Buying a House

Last year I bought my very first home in my hometown of Dublin. I found house hunting to be a mixed bag, it was fun, stressful, time consuming and eventually rewarding. Here are some tips I learnt from my experience of house hunting.

What You Need vs What You Want

Make a list of what are non-negotiable and what are only desirable features in a potential home for you. Do you think this is your forever home or is it for a shorter period? Do you need a complete turnkey place, or can you take on some work? Does it have potential for renovation in the future if it doesn’t quite meet all your criteria right now?

I wanted a home with two bedrooms and a small garden. I initially had quite a small search area but soon realised I could only afford the smallest of apartments in these areas. The only way I could afford a two-bed property with a garden was to look further afield. To achieve my non-negotiable requirements, I gave up my desired suburbs. I ventured into new areas I hadn’t considered before and found properties that better suited my budget.

Get to Know the Neighbourhood

I spent my weekends wandering the streets of my potential suburbs, visiting local cafes, shops, and parks. Walking the streets, chatting to locals and seeing the different amenities in the different areas really helped me look at certain places in a new light. I think you really get a feel for an area when you are walking around pretending to be a local. It’s never wasted time doing this either, at the very least you got to explore a new area, try a new café, visit a new shop and get your steps in! Visiting the area and envisioning your new life there is a good way to manifest your new home too!

Get chatting to locals. Ask them how long they’ve been living there and what they think of the area. My dad is such a talker and got chatting to my neighbours before I bought the place, some even invited him in to show how they had renovated their places.

Think about what’s important to you; do you want a nice park to go walking in, can you get a direct public transport route to work from it, are you near a gym or sports club, how long will it take you to get to family and friends? What would a Saturday be like living in your area, where would you shop, eat and drink? Would you feel safe at night walking in the area? If you have kids; what schools are in the catchment area? Are there creches nearby? Could kids place outside the house?

For City Slickers: The 15-minute City https://www.15minutecity.com/

The 15-minute city is an urban planning concept in which most of life’s necessities should be within a 15-minute walk, cycle or other mode of transport from anywhere in the city. I actually referred to this concept a lot when I was house hunting and think it will become increasingly important to more people as they house hunt in the future. I absolutely hate Dublin traffic and am so jealous of the commuters I see walking, running or cycling to or from work and taking in the fresh air whilst I just rot in my car. One way of reducing our environmental impact is by using cars less, using more public transport and walking and cycling when possible. Driving less was something I included on my house hunting list.

I knew when I was looking for a house that I wanted to be closer to work and within walking distance to shops, cafes, a gym or yoga studio and a good running route. Whilst my new house isn’t a 15-minute walk to work, it is on a direct bus route to it, and I could (if feeling energetic) run there in 20 minutes. Supermarkets, gyms, cafes, shops and even my hairdressers (I know, very lucky of me) are all in my new 15-minute zone. Dublin needs to be more like Copenhagen. They have the same number of rainy days as us but use bikes to get everywhere. I plan to be a Copenhagen style girl when I move into the house and rarely use my car. I must buy a bike, and a good raincoat!

Planning Applications

If there is an empty plot or run down building near your potential new home, it’s worth checking it out on your local council planning website to see if any planning applications have been submitted. I checked https://www.dublincity.ie/residential/planning/planning-applications/find-planning-application/view-or-search-planning-applications for a number of properties I viewed.

One house I viewed had a vacant lot behind it, on the Dublin City Council website I found out that planning permission had been granted for a large apartment complex. This put me off the house as the apartment block would have loomed over the little house, blocked a lot of light, and caused ongoing noisy building work for years. With the house I purchased, I was able to check my rear neighbour’s planning permission before I closed. They were approved for an upstairs extension which luckily had no impact to my house.  

You can also check the council websites to see if a previous owner of your potential home had applied for planning permission in the past. This is also great to check especially if you are considering extending. If permission was refused you can see exactly why. This can help you with any future plans you may have for the home. 

Look for the Potential

Don’t let a dated style put you off a property. Look past bad or old taste and envision your own furniture and belongings in the place. Remember things can be changed! Walls can be painted, and floors can be changed for a relativity affordable make over. If you are able to undertake a part or full renovation of the property, bring along an expert to the final viewing. A builder or architect can give advice on renovation options and costs. This way you can have a rough estimate of the costs you will be looking at in the future. Take into consideration these costs when bidding, could you afford the renovation costs on top of what you are bidding?

When I first viewed my house, it was very brown and very dated. An elderly woman had been living in the house and had done little in the way of refurbishment in recent years. It had always been my dream to own and renovate a period property, so I fell immediately in love with the charming little cottage with its high ceilings, large front door, and brick façade. I knew the house had so much potential, I just had to look past the lack of bathroom and the shower cubicle in the kitchen!

In Ireland you must get a building surveyed before purchasing but this is a fairly ‘light’ survey, in my opinion. The surveyor can only assess what they can see, they don’t pull down wallpaper or lift carpet to see what lies beneath. I had my house surveyed prior to purchase but I only found the problems once I started pulling things out of it. Once I had bought the property, I got advice from architects and builders on my redesign. The house has turned into a much bigger job than I had originally planned but I always knew it was a risk buying a period property. Period properties aren’t for everyone. If the thought of a big renovation scares you, stick to the newer builds.

The Viewings

Bring someone with you, having two sets of eyes helps. This person may notice things you didn’t, be there to bounce ideas off and offer advice. I also recorded all the viewings with commentary so I could watch back later. I made notes on what I liked and what I didn’t, what was good and what was bad. Take note of the way the light enters the home; a lot of agents exaggerate a south facing aspect! Having a list of what you want to check with you could also keep you focused during a viewing. This could be related to heating, the electrics, flooring and so on. The more properties you view the more you’ll notice and look for in other properties.

The Bidding Wars

I found myself going through a roller coaster of emotions when bidding on properties. The initial fear of making the first bid, the annoyance of being outbid, the anxiety of the subsequent bidding war, the excessive daydreaming of potential life in the house and then bitter disappointment of losing out. I felt it all! As I was going through this process alone it was important, I leaned on the support of friends and family throughout. So many people have been through the same process before and could relate to how I felt. This helped, if only a little! I had my heart set on one house and was eventually outbid. Once I got over that first disappointment, I found the bidding process a bit easier. I tried to stop myself from daydreaming too much and I set a firm amount that I could bid to. If I was outbid it wasn’t meant to be. I’m glad I got outbid on the first house; I never would have found my lovely troublesome little cottage. What’s for you won’t pass you as they say.