Am I deluded?

During the boom years (remember them?) I was in a position where I could afford to pay a mortgage but didn't have enough cash to put up a deposit. (Nobody offered me a 100% mortgage but maybe that was a good thing).

My present position is that I could still afford to pay a mortgage (and my job is reasonably secure) but the most I can provide for a deposit is €10,000 – €12,000. Now that prices in Dublin have dropped, maybe it wouldn't be necessary to go as far out as the commuter belt to find a house.

I'm in the late 40s. Should I try for a mortgage or am I deluding myself?

In your position, I would wait a few months for the dust to settle (and perhaps build up a little more in savings).

But I might be wrong, as might you, as might anybody else. We are sailing in uncharted waters.

Do you need to buy a house at the moment Pingin?
I think that might be a more releveant question...

I don't need to buy and I like to think that I'm not one of these 'buy at any price' people.

It's just that I've done five house moves in the past ten years and I'm sick of it. Luckily enough, at the moment I'm renting a friend's house in a very good location and at a good price but I can't stay there forever. At this stage in life, I'd just like to have my own space where nobody can dictate to me.

If we had long-term rentals (say 20 years or so) and fair rents here like they have abroad, I'd be happy enough to continue renting. However, that's not about to happen any time soon!

pingin said:

If we had long-term rentals (say 20 years or so) and fair rents here like they have abroad, I'd be happy enough to continue renting. However, that's not about to happen any time soon!

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It might. I am sure that there are many landlords out there who would love to get a tenant in on a long-term arrangement.