
> 
> To own a mortgage-free home in a location of your choosing at 36 would be pretty impressive but as @gravitygirl says it’s all about your personal priorities...



It would, but personally I’d be very wary of buying a one-bed apartment. They’re harder to sell on the basis that banks don’t like them and impose lending restrictions in relation to them. Plus they’re suitable for a smaller target market. Plus it’s generally good to have a spare bedroom for your own excess stuff (and possibly a desk) or guests from time to time. And it’s helpful to have somewhere to dry clothes that isn’t in plain sight or in your own bedroom (for health reasons).


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## Thirsty (29 Dec 2018)

I would avoid apartments completely.

Look for a house that's run down and needs modernising so you can add value.

Rent out rooms to maximise your tax free income (think the limit is €14k per annum).  

I do understand the irritations of sharing but 

a) you get to choose your tenants
b) its the equivalent of a €28k salary rise!


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## galway_blow_in (29 Dec 2018)

If you can get a mortgage for a one bed apartment in a decent location, I would see little wrong with it, tradesmen are charging 2006 prices today but worse still they are near impossible to get so buying something which needs work is not always the discount purchase it might first appear


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## messyleo (29 Dec 2018)

I would echo the point re the spare bedroom being handy for storage and all sorts, as well as the resale element. Taking on a small mortgage of 100k would still be reasonable and would open up the option of a 2 bed.

Some people are fine with sharing, in which case the rent a room scheme is definitely financially very beneficial. However, for others, having the freedom to live on your own in your own place is worth foregoing the 14k!! It's a personal choice.


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## Brendan Burgess (29 Dec 2018)

gravitygirl said:


> However, for others, having the freedom to live on your own in your own place is worth foregoing the 14k!! It's a personal choice.



Agree fully. But it's not a permanent decision. He can buy a bigger house and rent out the spare room for a few years until he has the mortgage reduced.  He can get rid of the tenant then.

And if he hits financial difficulty in the future, he can rent out the spare room again.

brendan


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## cremeegg (29 Dec 2018)

Brendan Burgess said:


> And if he hits financial difficulty in the future, he can rent out the spare room again.



Not to be binarist about it, (see todays RO'CK) but I will bet you 50cent that our OP is a she.


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## Panthera Tigri (5 Jan 2019)

cremeegg said:


> Not to be binarist about it, (see todays RO'CK) but I will bet you 50cent that our OP is a she.



Ill settle the bet, I'm a he.

I put some thought into an apartment and decided they just are not for me.
Better value in a house and I dont like to be on top of people.


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## PaddyBloggit (5 Jan 2019)

Panthera Tigri said:


> and I dont like to be on top of people.



And here I was thinking that this was a forum to ask about money!


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## galway_blow_in (5 Jan 2019)

Panthera Tigri said:


> Ill settle the bet, I'm a he.
> 
> I put some thought into an apartment and decided they just are not for me.
> Better value in a house and I dont like to be on top of people.



Apartments are better value on the face of it


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## Panthera Tigri (6 Jan 2019)

galway_blow_in said:


> Apartments are better value on the face of it



How do you figure that?


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## galway_blow_in (6 Jan 2019)

Panthera Tigri said:


> How do you figure that?



Cheaper, also when it comes to investments,  yield much higher


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## PGF2016 (7 Jan 2019)

galway_blow_in said:


> tradesmen are charging 2006 prices today but worse still they are near impossible to get so buying something which needs work is not always the discount purchase it might first appear



Take note of this if you are considering renovating. 100% accurate in my recent experience.


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## Bronte (7 Jan 2019)

Do not buy an apartment if you can afford a house.

If you do buy an apartment do not buy a one bed.

Make sure the house has an ensuite bathroom for the spare bedroom, or the space to put one in. You can rent it quite easily to a Monday to Friday worker who will go home at the weekends.  My brother rented like that in Dublin for a few years off two different landladies.  He never saw them as they were out working like him.  He'd a fine big bedroom and ate his main meal at lunchtime so he hardly ever used the kitchen.  If you rent like that you get the money tax free and it's not got the feeling of a house share.  Plus you're in charge as you ow the place.


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## NoRegretsCoyote (7 Jan 2019)

A single friend of mine pushed himself to the limit and bought a two-bed apartment in Dublin suburbia two years ago. Two bathrooms. It was a bit of a squeeze financially for him.

Houses have their charms but apartments are much more financially predictable. You don't have to worry about gutters or roofs and there is no grass that needs cutting.

My friend now lets the second bedroom to another professional, tax free. They don't see a huge amount of each other and he's financially doing well and paying down the mortgage faster than planned.

If you don't like a tenant under rent a room they have very few rights if you want to get rid of them too.


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## Panthera Tigri (7 Jan 2019)

NoRegretsCoyote said:


> A single friend of mine pushed himself to the limit and bought a two-bed apartment in Dublin suburbia two years ago. Two bathrooms. It was a bit of a squeeze financially for him.
> 
> Houses have their charms but apartments are much more financially predictable. You don't have to worry about gutters or roofs and there is no grass that needs cutting.
> 
> ...



Surprised to hear people in favor of apartments.

Im going to try to avoid. I just dont see how they are more financially predictable or less expensive to run.
They often have stupid management fees and are in less demand then houses.


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## galway_blow_in (7 Jan 2019)

Panthera Tigri said:


> Surprised to hear people in favor of apartments.
> 
> Im going to try to avoid. I just dont see how they are more financially predictable or less expensive to run.
> They often have stupid management fees and are in less demand then houses.



An apartment in D6 will always be more in demand than a house anywhere outside of the capital  

Lot of broad brush statements about apartments


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## messyleo (7 Jan 2019)

galway_blow_in said:


> An apartment in D6 will always be more in demand than a house anywhere outside of the capital
> 
> Lot of broad brush statements about apartments



Totally agree. Also management fees can actually be reasonable in a well run development - you have to view each apartment on a case by case basis. In my own case - I pay €80 a year for unlimited bins essentially, approx 60 a year for weekly cleaning of the common areas - these are very good value, and I also benefit from added security, high definition CCTV etc. The only fees I don't get a tangible service like the above for are auditors fees (approx 35 a year, I can live with it!) and 150 for the managing agent fee. The agent looks after everything and gets 3 quotes for all services and chases up payments etc. and we have *zero* outstanding management fees, so I think it's good value also, as for me the low maintenance aspect is a big advantage of apartment living. I am not a DIY or gardening fan. If you are, apartments are probably not the best option. It really depends on the person and preferences but as Galway blow in says, you can't make broad brush statements - some apartments are very well managed and in great locations where you might never be able to afford a house for example.

If you don't have children and are looking for a lower maintenance lifestyle in a good location, good, well-run apartments can be a great option


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## NoRegretsCoyote (7 Jan 2019)

Panthera Tigri said:


> Surprised to hear people in favor of apartments.
> 
> Im going to try to avoid. I just dont see how they are more financially predictable or less expensive to run.
> They often have stupid management fees and are in less demand then houses.



Apartments are much more financially predictable because you have a monthly/annual stream of payments rather than an irregular one.

I had to spend €2k on roof and gutter repairs last year at short notice. Many houseowners can struggle to pay for these unpredictable repairs, especially when you are stretched in the early years of a mortgage.

Apartments in urban areas are easier to let than houses once the price is right. Apartments only differ so much, while with a house it can take longer to find a household that suits your configuration of rooms, wants or doesn't want a big garden, etc.


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## galway_blow_in (7 Jan 2019)

Add to that, listen to any of the housing experts right now, all say the same thing, we need more apartments.


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