Confessions of a Dublin House Hunter

SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT HOUSE

IN DUBLIN

What are
the best
areas and
those that
you should
avoid
July 18, 2015

The most

MAP

difficult

LEGEND:

part
about

> Green

buying a

areas

house in

- Ideal

Search

a foreign

location

country?

and / or

Choosing

wealthiest

the

areas

location.

> Light
green
areas - Ok
locations
that are

VIEWED PROPERTIES

What are the best areas

and those that you
should avoid
Jul 18, 2015

not the
most
recommended or
best
services by

Making a bid. Best

practises and what to
avoid.
Jul 18, 2015

train/LUAS
lines
> Red
areas
- Not
recommended
locations,
because of
crime or
anti-social
behaviour
> Light

How hard is it for

foreigners to obtain an
AIP? Very.
Jul 16, 2015

Planning to buy a
property in need of
restoration? Here are 2
Renovation Incentive
Schemes
Jun 11, 2015

red areas Less not

recommended
locations:
while not
the best
areas, they
are still
livable
> Blue
diamonds
- Train
stations

Documents needed for

an AIP - Approval in
Principle
Jun 7, 2015

Create a spreadsheet of
the property listings you
are interested in
Jun 1, 2015

Best Estate Agencies in

> Red

Dublin

pushpins

May 22, 2015

- LUAS red
> Green

Questions to ask when

viewing a property

pushpins -

May 12, 2015

line

LUAS
green line

Especially in a
counterintuitive city like
Dublin, where the
wealthier areas are not
located in the city
center, but mostly in the

How to choose a
Mortgage Broker
May 6, 2015

What are the steps to

buy a property in
Ireland?
Apr 14, 2015

Southeast part of the

city (Ballsbridge,
Sandymount,

Rathmines, Blackrock

House RSS

etc).
And the worst part?
There is very little
information on the
internet, and
interviewing locals can
provide very discordant
opinions. What
someone might consider
a livable area, others
will consider it pretty
dodgy.
With all the information
I collected, I tried to
create a map which
would include not only a
clear view of all the

Searching for the Perfect

areas of the city, but

also color code them
based on how
'recommended' they
were. Additionally, I
wanted to have a clear
overview of which areas
were serviced by train
and LUAS lines (bus
lines are not included,
as they are very
developed and all areas
are serviced).
This is very much a
'work in progress', and
you can see some grey
areas, which I still
haven't collected
enough information
to label green or red.
Any suggestions or
comments are always
welcome!

This map was created thanks

to Google Maps

IDEAL

OK

NOT

AREAS

AREAS

SUGGESTED AREAS

Rathmines
Crumlin Finglas
Ranelagh KimmeageBlanchardstown
Rathgar Kilmeihn Ballyfermot

Ballsbridge
Ashtown Clondalkin
Sandymount
Cabra

Tallagh

Blackrock

Inchicore

Ringsend

Rialto

Smithfield

(especially

(apartment)

around

Stoneybatter (Avoid St.

area

James hospital)

near

The

the

Coombe

military

Cathal Brughal St.

hospital

(and the

or

area

prison (avoid

around

left

it)

side)

Mountjoy

Phibsboro

East

Sandyford

Wall

(and
all
the
area
around
the
Sandyford
Industrial
Estate)
Glasnevin
Clontarf
Castleknock
Clonsilla
Clonee
Lucan

Please take the list of

'Not suggested areas'
very loosely: these are
simply the areas that

have a bad reputation

(which might not be still
true) and that are not
the top locations for
more up-scale
properties. For example,
I personally lived in
Finglas and walked
around East Wall, and
while they are certainly
not as pretty as
Rathmines or
Ballsbridge, they do
have quite nice areas
too.
Another thing to
consider is that the
perception of
'dodginess' varies from
person to person; I'll
always remember a
friend describing the
area where they live in
Ballyfermot: for Irish
standards it might be
'rough', but for
Brazilian standards it's
fine.
While not listed,
Swords, Malahide, Bray
etc are also great
areas to look for a
property, if you don't
mind a longer commute
to the city center.

If you find a property

that you like, the best
advice that I can give
you is:

Ask your friends

who live in the
area (or who's
friend of a
friend lives there)
what they think of
it and if there are
any streets you
should avoid.
Try to ask a couple
of questions to
your new
neighbors or
people who you
find strolling in the
area.
Call the local
Garda to ask
about crime rates,
break-ins etc, and
post on Boards.ie
to ask for the
community's
opinion.

