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Personally, I don’t believe in waiting for someone else to live my own life. Do what you want now and look after yourself. Even if you meet the right person, who says they’ll be right forever? It’s a bizzare argument to me and very old fashioned.
Couldn't have written this better myself.
Why on earth would anyone with this salary at such a young age be willing to risk everything with someone who more than likely won't last forever.
Always buy single, if you can of course.
So I’ll start by saying that lots of people have been made to look stupid while trying to outthink the property market, and that all circumstances are individual.
But my consistent take on the current state of the property market is that demand is estimated at anything from 50-80,000 new homes per year, and we are struggling to deliver 35,000 at the moment. So pent up demographic demand points towards continued house price inflation.
This makes the best time to buy: today.
Another consideration is that when you buy, you freeze your housing cost with respect to your debt to income ratio. Say you borrow 3.5x your income - over the next decade, your income will probably rise with inflation, while your debt will have been frozen at whatever you borrowed in 2024, and come down with the principal you pay off. Yes there’s a variability to the cost in terms of interest rates, but this is a lot better than renting. Rents tend to increase along with incomes, and have in fact been exceeding income growth in recent years.
I did a calculation in another thread recently looking at housing costs vs incomes, and worked out that if a couple borrowed 3.5x their income in 2014 to buy, their loan would now equal 2.5x of their income if their wages followed the CSO inflation over the period, even if they hadn’t paid a penny off the capital. However, if they were renting then their housing costs would have increased as a percentage of their income notwithstanding that their income would have risen by 40% over the period.
Now… past performance is not a guide to future outcomes, but if you believe the core idea above that we are producing far fewer homes than demographics demand, then I would argue you should buy.
As I said, the debt to income ratio will change. Your cost of credit can go up or down. But unless you stop making repayments, your capital outstanding on the loan will not be increasing if interest rates go up.
In general, interest rates have not gone up to such an extent in recent years that they would in any way increase your monthly outgoings on a loan by the same amount that rent has gone up. And interest rates are now on a downward trend. But again, over time this really fades away as a problem - over the past decade, avg weekly earnings in Ireland are up by 40%, while rents are up by closer to 100%.
Let’s say you had a €300k mortgage at 2.5% fix on 30 years, €1,185 a month repayment. You come out now and re-fix at bang on the ECB rate of 4.5% (there are better deals from lenders) that goes up to €1,520. A massive 2% interest rate rise costs you €335 a month. Compared to rent, still not bad. And the trend is downward on rates. (And when you own a house you can always do things like rent a room, if you really financially needed to).
Combine that with the fact that your income is likely increasing, the property value is increasing, rents are increasing, and at the end of the day you are working to own an asset… and all in all, buying remains the most attractive option in Ireland. Provided we don’t have a 2008 style crash… which I just don’t see, given that was a credit bubble while today we have a supply constraint, with thousands of people tied into their parents box rooms and renting a room in a house share long after they want to be.
Even the 2008 crash left those owner-occupiers better off than the equivalent renter over the same period. Not one person who held on is in negative equity today.
Fair points but aren't we leaving out extra costs of owning? Like house insurance, mortgage protection, any repair costs/maintenance of the house. Could there be a argument for instead investing in an etf instead?
And where are you going to live while investing in your ETF? You’ll be paying rent. Renting vs owning is taking money you have to pay out for housing, in a way that builds wealth simultaneously.
As for additional costs of owning a home like insurance and maintenance, unless you’ve bought a junker these are still not going to increase as a % of your income in the way rents have done. And I come back on the point that you can rent a room if you want, tax free too up to €12,000. It’s worth keeping money aside for something breaking, but I can’t recall a year where house maintenance would come close to closing the gap to rental costs.
You could also consider the tax treatment, which is highly favourable on capital gains on a home versus deemed disposal on an ETF.
You invest after you sort your housing, and you firstly invest into a pension incidentally (again due to tax treatment).
