Have i done well?

Q. Is it an apartment having a market value of €350k that you negotiated down to €262k, or an apartment worth €225k and you paid €262k for it?
A. 10 mins down the road in Naas similar sized apt. are selling for €310k. It was bought off plans for €262k and the final phase are already up to €270k before i've even moved in so i'm happy.


Q. When dealing with insurances, is there not more to consider than simply the price? It could well be that €23.83 is bad value compared to say €31.25 with XXX... So, nobody can say if it is good or bad, without having read the contract.
A. It reduces over the term as all i want is to know if i end up six feet deep my g/f will have no mortgage. So suits me fine. I have a pension which will also be paid out on my death.

Q. Do you work in Dublin city centre? how do you go to work? do you have flexitime?do shift work? how good is the bus service?
A. I work in Kildare currently. I am 5 mins from the train station which is 25 mins away from Hueston. The buses arealso regular and very reliable. They take between 40-60 mins depending on time of day. And 2-3am is actually only 25 mins. I could do it faster but i would be breaking the law in the process.

TX1 said:

A. It reduces over the term as all i want is to know if i end up six feet deep my g/f will have no mortgage. So suits me fine. I have a pension which will also be paid out on my death.

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Separate issue but bear in mind that there are probably tax issues for a non spousal partner in situations such as that which you might want to consider.

Well i hope to be married before i die. But you can never be too sure. I'll look into it.

Just to clarify one thing - you say that the property won't be finished and you won't move in until next year but are you paying the mortgage protection life assurance or anything else related to the mortgage yet and, if so, why?

No not yet but everything is agreed.

Will all the quotes hold until you are ready to move? After all mortgage and other offers often have an expiry date of a few months and if rates increase in the meantime I could see the lender changing their tune.

As far as i know yes. I notified all parties of the completion date when applying for mortgage etc. I should probably email them to double check but i am pretty sure. the life insurance quote is valid from moment of application and open until i sign. Again i will check this up. God buying a first home is bloody hard lol!

Your block policy may contain your building insurance. Check this out before taking advice to get building insurance.

True - I overlooked the fact that this is an apartment rather than a house.

True - I overlooked the fact that this is an apartment rather than a house.

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Jez advice is not very good here

As well as that you would have to take out your own contents insurance

Hey TX1,

For me one major factor in determining how well you have done is how well your chosen property actually fits in with your individual lifestyle.

What age are you, and where do you currently do most of your socialising? How important is your social life to you?

If you work in Kildare you probably socialise there so don’t fall into the category of twenty-somethings that I believe have made a mistake in buying in the commuter belt. There’s a good few of my friends from college that have just disappeared off the radar since buying in Kildare. Despite their protestations, that it isn’t that far, they rarely make it out for a night out in Dublin as it is simply too big a deal – they either have to stay with friends in Dublin or pay a massive taxi fare home (do taxis even go that far?).

I’m a firm believer of each to his own but I just hope that people buying in the commuter belt fully understand what an impact on their social life it will have. If they understand this and choose to proceed good luck to them. However, if they buy into the advertised spiel ‘its only 35 minutes from Dublin city’ and manage to kid themselves that they have the best of both worlds by having larger properties for cheaper than Dublin while also having easy access to the city centre, I feel they are fooling themselves and are making a mistake.

I don’t buy it for a second that you can leave your house in Clane at 8.25am and be in Dublin city centre by 9am (even if you don’t work in Dublin it seems like you still think the 35 minutes travel to Dublin could be a future selling point to someone who does, will you always work in Kildare?). From what my friend living in Newbridge tells me it sounds like the traffic around the train station in the morning can be hectic. And then you have to time and wait (hey it is CIE after all!) for the train, and manage to get one ahead of the pack, and then get from heuston to your workplace. And if you plan on driving into Dublin city centre for 9am you would have to leave in or around 7.20am.

Have you thought about taking two days off work and testing both methods of transport from Clane to Dublin (though obviously when your development is complete there will be more traffic)? Could be worthwhile.

I think these sort of sacrifices (added travel time and detachment from social life) are fine for those who are planning to, or have started families, as they will have more space to raise the kids if they buy in the commuter belt (though see this and other boards for talk from many people who spend so much time commuting they rarely see the kids during the week). However, I think that there’s plenty of twentysomethings who should not be making these sacrifices, and would not if they really had the bigger picture before buying. I’m all for the buying young approach as it gives you a headstart (25 myself) but I really do think the old Location Location Location mantra rings true for property: ask yourself where do you want to live (i.e. where most fits in with your work and lifestyle?), then ask yourself what you can afford there. Plan to be living there for at least 5 years. I don’t agree with the approach where you first decide what you are looking for and then figure out where you can afford it (i.e. I want a 1000 sq ft 3 bed semi-d, oh look they’re only 215k in Killarnarden).

I’m not saying that you have fallen into this trap, but I feel many have and as you seem very clued in on the other aspects of the buying process I just think you should really think this aspect of it through if you haven’t already (and the thread might be of use to others aswell).