Irish Property Blog | MyHome.ie - Comments

Builders Brisbane on New Homes Fair in Cork

Builders Brisbane — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:00:12 +0000

Although I wasn't able to get along to the new homes fair, I was wondering whether it would be possible to provide more pictures or details of other properties in Cork? I'll be visiting there in a few months time and it would be great to have something to read before I arrive.

Yvonne on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

Yvonne — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:55:44 +0000

20%!!!

My house insurance was €294 last year 2009. My quote today from the same company - 123.ie - with exactly the same cover was €664. 20% increase this does not make! (Same company, same terms, €260 for 2008).

I shopped around and got it for €406 from AA. Still a huge increase!

I feel very agreived because I have no choice but to put up with this extortion. I feel I have to protect my property with house insurance.

I agree with Colm about the no claims bonus style system or similar. My heart goes out to the people affected by flood damage but I really don't think it is in the least bit fair that the insurance companies think they can use this to fleece the rest of us.

I am a careful, responsible owner of my own home. I have not claimed ever. I do not abuse the system like some people, as Colm has already given example of above........so shy should I have to pay extra?

Daniel Duggan on The future of property prices: Are we at the bottom?

Daniel Duggan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:36:35 +0000

‘To buy or not to buy, that is the question’. It is the first time I have started a comment on this property site by paraphrasing Shakespeare but it gets us to the nucleus of the issue without wasting words on any other considerations.

So you want sound property advice, should you buy or not; where is this to be found? Who do you ask for an opinion? Whose opinion is trustworthy or even remotely accurate? The most quoted opinions are those of property industry experts such as Aine Myler president of the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute and Michael Grehan Managing Director of Sherry FitzGerald who were extensively quoted in an article in an Irish Times special report titled “Personal Savings and Investment” dated Friday, February 19th 2010.

Incredibly, Grehan and Myler reached a unanimous conclusion, which was; that you should buy a house now! To propose that these opinions were influenced by even a scrap of self-interest is naturally preposterous; never would an Irish property professional stoop so low as to entice an unsuspecting, trusting, naïve home buyer into over-investing in a pile of brick.

So Jay, that is the collective opinion of our property experts, you should buy NOW. In fact this opinion is so sound, so honourable, it has never changed. Through the valleys of economic depression and emigration to the peaks of fraudulently bid-up property boom rip-offs and back down it has never, not even once, not been the right time to buy. The opinion of anyone who earns his living from the sale of property is absolutely worthless, as valuable as a turkey’s opinion on Christmas or Christian Brother’s opinion on child protection.

Ask these people their opinion of our chances in the four nations, the weather, the best place to take your summer holiday, but never, never ask the “should I buy now” question of someone who earns their daily crust from the commission you pay when buying a house.

As for the value of my opinion, you judge; I have over the years been a house owner, a landlord and a tenant. All three circumstances have pros and cons.

Owner pros
• Pride of ownership – It is nice to be able to say ”this is my house”.
• You can improve the house to suit your requirements
• Can be used as collateral should you need to borrow and a mortgage is the cheapest money

Cons
• It is a fixed asset that can not be moved as with cash in the bank
• A big lump of your cash is no longer available to take advantage of a life’s cash only bargains
• Maintenance will average out at minimum 1% of the property value each year
• Expensive to buy (9% stamp duty) and sell (?% agent’s commission)
• House hunting, buying, extending, decorating, re-selling is fun the first one or two times but it rapidly becomes an expensive and time consuming pain in the arse.
• Should knackers move in next door, you have no hope of selling your house at former market value, you are stuck in hell.
• If you have a big mortgage, lose your job and can’t find another in the same area you have a problem. In today’s economic climate this is a critical issue as the forced sale of a house at a substantial loss could devastate your financial health for many years to come. In these difficult times just one mistake and you may be in deep trouble.

Even in good times there are quite a few cons to consider, house buying is not for everyone all the time. Today we have the added cons of job insecurity, difficulty in finding a replacement job, rent being lower than mortgage repayments, a dam of NAMA property that is about to burst on to the market and a property sector cunningly trying every trick in the book to maintain house prices at unrealistic levels.