The first and second

houses I made an offer
on, were located in the
Dunsink area, Finglas. I
visited the area multiple
times during the day,
and while some streets
were more littered than
others, most of the
houses were very nice,
well kept and had
children playing in
front.
I had also talked with
one of my possible
future neighbors and he
had told me that the
street where I wanted to
buy the house was fine..
however the one
right below was pretty
rough, with 'drug'
problems (I'm not sure
if he meant drug dealing
or drug using.. but I
guess they go hand-inhand).
By coincidence a friend
had just bought a house
in Finglas too, and I
asked him what he
though of the area. He
gave me his honest
opinion and suggested
that I avoid it because

of criminal and antisocial behaviour.

To be sure I wasn't
giving up an
opportunity, I also asked
a couple of more people
(with the same result),
and I called the local
Garda station for more
information on the
street where I wanted to
buy a house. This is
what the Guarda told
me:

The area [Dunsink

area] is full of
criminal and antisocial behaviour.
There are also some
travellers. I wouldnt
personally live there.

Garda officer

I also posted on the

Boards.ie community
(this is the thread), and I
received even more
honest opinions. My
favorite part is this:

Needless to say, I didn't

buy the property in
Dunsink Drive.

I'll be working to
include all the areas that
I have not listed and on
updating the map with
all the suggestions you'd
like to give me.
A couple of great articles
on this subject are:
Attention House Hunters:
These are the areas leading
Dublin's next property boom
There are just 3,000
properties for sale in the
capital with Dublin 15 the
most popular
[Italian] Dublino pericolosa?
Le zone da evitare

In Foreigners in Ireland,
Dublin areas, Good vs
Bad areas

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Making a
bid. Best
practises
and what to
avoid.
July 18, 2015

1. With
a trend
for
prices
to go
above
asking
prices
dont
bother
with
places
that
are
right
on the
cusp of
what
you
can
afford.
Currently, the trend
when buying a house in
Ireland is that the prices
will go above the asking

price, thanks to offers

coming from multiple
bidders. Its very similar
to an auction, the estate
agents do their best to
drive the price up and
attract as many bidders
as possible the only
difference with an
auction is that the estate
agents pretend it isnt
and you need to send in
your offers by email.
My first attempts at
bidding are fairly cringe
worthy. I learned as I
went what mistakes to
avoid, which might help
you when you bid on a
property yourself.

2. Bid
Fast
and Bid
Low. A
first bid
below
the
asking
price
will kill
momentum

The first
house we
made a
bid on
was a
property
in
Dunsink

before
things
have
even
started,
and the
other
bidders
will
tend to
be
more
reluctant
to
move
up
(bidders
tend to
mimic
one
another's
behaviour).
If you
go
straight
in with
10,000
above
the
asking
price,
you'll
only
excite
the
opposition

and
lead
them to
believe
the
house
is worth
more.
Green, Finglas. 154
square meters, 4
bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
and an extension which
we could convert to a
studio apartment.
You can tell we were
very excited about this
property, it had so much
potential! We also
visited the area multiple
times and it seemed fine
(more on THAT
cluelessness in this
post).
The asking price was
175,000. We offered
that right away. (2^
MISTAKE)
The estate agent, from
GUNNE, was very nice,
and he organized a
viewing just for us so
that my boyfriend could
view the house after we
had made the offer.

However, by that time

there were already 2
other bidders and the
counteroffer had risen
to 191,000.

In the
following
days
there was
a frenzy
of
bidding..
for which
we were
partially
to blame.
To every
counter
bid we
received,
we upped
by
1,000.
Our
thinking
was to
exhaust
the other
bidders,
by being
the ones
that stay
the
longest,
and still
have a
chance to

3. If
you
counter
bid,
pretend
its a
like a
punch:
make
sure
your
intended
target
gets
knocked
out. 1,000
sums create a
dynamic
that
can
often
end
above
where
things
would
have
settled
if you
had

keep the
price
down.
(3^

gone
up by
5,000
in the
first
place.