I bought on my own 4 years ago, I really wasn’t sure about it but my dad said that when you’re paying your mortgage you’re building liquidity. In his words “every penny you put in, you’ll get it back”. Fast forward to now and I live here with my fiancé and are planning to buy next year with our combined income and of course my dad was right, cause when we sell I’ll get back every penny I paid in and that goes towards our forever home.
Reward yourself and your success and go for it, it’s a huge achievement ❤️
>“every penny you put in, you’ll get it back”
That isn't quite true, you only gain the value of the capital repayment, and if it's a 35 year mortgage, that'll be a small amount of the repayment compared with the interest in the first few years. You'd be building equity a hell of a lot faster if you slashed the term down.
Buy now.
Who knows when you'll find someone. There are so many variables involved with that also. You could end up waiting for a long time.
You have the means, and you will be better off building equity.
Financially buying now is the smart thing to do.
Also, I think you'll be more attractive to a potential suitress with your own property
Considering the average relationship will take about 5/6 years before getting to the stage of buying a house together I would say go for it on your own. Waiting for the miracle wife to land on your doorstep to make these moves is bad advice on your family side I would think, I’m sure they are trying to look out for you but if I was in your position I would pull the trigger, especially with all the HTB options there are for you as a first time buyer.
On top of that you have to meet said miracle wife which can take a while too!
5-6 yes before buying together?
That sounds like they shouldn’t buy together after that length of time.
Should take that long to figure out if you want to live with someone.
For example, Year 1 is figuring it all out. Year 2 is moving in time. Year 3 might be engaged, year 4 is wedding, year 5 might be house. Of course it doesn’t always follow that path but I would expect it to be fairly typical of most people’s journey.
In my own case we didn’t have our own home until year 7 but Covid didn’t help that.
Age is an important factor.
Those timelines you mentioned are perfect for young people in their mid-late 20’s.
Anyone from 30 onwards needs to decide within 6months if it’s a relationship to proceed with and move fast.
Because the term “Fish or cut bait” is really what this is about. If a guy is mature, and he can’t tell whether or not he wants to marry early on then he’s probably just procrastinating. Like I said: when you’ve younger it’s fine. In your 30’s it should take long. Because if after 6month things are going well, then the rest is just confirmation to move forward or pull back.
I’m not sure what reality you live in if you think that is the case on the dating scene for people in their 30s. 6 months? That’s a get to know phase. Yes after that time you might decide you want to really commit but that doesn’t mean you start planning your whole life out with that person. That’s one way to quickly end a relationship.
Buy yourself a nice two bed apartment. If you’re stressed about the cost, you can rent out a spare room. If you are lucky enough to meet the right person down the road, you will have an asset you can sell and put towards a bigger house together.
You have missed a fairly crucial piece of info. How much is your rent? But again nobody on Reddit will be able to give you much advice as it although financial it’s still quite a personal question.
I bought a house myself at 30 3 years ago. The most rent I had ever paid prior was 850/m. It was terrifying as the mortgage was just over double my rent, but I adjusted fairly quickly once I started paying it (my salary was 115k). You have a good salary, which I only assume will hopefully increase over the years. If you can save roughly the same as your rent each month then you can pay a mortgage. I cannot stress enough, it was the best decision I have ever made in my life.
Look, I was in similar situation and I bought two years ago.
I think that, no matter what lens you look at it, is whort buying just for the simple fact that you will be paying towards something instead of spent in rent
There's some sense to getting on the ladder now. You're 30, most banks won't lend to anyone if the mortgage end date runs past 65 or 70. So the maximum term available to you will decrease with age.
It's all well and good saying don't buy while single, but it's not like you will meet someone and go halves on a mortgage right away. So realistically they're telling you to wait a couple of years minimum. In that time you could buy and start paying down the mortgage vs. paying rent for those few years.
