Losing 30 sq feet

Hi there,

Looking for some advise. I have put a €3000 deposit on a 2 bed duplex and at the beginning I was given no floor plans nor was this in their brochure.

When I sent in the deposit, I asked for a copy of the plans with the receipt, which I didn't received. I phoned the agent (who hasn't a clue and is useless) and she said that she will get them for me before I was going up for another viewing with my family.

A few days before the viewing, she phoned me and said that she got the plans and noticed that I will be losing around 30 sq ft from the size of the showhouse, which is 910 sq ft. She couldn't explain why and exactly where but said she would explain when I came up a couple of days later.

When we arrived for the viewing she spoke to me for a minute saying it's not that much and I won't even notice it and that the part I'm losing is in the bedroom. She left us then to have a look at the showhouse and we were there for at least 25 minutes before she came back with the plans. She had a section highlighted on the plans like an alcove in the bedroom where the wardrobe was located and said that this is what I would be losing as there is an entrance hall for a 3 bed apartment coming beside me.

I asked her would this loss of space reflect in the price and she said no. I also asked if I could have another duplex from the next release and she told me it would be 4 grand more.

I showed the plans to a guy in work who is an architect and he said that it's not just in the bedroom that I'm losing space but it's also part of the landing and hot press.

Is there anything that can be done? I know that in the brochure it has approx. and I haven't signed any contracts yet so do I have a leg to stand on?

Any advise would be most welcome!

Here you go... you are simply an other victim of this dirty and badly regulated (if at all) new prop dev market in which people are desperate to buy.the 3A (anything, anycost, anywhere)

A friend of mine went to see a new property last week, (i think he put a deposit).. this week he talked to the EA who said that the price is now €20k extra b'cos of demand!!!

I do not understand why EA are so reluctant at giving detailed plans... Detailed plans do exist otherwise how would developper get PP, and how builders would build. These plan can be viewed by anybody at the city council. It is just a matter of taking the time to go there (may be make appoinemnt before). Anyway, this will not give you any guarantee that there will not be any changes.. check the small print.

I do not think there is anything you can do. You take it or you leave it.....
But do not feel trap... you do not have to buy this one... there is plenty more on the market.
Not all property sell off the plans... there are remaining ones after everything has been built. So, yo can see and measure what you buy...

Have you considered second hand market? at least you know exactly what you are buying....

Hi Bacchus,

Thanks for this!

I have looked at second hand homes around my area and near to work and they are out of my price range.

There was a lovely property in Clondalkin with a guide price of 269 and 2 parties were interested in it so when I went to view it the price was then €277.

I really liked the property and put in an offer for €280 which then the other party went to €285 and then to €290 when I then pulled out of the bidding.

I cannot wait for the regulations to come in next year to sort out the Estate Agents. That girl I have been dealing with is patronising and made me feels that I was buying a pair of shoes.

JJJ said:

There was a lovely property in Clondalkin with a guide price of 269 and 2 parties were interested in it so when I went to view it the price was then €277.
.

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About 5 years ago, a colleague was actually looking at buying a house in Clondalkin. He is not irish, and did not want to fall in the trap as to how things are done in Ireland when buying properties (with their famous ghost bidders appearing out of the blue a day before you are about to close). He was not to fussy about the place. but anyway he played the same game as EA do, and played it "dirtier" . He put bids on 4 properties, paid small deposit on all, and bail out of 3 when he had signed contract for one... He did informed EA of his strategy and that he will sign on the first to sale... He won, and bought the place at exactly the asking price (no bidding game)
Of course, some rejected his strategy... but these places were still in the market 6 months later... They are chancers outthere, putting their house on the market at ridiculous price in the hope that it will sale. If it does that's good, if it doesn't that allright as well

Buyers are not "victims" and can dictate their rule...but they need to be flexible to do so. He was and did not care too much as to whether the place was painted white or black.
Good luck

Report bad practices to your favourite Consumers Association, that's the best way to hope to make a change!

bacchus said:

You take it or you leave it.....
But do not feel trap... you do not have to buy this one... there is plenty more on the market

Click to expand...

Along with the news today of plans to bring the number of apartments in Sandyford business park up to the 2,000 mark, that sounds like a cue to run over what has and is becoming available

A record number of new houses were built in Ireland for the eleventh consecutive year in 2004. This year we are we will come close to matching the astonishing output in 2004.

With a huge momentum of about 80,000 units per year it is going to be hard to slow this titanic down.

It is estimated that only about 63% of the construction is based on fundementals the rest are excess to that. That is, approximately 30,000 housing units a year at this rate cannot be accounted for in terms of domestic population growth, immigration and changes in household structure.

(Hard) hats off to the construction sector as the process of solving Irelands housing problems - especially price - continues at speed.