MISTAKE)

We would
receive
an email
from the
GUNNE
estate
agent,
and we
would
reply
right
away
with our
counter
bid, two
or three
times a
day. In a
couple of
days the
price

4. Try
to slow
down
any
counterbidding
process.
Dont
ever
make
more
than
one
counterbid
in a
day:
avoid
getting
into a
'fast
bid'
situation.
Whipping
up a
storm is
an
estate
agent

speciality,
dont
get
caught
up in it.
Youll
always
pay top
dollar
by
letting
that
happen
and if
you
lose, it
just
raises
the
price
other
properties
in the
area,
which
may be
your
plan
B.
5.
Know
your
upper
limit,
getting

overextended
on a
purchase
is a
mistake,
know
when
to
accept
you
have
lost.
had skyrocketed to
206,000. (4^ and 5^
MISTAKE)
When the agent came
back with another
counter offer to
209,000, we finally
opened our eyes to what
we were doing. That was
way over the budget we
had in mind for this
house: my boyfriend is
quite
knowledgeable about
house renovations, so
after his visit, he told
me that wed need to
completely re-wire the
house, replace the
heating system and
probably have to
reinforce the first floor.
There were other

smaller renovation too:

the master bedroom
bathroom was covered
in mold and the tiles in
the family bathroom
were unglued.
And of course, there was
the renovation of the
extension in a studio
apartment.
After that last counter
offer, we decided to
withdraw.

6. The
vendor's
estate
agent
is not
your
friend:
their job
is to
get the
absolute
most
money
out of
you on
behalf

The
second
house we
decided
to make a
bid on
was still
in the
Dunsink
area (in
Finglas).
While it
does need
quite
some
work, it
had

of their
client
and on

potential:
3

behalf
of their
business,
which
gets a
bigger
fee the
higher
sale
price
they
achieve.

bedrooms, 1 bathroom,
no need to re-wire it, or
replace entirely the
heating system.
Furthermore, we already
liked the area (I know, I
know.. as I said, I was
clueless).
The best part of all, was
the asking price
120,000. With such a
low asking price, and
with the inevitable
counter
offers (especially since
there were already 2
bidders) we thought
that, this time, we could
stay under our budget
and get a Sale Agreed.

On the same road there

is also a second house
on sale, which
was priced at 140,000. I
had already visited that
house, and it seemed
like it needed much
more work than this
one. So, of course, I was
very excited during the
viewing.. and I chatted
with the estate agent
about the other house.
Whenever I think of that
conversation I still want
to facepalm.
I told the estate agent
that this house was a
great deal, because the
asking price for the
other house was higher
and there was even an
offer of 150,000. And,
of course, I told him that
this house was in better
condition than the other
one.
Pretty much, I gave the
estate agent all the
possible reasons to try
to raise the price of this
house to 150,000 too.
(6^ MISTAKE)

The last
we heard
form the
estate
agent was
on
Monday
Jily 11th,
when we
raised our
offer to
138,000.
Since
then, Ive
called
three
times on
the estate
agents
mobile,
left

7.
One week
is
enough
to
wait. Its
worthwhile
for a
vendor
and their estate
agent
to
stretch
out a
deal in
order
to
attract
more
buyers,
however,
seven
days is
more than
enough
for a
vendor
to organise a
solicitor
and
sort out
contracts
with
you.
Be

aware
that,
with
the
prices
going
up,
every
day you
wait is
costing
you
money.
a message in their office
and sent them an
email.. and I STILL
havent received a reply
or an update. Not very
professional of REMAX
estate agents.
While we were waiting
to hear from REMAX, we
thought that we might
as well make an offer on
the other house in that
same street. Since it was
obvious that REMAX was
bidding their time in the
hopes to raise the price
(thanks also to the very
useful information I
provided them), this
seemed like a good
insurance policy to get
at least one house.

So we made an offer on
our third house (of
150,000). I think this
was the first right thing
we did: it's always best
not to focus too much on
one property.

8. Make offers on
multiple
properties. This
way you are rising
the odds that youll
win the bidding on
one of those
properties. And, at
the same time, you
keep your hopes
up... avoiding the
utter and crushing
disappointment
when you lose the
house you focused
all your hopes on.
Also, estate agents
smell hope like
sharks, and take
advantage of your
fixation with that
particular house.
Oddly enough, we won
the bidding for the third
house we made an offer
on, but, by the time it
took the estate agent to
let us know that, we had
already realized what an

ill conceived idea it was

to buy a property in
Dunsink.