Probably best to continue to rent and invest the maximum possible in your pension and if possible in an ESOP at your company. Both of these investments are fully tax and PRSI deductable, it is hard to lose when the tax man pays ½ the initial investment. Compare this to buying a house where you pay 9% to the tax man and get a minimal tax concession, or none!

Also, the standard of housing may be about to improve dramatically due to minimum room sizes and ceiling heights, also compulsory utility space and storage. Triple glazing, heat recovery systems and very thick insulation will reduce heating costs by perhaps 90%. These new standard houses will be very much more desirable than the jerry-built boxes churned out during the boom years creating a two-tier market. House costs should not increase as prices are driven not by material costs but principally by local authority housing policy, land prices and developers profits.

In conclusion,
Jay, wait, bide your time.

zz on The future of property prices: Are we at the bottom?

zz — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:54:02 +0000

In Response to Jay..

I think everyone who bought over the years did not think their house prices were going to be deflated in values, and so now are trying to recoup their loses. I as you have been waiting on the prices to drop to make it affordable to buy. For years I wondered how people were able to purchase houses at the crazy prices they were fetching, and now we see that they couldn't; they basically were living on the edge of debt and the minute there was a fluctuation of their wages or interest rates...they can't afford the mortgage.

I could care less what people think of me buying at significantly reduced rates.....it's time those people like ourselves can now afford a house. Guess what they are going to drop further! Not my problem and not my fault!!

ZZ

Colm on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

Colm — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:18:51 +0000

My insurance quote increased by 300 euro. I shopped around and got the increase down to 50 euro. I have never made a claim. It's a new house and the pipes etc are all lagged so I wasn't impacted by the cold weather. I live on a hill so if I get flooded the whole country is in deap trouble.

So why exactly am I paying more? I asked if there was such a thing as a no claims bonus and one broker said they were in the process of introducing it but right now it is all shared risk.

We need to bring in a system similar to car insurance. Safe home owners pay less than more risky home owners. A lot of claims are small but add up. If someone wants a new TV then just get your toddler to pull it off it's stand and hey presto your insurance covers it with no impact on your insurance next year. That is wrong.

Also the insurance companies need to be more vigerous in objecting to planning on flood planes (although the horse has bolted to some degree on that). They should also pursue state bodies for damages. In Cork the ESB need to be held to account for the majority of the flooding. In Clonmel the council built a massive water treatment plant on a flood plane outside the town which created a bottleneck and pushed the water back into the town. At the moment they are building walls around the town which will just push the water into new areas which have never flooded. Insurance companies have the political contacts and the financial power to fight stupid decisions like these.

John on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

John — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:05:18 +0000

The flooding that occurred this winter, and frost damage more recently, were exceptional. In other words they occur infrequently, and history bears this out. How long is it since we last had such severe occurrences, say ten, maybe fifteen years or more. When they occur they give rise to huge costs for the individual householder, and can completely upset a families financial circumstances. Therefore we insure against such occurrences. The insurer looks at the risk and decides on the premium in competition with other insurance companies. But the whole premise of this mechanism is that the insurer makes nice profits when the flood or frost damage doesn't materialise and builds a substantial fund to finance the payouts when required. Additionally insurance companies lay off the risk among one another, so that company profits are protected. The problem now is that the insurance companies have become so accustomed to the fat profits that when real costs arise they think the are entitled to continue to grow these fat profits and resultant bonuses. It is time our sick government and regulators who are in a cosy cartel with these insurance companies and sit on one anothers boards are taken to task. This must start with each of us making contact with our TDs. Get on their backs. Demand action. They will ignore the issue unless there big numbers demanding action. Get on to Joe Duffy. Why should all the insurance companies be coming up with this nice round number of 20%? Is it not clear evidence of a cartel in operation. If we let this happen it will happen. It is up to us because our regulators and government will not address it.