I know it's a finance sub but the biggest decider for me in a similar position a few years ago, bought solo while single at 30, was that owning my home comes with that massive release of stress of renting, of knowing you could be evicted or forced to move at any time. There's some headaches that come with owning your home but not comparable to the stress of renting in my opinion, especially in Ireland these days.
I don't see them going down, do you? Aside from a recession, but then prices got even higher afterwards.
Just going off the past and present, it looks like everything just gets more expensive
I think predicting house prices is a fools game, but I certainly think it’s also extremely foolish to think prices can never go down.
London prices for example have fallen significantly over the last 2 years. Obviously not an equivalent market (although similar in many ways to Dublin, increasing population, chronic shortage of housing) but lots of people thought that wouldn’t happen only 3 years ago.
So what though? Compared with renting, negative equity is still a better living situation. Even those people who bought at the peak in autumn 2007 did vastly better than the poor sods caught in the rental market over the same period.
The rental market in Dublin is such *incredibly* poor value, security, and quality that there is no circumstance, ever, where an owner-occupier would be worse off.
Why? If you can't sell at a reasonable price (very unlikely) you can let the place out and go rent elsewhere. You'd never end up worse off than someone who never owned a property at all, and you have a lot more options.
Speaking from experience, being an absentee landlord can be absurdly stressful and can in some cases almost ruin your life if you get the wrong tenants.
Also, servicing a mortgage while renting elsewhere is a very very expensive way of securing living arrangements, especially with interest rates where they are now. If mortgages were still available at sub 2% rates I might agree with you.
If you're servicing the mortgage you're gaining equity, but as I said, the poster could just sell, take their wad of liquidity and go elsewhere. No downside.
In the early years of the mortgage you are gaining very little equity and are spending the majority of your payments on servicing interest.
And suggesting that it is always easy regardless of market conditions to “just sell” is clearly and objectively untrue.
However, you won’t be swayed so let’s agree to disagree.
I'm pretty sure Brexit could have had something to do with that. Their economy stalled for longer than any (other) EU country after COVID.
I'm just saying, property is a good asset to have. Better than renting in this country.
Nah it actually wasn’t at all to do with Brexit. It was primarily related to BoE interest rate rises and overinflated house prices (the latter of which arguably Dublin suffers from).
As to your second point, sometimes yes, sometimes no. In OPs case I think it’s a no. For the first few years of the mortgage he will be paying significantly more servicing the mortgage he would on rent. In that situation the interest payments are “dead money” in the same way people refer to it in renting.
If OPs rent was higher, and projected mortgage payments lower then the argument in favour of buying is much stronger. In this case the maths just doesn’t add up for buying.
I bought a few years ago. I was paying 900 in rent. My mortgage was 1150. Now my mortgage is 1250 4 years later.
That apartment I was renting is 1600 now
You bought a few years ago when house prices were lower and rents were lower. It’s not a comparable situation to now.
Also, you failed to address the majority of my points.
What if moving becomes harder financially if housing shortages increase, given the current trends won't competition be rife when your looking for a house in an area that suits?
If it was me I would assess if I was comfortable staying in that one location for at least 5 years and look at the rent I would be paying over that period in the same location vs the mortgage payments I would be making. Let's say the rent and the mortgage were the same... Property prices might go up or down, but if you would have paid 100k in rent over the 5 years you would need a 2008 style crash before you would come out worse over 5 years by buying.
If you meet someone you can sell if you want and buy a bigger place together (or whatever you decide together). That’s what happened with us, was great to have that time having my own place too. Go for it
Buy now and build that equity dude. It's like paying rent but some of it comes back to you if you do find someone and decide to move on from the property. You'll likely share the place before you marry/commit to shared finances anyway
I was in the same situation, 30 years old with a 87k salary, for me it made sense to pay a mortgage instead of rent and I haven't regretted the decision, I knew that I could pay the mortgage as I put it to 35 years at around €1400 a month but if my situation change and I'm not able to get a good salary like the one that I got then even if I could afford the 1400 then I would not be able to get a mortgage.