9. If
you
ever
suspect
the
estate
agent
or
seller
isnt
being
totally
upfront,
walk
away if
you
can.
Dont
do
deals
with
people
you
dont
trust.

The lack
of

professionalism shown
by REMAX, also led us to
withdraw our offer
there. If this is how
seriously their treat
their buyers, whats not
to prevent them from

gazumping.

The
fourth
house we
made an
offer on
(although
I suspect
it wont
be the
last), is in
Finglas
north, 2

10. Put
timelines
on your
bids
and
stick to
them. If
you
make
an offer
that is
only
good
for 48
hours
and
requires
a yes
or no
answer,
then
stick to
that
timeline.

bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
and a nice open floor
kitchen-living room
ground floor. Its also in
a very nice area of
Finglas (quiet, settled
street, and near the
Garda station).

I was a bit anxious and I

called letting the estate
agent know that we were
seriously interested in
the property, even
before viewing it. The
day after the viewing we
made an offer of
145,000, with would
have been the correct
approach, hadnt there
been already another
offer of 150,000.
With this property wed
like to try a different
approach: wed like to
state upfront that we are
looking for a fast
sale (within one week),
and to try punching bid
of 5,000. I'll let you
know how that goes!

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How hard is
it for
foreigners
to obtain an

AIP? Very.
July 16, 2015

This is my experience of
trying to obtain
a mortgage Approval in
Principle with an Irish
lender. At the
beginning, we were
considering buying a
property in the range of
200,000 and 250,000,
where our LTV ratio
would have been of the
50% - 40%.
After these wonderful 6
MONTHS of trying to
obtain an AIP, we are
looking at properties in
the range of maximum
150,000.
Let's start at the
beginning. We started
our search for a house
the last week of
January. That's the
week I researched how
buying a house works in
Ireland, and started
contacting a list of
mortgage brokers I had
put together.
From the three
mortgage brokers we

spoke with, we selected

Frank Lenny Financial
Services, who assured us
that he'd help us have
an AIP for 150,000 in
7-10 business days after
we had collected all the
documentation.
While our case was
fairly unusual (my
boyfriend still resides
and works abroad), the
mortgage broker was
confident that our great
credit and
savings history, LTV
ratio (40%) and
professional and stable
employment, would
allow us to easily obtain
an AIP.
First delay? The
mortgage broker told me
that if I opened a bank
account in Ireland,
that could serve as my
Proof of Address. What
he omitted to mention is
that, to open a bank
account I would need to
already have a Proof of
Address. That meant
waiting a couple more
weeks, to procure a
Proof of Address.
After we had all the

documentation, they
submitted our request
to KBC Bank on April
10th.
On April 27th, we
received a 'reply' from
the bank: more
questions regarding our
application.
Finally, on May 6th, we
received the final
verdict: our mortgage
request was declined
because my boyfriend
lives abroad. Not for any
other reason.. Just
because he's a nonresident.
I sincerely believe that
our mortgage broker was
genuinely surprised by
this result. While he had
been thorough, until
that moment he hadn't
put that much
personal effort into our
application. We agreed
to see how two informal
meetings with other two
lenders would turn out.
On May 13th, we
received a further
decline from Ulster
Bank.

Our mortgage broker

then submitted an
appeal to KBC Bank:
both he and his KBC
consultant were
convinced of the solidity
of our case. On the 27th
we received the last and
final decline from KBC.
On June 9th, our
mortgage broker
submitted a mortgage
application to PTSB
for 100,000 (we were
hoping that a
lower request for
capital, would make the
lender more inclined to
approve us). PTSB came
back on the 11th with
additional questions.
On June 22nd, we finally
received a reply from
PSTB regarding our
mortgage... which said
that they'll consider it
only if we can provide at
least three months of an
Irish bank statement.
Luckily for us, I had
opened an Irish Bank
account at the
beginning of May
(against the mortgage
broker's suggestion,
who advised me to

wait).
That brings us to
August, 2015. When
we'll need to submit all
the documentation
again, from scratch, to
PTSB. If we proceed with
this, we'll probably
lower our request
further to 75,000 or
50,000, as this is our
last chance for an AIP.
In the meantime, prices
have risen and there are
less and less desirable
properties for 150,000.
So, after these past 6
months, my question is:

Why would I
borrow money
from an Irish
bank?
They don't seem
inclined to see the
merits in our
application, or suggest
alternative amounts
they would be willing to
lend us.
At this point, we are
very much inclined
towards borrowing
the amount we

need from an Italian

bank. We've already
inquired with one, and
they have confirmed
that they would approve
a loan.
I'm sure that getting an
AIP would be easier if
both parties were
resident in Ireland... or
Irish, so this is just my
personal, awful, neverending and patiencetrying experience.