Jay on The future of property prices: Are we at the bottom?

Jay — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:29:42 +0000

Thank you to all the people who are giving an accurate and honest perspective on where the market is going. I feel so pressured at the moment to be 'buying a house' because of the 'great value' that can't be missed. I came across this thread accidently and its the best thing that could have happened to me as I've just been to see a gorgeous house that is massively overpriced. Love the house but can't believe what they're asking for it. It just puts you off even getting involved and yet I'm edgy that I'm missing out on a dream home. It's great to read the ideas of people, who feel like I do when I'm thinking rationally, that there is no way house prices can recover and that the well built nice family homes (which are still in short supply on the market because they are where you want to end up) I've been waiting and saving to buy throughout the boom will, unfortunately for others, be forced onto the market place in the next couple of years at prices that I may be hopefully able to afford. This market is going only one direction - down.

As an aside: I was recently attacked for having this hope by those who bought in the height of the boom. I was accused of preying on others misfortune by the same people who made a hundred grand buying a house and selling it two years later. Take responsibility for your own decisions. I shouldn't be verbally abused or feel guilty when I get a house for its true value. I don't see those who played the game and won knocking on the doors of the houses they sold to hand the now-owners back the excess they paid for it.

Sam on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

Sam — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:35:39 +0000

We should all realize that banks and insurance companies are a cartel of legalized criminals. Governments are powerless to police them and I would like to be able to insure my pension fund against a crash in the economy - any insurance companies out there that can give me a quote? Suckers we are and suckers we shall remain. Thankfully our trust is in God not man made institutions

kieron on Threefold increase in 'Sale Agreed' properties

kieron — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:35:19 +0000

I hope the prices stay low as we are going to relocate near Athy from the uk and we wish to sell up here and get over with your folk before the market swings back and we miss the boat.......... I personally think your houseing market has still a way to go down as when the country starts to repay the interest on the loans the s---- will hit the fan big time. At least I am bringing my money your way every little bit helps

Ruth on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

Ruth — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:03:57 +0000

This year my home insurance has gone from €231 to €402.I have never made a claim. Excess has increased from €i25 to €250. This is so unfair and I can't afford to pay this.

Cedric aussi on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

Cedric aussi — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:44:52 +0000

JPL said it all. The one question that remains is who is keeping an eye on insurance companies, and at what level (national, european, worldwide) just as the same should occur for the banking industry? I mean, how can they be allowed to throw a 20% premium increase without any government body scrutinising the justifications for this hike? Let's also keep in mind that if the gutters were cleaned regularly, some of the flooding would not have been as bad as it actually was. Leaves fall off trees every year roughly in ... fall. It also happens that it usually rains during that period. And every year, you see gutters full of leaves, washed by rain to end up blocking the drains. We used to employ people for this job, but as with everything, we made budget cuts. Could there be a correlation? To reply to Vincent about a possible government handout. It seems to me that a lot of people seem to disconnect money the government dishes out and taxes. Any money the government pays out comes straight out of your pocket, so with the government already bankrupt as it is, and tax increases coming right left and centre, let's be a bit more realistic than suggesting the nation has to bail out the insurance industry because they had one bad year. They knew the risks of insuring people in flood areas, and had calculated the potential losses long before they occurred.

Sean on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

Sean — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:24:45 +0000

People should get the payment they paid for, nothing more, but certainly nothing less and if necessary the government/regulator should intervene to ensure this happens.

But we all shouldn't have to pay more to compensate for those that have suffered flooding. Insurance is supposed to be about risk, if I live in an area that hasn't flooded (and I believe never will), then how has my risk increased ?

Many of the flood victims are unfortunate in being flooded by exceptional circumstances, but others bought houses in low lying areas, on river flood plains or in areas previously prone to flooding. I wouldn't be happy about another situation developing whereby I end up having to pay more to compensate for the poor decisions of others.

