Taking the plunge in Portadown.

[Raskolnikov]

I've been viewing properties in Portadown (that's in N. Ireland by the way) for about a year now, mostly just for the sake of looking. I never really had any intention of buying until a town centre house really caught my eye. It's a two-bedroomed terraced house in the town centre. It's five minutes walk from the train station (which serves both Belfast and Dublin) and has a parking space. The only issue, is that it would be in extensive need of rennovation (widows and central heating need fitting, ceiling and roof also need work along with some electrical rewiring). I am assured however, that the house is sound structurally. I have a second viewing on the house this weekend and the girlfriends builder-uncle is going to accompany us to assess. From rough calculations, even with the cost of rennovation factored in, the property price seems remarkablely cheap. The only issue with the property, is that Orange Order parades pass the street next to it every Summer for several weekends.

Family are raring for me to snap the house up but I'm not so sure. Is it worth losing my Irish FTB status (I could work around this I suppose)? Could the rennovations be more than I can handle? Are there any unknown tax implications that I should know before buying in N. Ireland? Any advice would be great!

 

[ClubMan]

From rough calculations, even with the cost of rennovation factored in, the property price seems remarkablely cheap.

Why isn't a savvy local snapping it up so?

Is it worth losing my Irish FTB status (I could work around this I suppose)?

What do you mean by "working around" this? Do you mean tax evasion or fraud by any chance?

In general I reckon it's a bad idea for a first time buyer's first purchase to be an investment property. There may be exceptions to that rule of thumb.

 

[Raskolnikov]

Why isn't a savvy local snapping it up so?
What do you mean by "working around" this? Do you mean tax evasion or fraud by any chance?

The girlfriend is local and she spotted it, also, the asking price has been met so far. The price is cheap I imagine because Portadown people seem to have an aversion to town centre property given the history of the place. Portadown is home to the LVF and there was been violence in the town centre although the situation has been much improved for some time now. It's also extremely segregated with Catholics on one side and Protestants on the other with the immigrants in the interface areas.

Yea, I do mean tax evasion (she'd take out the mortgage). Although maybe it could be turned into avoidance, considering I will only be living there 3 days a week?

In general I reckon it's a bad idea for a first time buyer's first purchase to be an investment property. There may be exceptions to that rule of thumb.

It's not an investment property, we'll both be living there although I will only be there for half the week.

 

[ClubMan]

Yea, I do mean tax evasion

Fair enough. Thread closed.