In Approval in Principle,
Foreigners in Ireland,
Mortgage Broker

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Planning to
buy a
property in
need of
restoration?
Here are 2
Renovation

Incentive
Schemes
June 11, 2015

If you are planning to

buy a property in need of
some renovation, you
may want to check the
following two schemes,
which will help you save
some money.
HOME RENOVATION
INCENTIVE SCHEME
The Home Renovation
Incentive Scheme,
which runs until the end
of this year for
Homeowners and
Landlords (31 December
2015), provides an
income tax credit of
13,5% for those who
spend between 4,405
(before VAT) - 30,000
(before VAT) on home
renovations and
remodelling.
Work like extensions,
window fitting,
plumbing, tiling and
plastering all fall under
the scheme (see here for
a full list of works that

qualify). As the scheme

is intended to help
tackle the issue of
unlicensed builders, the
rebate is granted to
homeowners who hire
tax-compliant
professionals.
This is a brief checklist
of the steps to follow if
you plan to apply to this
scheme:
Ensure that you
have paid or
arranged to pay
any Local Property
Tax (LPT) or
Household Charge
that is due
Check that your
contractor has a
VAT number and is
tax-compliant
see Revenues
FAQs for details of
the proof required
Ensure that the
work qualifies
see 'Qualifying
work' above
Keep all
supporting
documentation
tax clearance
certificates,
estimates, receipts
etc.

Give the
contractor the LPT
Property ID of your
property
but not your PIN or
PPSN
As a note, where there
are joint owners and
only some of the owners
pay tax, the tax credit
can be claimed by those
paying tax based on
qualifying expenditure
incurred by them.

BETTER ENERGY
HOMES SCHEME
Better Energy Homes is
a Government scheme
which gives fixed cash
grants for insulation and
heating system
upgrades, helping to
make your home more
comfortable and cheaper
to run. It is available to
all owners of homes
built before
2006 (homes built from
2006 onwards don't
apply because should
have been constructed
to the 2003 Building
Regulations and so
should not require
significant insulations

or heating system
upgrades).
Homeowners may avail
of both the Home
Renovation Incentive
(HRI) and Better Energy
Homes when upgrading
their home.
Where a home is
availing of Better Energy
Homes and Home
Renovation Incentive
the applicant must
deduct three times the
Better Energy Homes
grant value from the
Home Renovation
Incentive qualifying
expenditure. Note: all
Better Energy grantrelated expenditure can
count towards meeting
the 5,000 minimum
threshold.
Here's a breakdown of
the grants:

Grant Approval from

SEAI must be in place
prior to any purchase of

materials or
commencement of
works is undertaken,
and all works must be
completed by a
contractor from SEAIs
Registered List.
The grant offer is valid
for a six month
period. All works and
the BER must be carried
out within this
timeframe. Note that all
the paper work must
also be submitted prior
to the six month expiry
date. Paperwork
received after the six
month expiry date will
be declined and a grant
will not be paid even if
the work has been
carried out within the 6
month time period.

In Foreigners in Ireland,
Renovating a property,
Incentive schemes

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Documents

needed for
an AIP Approval in
Principle
June 7, 2015

If you apply for an

Approval in Principle,
there are some
considerations to keep
in mind when preparing
all the documentation.
1 - All the parties that
contribute to the
purchase of a house will
need to present the list
of documents
mentioned at the end of
the post, and be
included in the
mortgage. For example,
if you are buying a house
with your partner and
you are pooling together
your resources to reach
the necessary deposit,
both of your names will
need to appear on the
mortgage application,
and hence each of you
will need to provide the
respective
documentation.
This doesn't

sound counterintuitive,
however, let's say that
you want to buy a house
with the help of your
parents (who, in this
scenario, live abroad, as
you are a foreigner in
Ireland). In that case
your parents would need
to transfer their share of
the money directly in
your bank account as a
'parental gift', hence
paying any taxes related
to such a gift of money.
If they didn't proceed as
such, the bank would
require that they be
added to the mortgage
as co-applicants, and
thus, your application
would be complicated by
the fact that a party in
your mortgage
application resides and
works abroad.
Banks are already very
wary of applications
from foreigners, as they
present a higher 'flight'
risk in case they can't
satisfy the mortgage
repayments. Having one
of the applicants reside
abroad, complicates
further the application
as it presents an even

