Finished specifications on an affordable house in a private development?

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mayo exile

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I have just been offered an affordable apartment in a private housing development in Dundalk, Co. Louth. Question is: what normally is the finished internal specification on such a property? When reading the "glossy brochures" that come with these developments you read of "fitted kitchens as standard" etc.

Because mine is an affordable home am I entitled to the same internal specs? Talking to my local council (Dundalk Town) they said that the specs should be the same as a home sold normally on the open market. Or might the developer fit lower grade internal fixtures and fittings because its an affordable home? What are peoples experiences of this?
 
Hi
I'd be pretty confident that the fitting n fixtures should be the same as other units the the develoment, it would be probably more of a hassle for builders to do a few units different and as they buy in bulk it makes sense to do them all the same. I haven't heard of aff housing units being in any way different to normal units.
 
I know of at least one house purchased through AH where tiling in the bathrooms was not provided where it had been in the rest of the (private) development.

Best to go and have a look at the finish yourself.
 
Hi, think of it in relation to the % clawback that you have to pay back. if this is based on the market price then you are entitled to your fit out, otherwise the clawback should be less as the house price would be less.
 
Originally posted by Sammie: Hi, think of it in relation to the % clawback that you have to pay back. if this is based on the market price then you are entitled to your fit out, otherwise the clawback should be less as the house price would be less.
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Price is E182,000. Market price is E240,000. Clawback is just over 24%. Decent discount? Going by this scenario the standard of internal fittings could be ok? Also I would guess that whatever agreement the council has made with the developer about specs etc. would be the deciding factor in the end. Hopefully what the council said about the specs will turn out to be true. Only the viewing plus loads of questions wil settle the issue!
 
generally if builder is tiling the standard houses , he will not tile the affordable houses
 
Yeah the discount sounds like it is calculated correctly:
%clawback = ((market Price - Price) / market price ) * 100
%clawback = (58000/240000)*100
%clawback = 24.16666

HOWEVER, it all really depends on the "market price" and if it's correct! If your house is actually cheaper than the market price due to lack of fittings etc then the market price should be lower, other wise the clawback will be too much. It varies from council to council but at the end of the day if you do sell and the clawback is higher than it should have been you will still have to give them the %clawback, so it's in your interest to make sure that the "Market Price" they are calculating it on is correct.
 
Originally posted by Sammie: HOWEVER, it all really depends on the "market price" and if it's correct!
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It said €240,000 on the council letter and I have seen this apartment type for sale in the development for €240,000 to €245,000 at open market prices.
 
Finally got to view this last Saturday (Jan 26). Very nice too. Has a fitted kitchen with extractor. Nice ware in bathroom. Gas central heating. Will buy it!

Only thing is no room in hot press. Hot water tank goes from floor to ceiling! Is it normal for it to be this big when its only a 2 bed apt?
 
hey my tank iis same and im in 2bed apt apparently its because its youe emersion (which youd normally have in a hot press) and water tank (which in a house would be in attic) combined. its standard.. btw they dont have to give you fittings.. my co council told me to expect a "shell" of ahouse and id have to add everything.. luckily i did get some fittings butit depends i think. congrats!
 
Thanks Cat123! Happy enough getting the kitchen plus the bathroom ware. Interesting about the combination water tank. There is a 3 bed duplex above me. Thought the cold water supply might come from a tank in the roof space of the duplex
 
Hi,

So if the open market value is only at most €5,000 more and your clawback applies aren't you losing if you sell within 20 yrs? check neighbours.ie (phibblestown wood) for people in the same boat
 
Hi,

So if the open market value is only at most €5,000 more and your clawback applies aren't you losing if you sell within 20 yrs? check neighbours.ie (phibblestown wood) for people in the same boat
Hi,


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monos said:
I haven't heard of aff housing units being in any way different to normal units.
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I've seen cases where other houses have rolled turf as standard, but affordable houses have seeded lawns. Kitchens tend to be standard, but tiling (or not) can vary.
 
from my experience there was no difference in spec - but the APH people have waited longer to get in - more red tape issues
 
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