Buying in Carrigaline

C

costa

Registered User
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Hi,
I am new here but its a fountain of information for people new to this game - like myself.

I am looking at 3 bed propertys in Carrigaline in Cork at the moment. Just wondering if anyone here has purchased lately or knows of anyone who has and how much under the asking price the house was sold for? I am interested in putting an offer on a house but am not sure how far under the asking price to start the first bid.... am thinking of going in 25% under but the asking price looks like its already dropped a bit versus other similar properties.

Also,
when getting your mortgage is it possible to borrow more than the house value to do some work on the house? The house is in good condition realy and doesnt require the work but we would like to maybe change some of the layout. Would this be allowed int the present climate?

Thanks.
 
Hi Costa.

We're currently contemplating selling our 3 bed semi in Glanmire and tbh, if someone offered us 75% of what we think the house is worth....well, I don't think I'd can post what I'd say!

This is a big assumption on my part, but if your seller is anything like us, they're thinking of trading up. Therefore, like us, they're gonna need every euro they can get for their own place.
Now granted tis a buyers market, and they can obviously offer less for whatever house they're hoping to buy. But put yourself in their position, and you might come up with an offer that'll be acceptable to both parties.

All that said, wanna make an offer on our place??

Edit: To answer your question on the mortgage, I'm afraid not. You'll only get 92% of the purchase price. But if the house prices start going back up, you'll be able to remortgage to release some equity and do the house up. Can't see the prices going up anytime soon though.
 
A buddy of mine recently bought a 4 bed house in Waterpark - €295k. List price of €350k. Might give you some sort of guideline.
 
Firstly, have you been approved for a mortgage? Do you have enough of a deposit to get approval? I'm just curious, because it doesn't sound like it from your post. Assuming you're a first time buyer, the maximum you will be allowed to borrow is 92% of the value of the property.

Secondly. property prices in Carrigaline have been very, very sticky when compared with Dublin which is recording big falls. I think that the reality of the market has not yet caught up on Carrigaline.
 
With respect to the vendor, it also depends on how much pressure they are under to complete.
If they are not under pressure and are prepared to wait for the right offer then you will need to go in at a higher level.
It may be worth your while doing a little research; how long has the property been for sale, are they under pressure to sell, oh and the most important thing...
Have they got the BER cert! ha..
 
Soarer - sounds like your the person we want to be doing business with though it would be the wrong locaton for us. We dont have mortgage approval yet but from speaking to banks/brokers in the past we should be ok and should get approval for the amount we are going for. We do have enough of a deposit but we wouldnt have an awful lot left after that to do anything with the house.

The house we are looking hasnt been on that long but the owners have bought another house so we think should be looking to sell pretty quickly. The asking prices are staying fairly staic alright in Carrigaline - we've been waiting now for almost 1 1/2 years to see whats happening in the market and are mad to buy something but still dont want to rush into something and find a drop again in 6 months.

Anyone else out there with idea's of selling prices as opposed to asking prices.....
 

I bought on the Rochestown Road for 305K in September in an area where asking prices hit at least 370 in late 2006. The only reason asking prices are staying static in Carrigaline is because most of those people are numbskulls who won't accept that their houses ain't worth what they used to be. You'd be crazy to pay over 300 for a 4-bed or over 270 for a 3-bed there.

Remember too, by the way, that all those redevelopment plans for the village that were promising the world are unlikely to see the light of day. You now have one small village with hardly any amenities and one massive estate full of young families. Bored kids etc.
 
What were these redevelopment plans that were promised? Are the listed anywhere?

We're still unsure as to what to do. The vendor has moved out so would be definitely looking to sell the property. They have the BER cert and all that end sorted.

Does anyone else have any experiences of buying around the Carrigaline area and how much under the asking that the property went for?