higher risk for the

banks: if the mortgage
repayments were not
paid, it would be harder
for them to reach the
party which resides
abroad for
compensation.
What would happen if
your partner currently
resides abroad, but you
would still like to pool
your money together for
the house deposit? This
is an even more
complicated situation
because (unless you are
married), you won't be
able to transfer money
as a 'spouse / parental
gift'. They would still be
able to 'gift' you that
money, however, that
will require higher tax
fines which in some
countries can reach 20%
of the money donated.
Also, if your partner
transferred their share
of the money to you
without making a 'gift'
(and hence paying the
respective taxes
associated with that),
and only you applied for
the mortgage (as to
avoid the penalty caused

by one party living

abroad), the bank would
find the 'source' of the
money through a credit
check and they
wouldn't approve the
mortgage unless the
source's name was on
the application too.
The reasoning behind
this is that if you can't
pay the mortgage and
the bank is forced to sell
the house to recoup its
losses, they might have
difficulties doing so
because your partner
might oppose them:
they might say that,
since they invested in
the property (by giving
part of the deposit),
they are part owners and
won't allow the sale of
their 'part' of the house.
2 - Any time you apply
for a mortgage AIP with
a bank, other banks can
see the credit search
performed on you. If a
bank declines your
application, others will
see that a credit search
was performed, this will
most likely lead them to
deduce that a previous
bank has declined your

AIP, and, hence, it will

be more difficult to
receive an AIP from
other lenders.
This is where the
Mortgage Broker comes
into play, as they have
contacts in each bank
and they can have
informal meetings to
gauge the interest of
each lender towards
your application. I
personally suggest
Frank Lenny as a
Mortgage Broker, as
he's been very dedicated
to helping us with our
AIP.

LIST OF
DOCUMENTS FOR
AN AIP
1 - Salary Certificate
(obtainable from your
employer) - If you are
applying for an AIP
through a Mortgage
Broker, they'll provide
you with a Salary
Certificate form, that
you can ask your
employer to fill out. In

case your company

doesn't have an official
seal, remember to also
ask them for a
statement clarifying
that (an email from the
person who has signed
the Salary Certificate
will suffice).
2 - Payslips (usually 3
most recent payslips)
3 - Most recent
P60 (obtainable from
your employer)
4 - Loan statements (if
you have any current
loans)
5 - Savings Records
6 - Photo ID (es:
passport)
7 - Current Account
Statement - If you don't
have an account with an
Irish bank, open one as
soon as possible. The
lender will put much
more value on an Irish
Current Account
Statement / Savings
Records (which should
be minimum 3 months,
and preferably 6
months), than a

statement from a
foreign bank.
8 - Visa Card
Statements
9 - Utility Bill or any
Tax document (for
proof of address) - This
is one of the documents
that might take you the
longest to prepare. If
you are renting a
property and especially
if you have moved since
you initially registered
for your PPS number,
you will need to have a
'government official'
document that proves
where you live.
Only the current owner
of the utility bills can
change / add a name to
the bill, and this
sometimes involves
cancelling that account
and opening a new one
in your name. For
example, for Electric
Ireland bills, the current
owner would need to
close their account and
then you would need to
open one in your name.
While to add a second
name to your UPC bill,

you would need to have

the current owner do it
for you, or have them
next to you when you
call their customer
service.

UPC Operator:
I would like to advise
that in order to add a
name to the account
we will need consent
from both parties.
This can be done two
ways:
- A letter with both
signatures stating you
both confirm consent
to be co-responsible
for the account and
the charges associated
with it.
- A phone call with
both parties present
to confirm that you
both consent to be coresponsible for the
account and the
charges associated
with it.

Response from the

UPC Customer Service
when I inquired on
changing the name on
the bill

Another option (far

easier, but likewise
lengthy), would be to
update the information
on your Tax forms, and
ask for a P21 Balancing
Stament or an Amended
Tax Credits Certificate.
You can request these
documents online by
opening your 'PAYE
Anytime' account, and it
might take a minimum
from one week to 10
days to receive them.