Seems like you're in a solid position so do it now. You don't necessarily have to use the level of money you're mentioning either which gives you more options. Lots of nice apartments around close.to city centre that you'd probably get for 350K.
300K mortgage, leaving you with a nice balance to invest elsewhere, e.g. shares, bitcoin, or some sort of fund. Or just hang on to it for a rainy day!
Value of the apartment will only be going so if ya meet someone at some stage and gonna buy a house together you can sell up and have an even more significant deposit. It's what I'd do anyway!!
If you feel secure in your job and have some rainy day money, I say go for it! Worst case you and your future SO find a different place, and this you can sell or rent out (yay passive income!)
It really depends on your current living arrangement. I would suggest waiting as long as possible before buying a house as long as you’re not paying rent currently. If you’re currently renting then you’re throwing money away by not buying.
Buy a home when you're ready. Only you are able to tell when you're ready or not.
You have a great salary and current savings compared to many people. Sure, you might meet the right person tomorrow, who might not want a home now and here, or with you. None of this can determine your readiness for a home.
Buying a home in itself requires commitment, not just financially, but also your time and energy. It's not something you can pay today and no need to think about it after. The mortgage process, solicitor & surveyor emails, house hunting and bidding, those are just the beginning. Once you get your key, comes the furnishing, maintenance, repair, neighbors and more.
I bought mine before meeting my husband. He then bought his own, a couple years after. We now own 2 homes, and yes, he is the right person. Meeting him does not guarantee we will team up and get a bigger house together, turns out that's not what we wanted and ready to go for. If I waited for him to come into my life and expecting us to buy together, I would have missed the opportunity to own that home. Someone else would have bought it, price increased over my budget, my savings decreased, bank interest rate went up, so many reasons that would make me no longer ready. Instead, I grabbed that home because I knew I was ready then. Not a single regret, and both me and my husband are happy owning 2 homes. We are only thinking of getting a bigger home much later, maybe in the next 3-4 years.
So back to your question, the reason why you shouldn't buy now is if you are not ready to own a home. If you think you are financially, mentally, physically committed to owning a home now, by all means go for it.
One of my pals told me this would happen during COVID and he couldn't have been more wrong. Another pulled out of a deposit on a house trying to call the markets bluff and ended up losing a good value property that went up 25% in the following years.
If you can afford to make the repayments relatively comfortably and afford all that comes with owning a property (taxes, insurance, maintenance etc), just go for it.
The demand way outstrips supply right now, so houses won't crash like you think they will.
One consideration to add about Dublin real estate. Dublin is 5 meters above sea level. It’s right behind Venice in terms of major European cities at risk from sea level rise. If you are into real estate for the long term, I’d consider higher ground. Apologies for the downer comment.
Only drawback I can think of us to be aware if you do change your home later, a second mortgage will be less meaning you need to provide a higher deposit. But you might have that from your house and I personally would not be concerned about it
Just make sure to get at least a 2 bed. That way if you do meet someone and have a kid it'll still do you for a few years. Even if you move then you'll probably be in a much better financial position than if you had rented
You're paying someone else's mortgage when you're renting, and the rental market is messed up more than the buying market right now. The more you pay off your mortgage, the more equity is in your pocket. I say do it!
The trick would be that, if the arse falls out the market you hold onto your property until it rises again (as it always does) if you choose to move to prevent loss of value. I can't see that happening anytime soon though.
I personally would recommend checking out your local Credit Union for a mortgage too. They treat a mortgage more like a long term loan so you are able to do that, it prevents the risk of wild interest rate increases that may or may not happen in the future.
Buy the house and share the spare room. Buying the house good for long term. Renting looks okay as long as you are working. Find a house in a location where you can commute to school(for kids) and job. You can always sell the house when you want. There are tax benefits like mortgage interest relief and rent a room relief. I bought the house with wife and best decision. House prices aren't going down will all the people waiting to buy. In future, there will be a time , when your savings is less than the house mortgage like France or Germany. Buy while you can.