On another note - we have not been approved for a mortgage but we dont have any loans outstanding - and from speaking to some banks over the phone they would be offering us something crazy like 500k+ - also we have the 10% deposit. From this we are presuming we would have no problem getting approved for between 250 and 300k?
 
Costa I assume you have done some research about living in Carrigaline especially the travel situation depending on where you work. Drivining to Cork city would be a nightware as far as i am concerned. Also in common with similar sized towns there are some problem areas which you should avoid
 
Hi dewdrop, i think the traffic should be ok for us - and sure listening to the radio in the morning can be grand....

What area's would you be avoiding in Carrigaline? Dont want to end up with a great bargain and find its not a desirable location etc
 
You'd definitely want to move to Glanmire...no traffic problems, close to city, etc.
 
Hi Costa..have you visited Carrigaline and say travelled from Cork to there around 5.3o pm. I would be slow to mention any areas but a browse and chat around the place could be informative. Perhaps a chat with local gardai and peruse newspapers for addresses of people appearing in court.
 
costa said:
What area's would you be avoiding in Carrigaline? Dont want to end up with a great bargain and find its not a desirable location etc
Click to expand...
Carrigaline is a grand area and there are no real areas that you would want to avoid. Ard Carrig, Mount Rivers and St. Philomena's would be considered less salubrious (mixed council and private housing) but they're actually perfectly ok. As for amenities, Carrigaline has improved a lot over recent years. There are more choices of shops, a new library, sports clubs and it's not far from scenic areas to go walking. The only issue with the place is traffic. If you're working in the city and driving in, it's not great. If you're getting the bus, it's even worse.

With all that said, I don't think now is the time to buy in Carrigaline.
Rental supply has rocketed in Carrigaline. We went from having a steady 8-10 houses on daft.ie to 56 today. I don't see any of this stock clearing either. Not to mention, rental prices are coming down! There are even decent three bedroom places going for €750 now (you could probably haggle down to €650). Seriously, I would recommend you to rent for a place, here's an example of something that's cheap, liveable and will give you a good feel for the area (http://www.daft.ie/2671734).

Seriously, rent a place here and check the market out in a years time.
 
Hi Raskolnikov - have you seen the inside of that house? Going by the 750 rent price I would imagine that is not in as good condition as other houses in the area. That said though you are right that there recently has been plenty of rental property available in teh area and we would still be in between buying or staying renting for a while and save more and getting a better bargain again in 6 months time. The only thing is that we have been waiting for so long and now we would be getting good value and you cant wait forever - at some stage you have to bite the bullet and go for it....
 
I would be inclined to wait at least until the present financial turmoil is sorted out one way or another.
 
There is a 4 bedroom detached house on Dennehys website for 385kEuro in Heron's Wood. That looks like pretty good value, so 3 bed semi's should be going for a lot less.
 
Yes that does look like great value - thats back a long long way on what it would have been 12 or 18 months ago. Thats why we are thinking that we should be getting in there for the value that is there at the moment.

I took a drive through Herons Wood the other day though and was amazed at how big the estate is - it goes back such a long way... I wonder how the little pockets of house's that are in the back will look in 10 years time......
 
Would wait and see, rent a place for a year. Access to the city isnt an issue there are a myriad of backroads out of the place and rush hour congestion is a part of life in every town and village nowadays.
Mature areas of the town are occupied by people who bought there houses twenty to thirty years ago and these people are unlikely to have any mortgages so they can hold out, newer houses built in the last five years are being hit hard as some vendors have to get out quick so there is more leeway for potential buyers to under bid. I spent my childhood there when its population was 700 and I have to say that most of my old school friends still live there so thats a good sign. There is a good sense of community there and the pharmaceutical hinterland provides most of the employment so hopefully the town will weather the recession better than other places. Pay what you think places are worth, The older 4 bed semis with loads of room for extensions etc are selling for 300k but you could get one cheaper. Alternatively look for a detached older house on one of the access roads on its own site, this is what I intend to do. Good luck.
 
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