In Foreigners in Ireland,
Mortgage Broker, Steps
to buy, Approval in
Principle

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Create a
spreadsheet
of the
property
listings you
are

interested in
June 1, 2015

Creating a spreadsheet
of all the property
listings you are
interested in, has
several advantages:
- It allows you to keep
track of all the
properties you like and
add personal notes
- You can filter the
listings according to
personal
parameters (area, price,
square meters etc.)
- Other people can have
access to it and edit it
with new listings and
notes
What parameters
should you use?
Status of the
property ('On
sale', 'Sale
agreed', 'Exluded',
'Not available' etc)
Address
Area ('Clonsilla',
'Finglas',
'Rathmines' etc.)
Type of Area ('Red
Zone', 'Light red
Zone', ' Green

Zone' etc. See this

post on the nice
vs bad zones in
Dublin)
Sale Price
Square meters
Price per square
meter (Sale Price /
Square meters)
Nr. of Bedrooms
Nr. of Bathrooms
Original price (if
indicated on the
site)
BER rating (A1, A2,
A3, B1, B2, B3, etc.)
Distance from
work in minutes
(0=>10, 10=>20,
20=>30 etc.)
Public
transportation
options (Bus,
Train, Luas, Bus +
Train, Bus +
Luas, etc.)
Listing link
Type or property
('Terraced',
'Semi-detached',
'Apartment', 'End
of Terrace',
'Duplex' etc)
Viewed (Yes / No)
Notes on the
property
Estate Agency
Estate Agent
address / phone

Spreadsheet example

A great (and free) tool

for creating
spreadsheets is Google
Spreadsheets, with
which the above
spreadsheet was
created. You can create
dropdown menus, filter
the results, color code
the listings (es: red
for particularly
interesting properties or
blue for those you have
already viewed) and
work on the same sheet
with multiple other
people, at the same
time.

In Dublin areas, Steps to

buy, Viewing a property

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Best Estate

Agencies in
Dublin
May 22, 2015

What most surprised

me about the Irish
property market, is that
the majority of Estate
Agencies are 'seller's
agents'. They work
exclusively for the
sellers, promoting their
properties and
brokering the sale,
however, they don't
assist buyers in finding a
property.
A quick internet search
shows that there are
only three buyer's
agencies, which assist
buyers in finding a
property:
- BuyersAgents.ie
- BuyersBroker.ie
- SCKgroup.ie
While according to the
Estate Agents list on
MyHome.ie, there are
currently 335 Estate
Agen's offices in Dublin.
It is true though that
some of those are
subsidiaries of the same

Estate Agency, for

example, Sherry
Fitzgerald has 20
offices, while DNG 13.
Two great sites that pull
together properties
from different agencies
are MyHome.ie and
Daft.ie.
Daft.ie supports a very
customizable search,
which allows users to
considerably narrow
down the results to what
they are truly looking
for, and also presents
the options to only see
properties that have
upcoming viewings.
MyHome.ie presents the
properties with a clearer
format and it has the
option to view the
properties 'on view'
divided per day and per
hour.
While those two
websites are great, it's
always best to monitor
the individual Estate
Agencies' sites too: the
information presented
will be the most updated
and accurate.
Furthermore, estate

agents are more likely to

call you back if you
contact them through
their site.
Here's a list of the best
Estate Agencies in
Dublin, based on my
experience and
research:
DNG http://www.dng.ie/
SHERRY FITZGERALD
- http://www.sherryfitz.ie/
HOOKE & MACDONALD
- http://www.hookemacdonald.ie/
WILSON & MOORE
- http://www.wilsonmoore.ie/
CASTLE ESTATE AGENTS
- http://www.castles.ie/
SAVILLS
- http://www.savills.ie/
RAY COOKE
AUCTIONEERS
- http://www.raycooke.ie/

In Foreigners in Ireland,
Irish property market,
Estate agent

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Questions
to ask when
viewing a
property
May 12, 2015

