Category: buying real estate

Property viewing – what to look out for when buying a home?

Property viewing is vital to check on the construction quality, property boundaries, and energetic condition. When you like to buy a house there are a lot of things to check and consider.

Quality of life is the most important goal when buying a home. To make buying a home a worthwhile investment in the future, you need a cool mind and ideally the advice of an expert.

Property viewing is of immense importance.

You get a first impression of the property already when seeing some photos of it. But this can never replace a real property viewing. You would not be able to see the smell or see the noise of a nearby road on the photos. Continue reading Property viewing – what to look out for when buying a home?

The lack of a single European Property Website

Most countries have a main property website or two that covers the whole country.

The US also has a couple of major sites which appear to cover the all states (www.realtor.com being the one I have used).

One thing that seems to be missing in Europe is a joined up property website.

One that  summaries all properties for sale throughout the whole European area.

Continue reading The lack of a single European Property Website

Property Depreciation and why Europeans have never heard much about it!

Here is an interesting thing I realized recently as a result of living in the US. In the US property depreciates. As a result you can write off the cost of the depreciation against rental income (typically over 27.5 years).

This deduction is not possible for those living in Europe. Why the difference?

Is it because of differing building standards. Generally more buildings are timber frame in the US verses block build in Europe thereby affecting their lifespan? Continue reading Property Depreciation and why Europeans have never heard much about it!

Should I become a Landlord?

After writing many blogs stating the advantages and disadvantages of being a Landlord it seemed natural to talk a little about whether it is a good idea or not to become one in the first place.

There are several factors that this depends on.

The first might seem a surprise but I think it so important: your age! Why might you ask? Well in my opinion the job of a Landlord needs energy. As a younger man I loved the challenges associated with it: fix this, write a reference, unblock a drain…. all the usual things. Continue reading Should I become a Landlord?

Moving back with the parents to save up for a deposit

There is really no way around it, if you are planning to buy a home you will need to have enough for a 10% deposit.

The way things go, you will need to save at least 20k to 30k before you can dream of getting a place you can call your own.

Now the tricky part, unless you have a good “parents bank” to back you up, this sum may take years and years to put together.

In the meantime, you need to live somewhere and as we all know, rents can be quite hefty. Continue reading Moving back with the parents to save up for a deposit

Can’t afford to buy a home? What about Shared ownership?

If you are thinking about buying a home, the first thing you need to do is to put together enough money for a deposit – typically 10% of the selling price and them be able to demonstrate that you can pay your mortgage.

Easier said than done; it may take many years of savings to come up with enough money for a deposit…and as property prices continue to raise the chances to borrow the amount you need may get slimmer and slimmer.

Here is an idea: What about Shared ownership?

Continue reading Can’t afford to buy a home? What about Shared ownership?

Buying a home with a friend

High property prices and hefty deposits meant, for many first-time buyers, putting off the dream of owning their first home. But here is an idea – why not to join forces with a friend or two to get your foot on the property ladder?

That’s exactly what more and more young professionals are doing.

Soaring property prices and stagnant wages meant that just over a quarter of those aged between their mid-twenties and mid-thirties can manage to own their own places. Continue reading Buying a home with a friend

Where do you want to live? Suburbs or city center?

Do you like it Green and quiet or you are rather in the middle of the action?

Suburbs or city center, close to the park or the shopping center: Before choosing to buy a property, you need to choose the location.

Families are drawn to the outskirts or suburbs

On the outskirts and in suburbs are the typical development areas with charming terraced houses, as well as detached houses of developers. Continue reading Where do you want to live? Suburbs or city center?

Irish government affordable mortgage scheme

In the last few weeks the Irish Government launched a mortgage scheme to help low and middle income families (with salaries up to €75k per annum) get their first home.

The scheme offers very attractive lending rates (as low as 2% fixed for 25 years). Also, applicants do not need to adhere to the strict central banks rules for income.

The mortgage scheme will be open to new, second hand, and even self build homes.

Continue reading Irish government affordable mortgage scheme