Vincent Mockler on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

Vincent Mockler — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:02:21 +0000

The answer to the first question. Of course we should only pay for what we are covered for.If they are not prepared to give us the cover we require, they should be dealing in insurance.
The weather is an act of God of which none of us have control over. The insurance companies should deal with this by an increase in the premiums of those who make a claim or maybe a help out from the Government.
Vincent.

JPL on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

JPL — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:10:24 +0000

It is farcical that the insurance companies are justifying a 20% increase in premiums on the basis of losses incurred in the last year in Ireland.The fact is that like any prudent 'Bookie' the insurance companies lay off or re-insure themselves against risk as we all learned to our cost when AIG among others had to be rescued by the FED with a trickle down effect to all policy holders worldwide.In addition most if not all of the insurance companies operating in Ireland are part of or owned by Multinational insurance groups with income streams from a wide variety of different populations.it should be incumbent on these companies to take a global view or at the very least an EU wide view on total income and profits and not be allowed to fleece a particular country which suffered a particular calamity while they typically raked it in in other countries.Many costs are levied on the Irish population are justified on the basis of our being members of the EU .We should equally be allowed to benefit from being part of the EU by setting off losses against profits made in the EU as a whole and not by treating each country as an individual cost/profit center.National Governments via their respective ombudsmen should coordinate this type of approach and not allow companies to take their current approach. I also recall an insurance increase being justified some time ago on the basis of losses incurred with the twin tower attack and the New Orleans disaster which again demonstrates the integrated nature of the financial services industry which we are only too aware of given the current melt down in financial services generally.It appears to me that this 29% hike is more about an attempt to redress losses incurred in the financial meltdown than the losses incurred in Ireland

grainne Koberl on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

grainne Koberl — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:21:19 +0000

No we should not be paying for home insurance if we are not being properly covered...and we should definitely not be paying 20% more due to claims other people have to make....the insurance companies are cleaning up from people who never make claims so why should we all suffer.

lynne on Australia: Property prices rise and supply falls

lynne — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:37:29 +0000

2008 the market had fallen about 10%.. then first time buyers grant stepped in which was 14,000 for second hand house and a massive 21,000 for a new house plus the interest rates where at an all time low of 3% ..... now interest rates are on the way back up to normal rates which for Oz have been 7-9% do ur sums...plus the government gave 2 stimulus payments to every man woman child under a certain income a 900 grant twice in 2009 to spend as they liked they actually called the scheme the plasma screen grant.. time will only tell but there where 200000 ftb tempted into the market by the grant .........one couple alone borrowed a massive 440000 on a 460000 apartment over 30 years on a joint income of 950000........

Flex on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

Flex — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:25:16 +0000

Why should I pay more for my house insurance when we’re in a deflationary economy and I’ve never made a claim? And it appears that half of all claims went unpaid and the rest (after an excess was paid) did not receive the full amount???

I didn’t buy a house on a floodplain so why should I pay more??

It’s all about Profit maintenance….scum just like the banks……...........

Des Lalor on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

Des Lalor — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:23:57 +0000

The main reason for insurance is the Liability cover the policy provides. We insure against possibilities and not probabilities. Des

Cedric on Home Insurance to rise by 20%: Why pay for Insurance at all?

Cedric — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:14:13 +0000

Should we pay for home insurance if we will not be given the cover we paid for? This is the wrong question - we should just be given what we pay for Should we, the homeowner be penalised for making a claim due to extreme weather conditions? After all insurance is about protecting against risk? Yes of course, if you crash your car during heavy rain you pay a premium penalty - the same should be done with home insurance regardless of what or whom is to blame. But the penalty should be simply an increase in premium where the insurance companies can reclaim their loss over time. This is what's supposed to be done. The issue here is the insurance companies not covering what's been paid for and then on one bad year changing the rules. Cover the costs, it'll be re-cooped over time.

Building Insulation on Huge Interest in Home Energy Saving Scheme

Building Insulation — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:05:12 +0000

The grant scheme is excellent, but how many people know about this? there should be flyers round the door encouraging people to opt in. Also I havent seen any news broadcast talking about it....ridiculous. Nice article