Each property is unique,

so the set of questions
you'll want to ask will be
personalized to each
case. To start, however,
this is a list of questions
you might be interested
in asking. You'll find
many lists on the
internet, and, for
example, this is a great
checklist from the
'Competition and
Consumer Help
Protection'.
Please remember that
the Estate Agent is
working for the seller
and that you might need
to contact the Agency
itself for more detailed
information regarding

the property.
1. - Are there any
current offers? Has
there been much
interest in the
property?
While the asking price
might match your
budget, there might be
current offers by other
potential buyers like
yourself. Don't let this
discourage you, the
seller might not accept
the highest offer if the
buyer's situation is not
stable. If your offer is
lower, but you can
deliver for sure (and you
already have a Bank
Approval in Principle),
you might be the best
candidate.
2. - What is included in
the price (es:
furniture)?
If a house's asking price
already borders your
budget, be sure to know
if there are other
possible expenditures to
consider too: the
furniture displayed in
the house might not be
included in the price.
Some sellers even go as
far as to rent

the furniture displayed,

as to make the best
impression on the
buyers.
However, if the
furniture is not rented,
you can always contract
with the seller to include
it in the price or how
much it would cost.
3. - How flexible is the
seller in the asking
price? What is the
minimum price the
seller is willing to
accept?
You might find that the
seller is actually a bank
and that the minimum
price is non-negotiable.
In other instances, you
might find out that the
property was previous
Sale Agreed and that it
fell through; this gives
you a better idea of the
seller's urgency in
selling.
4. - How did the agent
decide the asking price?
Are many other
properties in the area
with the same price?
This would allow you to
understand if the
property is within the
average price in that

area, or if there is
something unique about
this property that
justifies the price.
5. - How long has the
property been on the
market? How long has
it been vacant?
Especially for foreign
buyers who are not
familiar with the various
areas of Dublin, if a
property has been long
on the market, that is
certainly a sign that
there is something unappealing about the area
or with the property
itself (particularly
nowadays, when new
properties on the
market are snatched as
soon as possible). To
clarify, the area itself
might not be bad per
se, but it could be that
it's not one of the 'in'
areas where to shop for
properties.
6. - When was it built?
How long have the
owners lived in it? Has
it changed hands / been
rented?
As the Estate Agent will
never tell you if there is
anything wrong with the

property, there is no
harm in speculating on
how the property might
have been 'treated'. If
the property was owner
occupied and it hasn't
changed hands, the
probability that it was
cared for, is higher than
if it was rented out and
changed hands multiple
times.
I, personally, would
prefer to live in a newer
house as I wouldn't
want to budget potential
structural damages
because of the age of the
house, however, if you
are looking for a period
house, knowing if it
changed hands often is
an even more critical
element to know how it
was cared for.
7. - Are the sellers
trading up or down
(why are they leaving)?
When do they want to
close?
Not only this will let you
glimpse whether the
owners want to close the
sale quickly, but it will
also let you know how
long you'll have to wait
for them to move out.
Furthermore, if they are

trading up and they are

waiting to sell their
current property in
order to buy a bigger
one, then they might be
less flexible in the
price.
8. - How much are the
utility bills? Can they
explain the energy
certificate?
If the energy certificate
is not listed in the
property advertisement,
be sure to ask for it:
older houses might have
lower energy
certificates, which not
only imply higher bills
but also possible
renovation costs.
9. - How is the
neighbourhood? Is it
mainly rented or owner
occupied?
Depending on the
reasons you are looking
to buy a property, you'll
want to know whether it
would be easy to let it or
whether it's a quiet
neighbourhood with few
wild student parties
(owner occupied areas
are more likely to be
family-friendly).

10. - Have there been

any redecorations? How
is the house heated /
insulated?
This is also a great
question to understand
if the house plan has
been changed since the
construction and which
areas of the property
need more careful
inspection.
11. - What is the annual
service charge?
Especially for apartment
complexes, the service
charge might be a very
relevant expense in your
annual budget.
Depending on how
central the area is, the
service charge can be
from 350 to 1300, if
not more.
12. - Is the Owners'
Management Company
(OMC) fully set up and
financed?
Owners' Management
Companies are
responsible for the
maintenance of
communal areas and
shared services within
multi-unit
developments, such as
apartment blocks or

housing estates. For

example, the company
may be responsible for
the maintenance of
halls, corridors, lifts,
public lighting,
footpaths, gardens and
waste services. When
buying a property in an
apartment complex,
you'll want to be sure
that such institution is
in place and working
smoothly.
13. - Can you speak
with the sellers?
Most of the sellers are
people like you, who
would reply to your
questions with answers
that estate agents might
consider shockingly
honest. This also allows
you to have a better feel
of the house, getting to
know its best and worst
points.

In Foreigners in Ireland,
Viewing a property

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