Interested in buying in Lucan-Palmerstown/South Dublin/City Centre

A

anuj21k

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Hi All,

I am thinking of buying somewhere in in Dublin for long-term purpose in 2012.
-After a lot of research seems like Lucan is nice enough area with affordable house prices. Thinking of 3bed semi-D around 180-200K.
Thinking of buying in:-1)Abbeywood 2)Moyglas 3) Old Bridge 4) Johnsbridge/FForester5) RiversDale(Palmerstown)[Just because its closeness to city ]. I have read few previous threads on this and want to ppl opinion on estates as of 2012.
2) Traffic is said to be deadly in Lucan (Only think putting me off coz I have to commute to city daily).But all other things seem nice

-As me and mrs. both work in Dublin 2 we will need to commute to city often, also we are both 30 so need to go out etc. So 2nd option is a 2/3 bed somewhere in city ctr for around 150K. Recently North Strand, D3 apts. are on for 145k-170k for 2/3 bed but dont like the area v.much to be honest. Other options are Castelforbes apts. near popular Sheriff St.

-Last option buy in South dublin somewhere around Rathfarnham/Stillorgan/Perrystown 3bed-semi D for around 240K (but thats a strech for me hence least desirable option,also have to haggle prop. down atleast 10-15% to achieve price target).

-Now its really what I want than what I need as we are renting in city for last 7 years and I want my own place (getting sleepless lately, already holding off for last 2.5 yrs. due to recession). We have around 35K in deposit and [90K in long term investments which we'll not touch for atleast 5-10 years, by the way its on its way up]. I know people think its mad to buy now but I dont see property prices going much down from here and its last yr for mtg. interest relief as well.
Sorry for the long post but want opinion of people living in these area that what its like to commute from these areas and what's social life like etc.
Thanks for all opinions in advance...
 
I would advise that you save for another year and you will most likely be able to go with the option of buying on the south side. Even if you still go for Lucan/Palmerstown, you can never have too much savings!
 
Commute wise and otherwise Riversdale in Palmerstown is a nice estate and few minutes walk to bus routes to City and cross town (18), nice amenity area behind it down to Liffey. It's in the village but there is just one Pub and a Cafe and Restaurant, its not buzzing but quick commute into town in the evening. The estates in Lucan are also nice but quite a bit away from village where most bars and restaurants are, also the morning commute to City can be long even with bus lanes all the way.
 
Here's a bit of a memory dump. Some points are based on lifestyle and some are based on financial factors.

I have two friends who live in a three semi-d in the Fforester development.
The plus sides of the house are:
- Well built, warm houses
- Pretty okay noise wise ie not much traffic and you can't hear much from the neighbours.
- Large kitchen diner.
- Good shops in the Penny Hill complex.
- Well kept, relatively few rentals in the development, some nice open spaces for kids to play in.
- Great connections to town, a regualar express bus in the morning has you in town in 25 mins.
On the downside the living room is a bit small and now that they have 2 children its a bit cramped, but bearable.

I used to live in Lower Ballyfermot and spent a fair bit of time in Palmerstown. I always thought it was quite an under-rated place to live. There are alot of very mature developments there and the village has a lot of useful shops and nice pubs.
Personally, I would prefer to live there than Lucan - due to it's proximity to town, the river and the Phoenix Park.

How much is the tax relief worth to you? You need to guesstimate whether you will save money by buying now and getting tax relief or waiting till a later date and hope that the price drops compensate you for any loss of tax relief.

You will deffo be able to get a 10% reduction on most asking prices. Okay some houses attract a number of bidders and this means that they go at or above the asking price. However you will find that you will be the sole bidder on a lot of houses and so should be able to get a discount.

I now live in North County Dublin and there's alot of great value to be had along the DART and Drogheda commuter line. The DART and suburban trains are a very fast and cheap way to commute. I much prefer using them than the city buses. Might be worth having a look at this side of town too?

You have a good budget and deposit. It seems you are married. Will this house be a step on the property ladder or your forever house? It might be better to go straight to the latter - as its cheaper than buying cheaply now and then doing it all again in five / ten years. I know there's a lot of uncertainty in making that call....

You haven't mentioned proximity to schools as being a factor in your decision - maybe think about that if you plan to have kids?

Finally - I am a 36 year old and found that alot of my friends have settled down in the last 3-4 years (I was at 6 weddings last year alone), I've three more this year.
Over the last few years I have found that less and less of my friends now go out at in town at weekends. If I was you I wouldn't put that as a high priority in my decision making.

Best of luck with it and well done for being in such a strong position.
 
Thanks a million Macstuff,
A very intersted read and certainly indicates that I have a lot of thinking to do. Yes married with no kids and more inclined for a nice affordable house in a nice dublin suburb. I want a stater home for atleast 5 years so dont want to strech more than 3 bed semi-d so if at a later date we have more funds we can upgrade or stay where we are if not. Economic situation is as such that making lifetime commitment in Ireland is somewhat unclear if things changed drastically for worse, might have to pack bags for somewhere greener
 
Going to view 10 odd houses in Lucan tommorow with 3 agents mostly in "New Lucan" and couple in St Mary's Parish. Two things bug me though houses in St Mary's Parish are 20% above elsewhere is it really worth it? Second 1 of the 3 bed Semi-D we are going to watch in Semi-D is priced 240K and estate agent just called me today saying 2 bids are made on the house highest bid being 230k seems like a scam to me. Any suggestions?
Also I dont want to start an argument but is Lucan as bad in terms of traffic and amenities as discussed in previous threads still or its any better now.
[broken link removed]
 
As far as I'm concerned somewhere close to Luas is the only way to go. Its such a handy service for getting into town that I wouldn't like to be without it. A house within 10 minutes walking distance would be best because you have the handy service but don't have to put up with the noise from it.

AFAIK the traffic situation in Lucan is much better these days.

P.S. Not a warning but be careful this thread does not stray into house price discussion and breach
 
I am also looking to buy in the Lucan area and have looked at quite a few already. 240 does seem very dear tbh, is the house in St. Marys parish?

I dont really understand the premium that St.Marys parish commands. It helps if you want to get your kids into any of the schools in the village, but in the last few years a good few Educate Togethers and Gaelscoils have opened in the Lucan area so its not really an issue anymore once you have your kids name down in plenty of time for these.

I've bid on a few houses so far and 230 seems like a very high bid compared to what most 3 bed semis in Lucan are going for these days so I'd be suspicious of the estate agent in this case.
 
Yeah St Mary's it is. I cant understand that either and not went to see the house anyways as 230K is over the top price for Lucan 3bed semi in current market. Saw other houses in range of 200k and so and that seems to be nice enough as well.
 

I would agree with this.
10-12 years ago there was a problem with school places but the Gaelscoils and Eduate Together have a good reputation. It is worth noting that in the Top 400 secondary schools published in last week's Sunday Times, the Gaelscoil scored higher than the other non-fee paying schools in the area.
I don't think the premium is worth it. Take a house in Fforester. That is techniclaly n St Mary's parish but it is just accross the road from Castle Riada, which isn't. I wouldn't pay extra for this.
 
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