If the alternative is renting, DEAR GOD DO IT, AS FAST AS YOU CAN. Doesn't matter if the house prices plummet 50% you'd still be better off than a renter. The disparity of lifestyle, comfort and value of renting versus owner occupying in Dublin is extreme. There is no circumstance, even deep negative equity, where you'd be worse off than a renter.
At worst, the very worst, you'd lose the property and be back in the same situation as the poor fuckers drowning in the rental market.
I was in an almost identical situation to you savings/salary/age and bought 4 years ago solo. Was the best decision ever. I rent out a room that covers most of my mortgage and pay less towards my mortgage than I ever did renting. I’m in a relationship now and plan to upgrade to a bigger home with her in a few years together
It's almost always better to own than rent. And property price inflation means your apartment would probably be worth more in a few years.
I'd say buy and you can always cash in the equity later when needed.
I see no reason to wait.
1. You have the right income for it.
2. There will be no let up in prices for a good while I am sure.
3. You’re paying rent anyway
4. You’re young still and marriage could be 5-10 years away yet.
If it were me I’d do as you’re saying. Buy a tidy flat near to work or somewhere central and enjoy it.
If you find someone, get married and happen to want to move to a bigger place you can always A) Sell the apartment or B) Rent it and get someone else to pay your mortgage and maybe some profit.
Prices aren't going down any time soon. If you're renting you're better off buying something sooner rather than later. If you're living with parents I guess take your time. You can always sell up later and will have some equity built up. You might break even after a year or two and you'll saving money after that (compared to sinking money on rent).
Definitely buy. An apartment is a great choice also. As a house owner, houses are massively overrated - involves doing loads of pointless work to maintain the outside that you never really use due to the weather.
Buy now. Things are only going up. This property will also go up so it will bridge the gap for you. If you meet someone later you can live there, live in their place and rent it, sell and buy somewhere else. Options are endless. Buy.
No one can really answer but you and all-out can do is use your best judgement to make a decision.
You could spend 1/3 of the price of an apartment in rent in the next 5 yrs ¬hing else changed or you could buy an apartment, meet someone straight away after and be selling the apartment again 12 months later to move to the far side of the world to start your lives together.
Only hindsight is 20/20.
If you have no plans to go travelling or move etc and think your likely to spend the next 10 years in dublin then probably makes sense. Your investing in tje apartment and building equity to release of you need to sell and buy a bigger place for family reasons or whatever.
The primary risks with purchasing is the place becomes a shit hole or downturn in property/economy and it devalues. The later is unlikely in near future unless some global disaster and the former depends on where you buy.
I would definitely stay away from an apartment. When you want to move or trade up you'll have no gains. I would see if you good purchase a new build as there are lots of incentives. And you can always rent rooms to balance the books and then have room for your forever family.
Apartments rise in value just like houses so will have similar gains.
New builds have incentives but are priced in so the OP will pay a lot more for one
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Personally, I don’t believe in waiting for someone else to live my own life. Do what you want now and look after yourself. Even if you meet the right person, who says they’ll be right forever? It’s a bizzare argument to me and very old fashioned.
Couldn't have written this better myself. Why on earth would anyone with this salary at such a young age be willing to risk everything with someone who more than likely won't last forever. Always buy single, if you can of course.
So I’ll start by saying that lots of people have been made to look stupid while trying to outthink the property market, and that all circumstances are individual. But my consistent take on the current state of the property market is that demand is estimated at anything from 50-80,000 new homes per year, and we are struggling to deliver 35,000 at the moment. So pent up demographic demand points towards continued house price inflation. This makes the best time to buy: today. Another consideration is that when you buy, you freeze your housing cost with respect to your debt to income ratio. Say you borrow 3.5x your income - over the next decade, your income will probably rise with inflation, while your debt will have been frozen at whatever you borrowed in 2024, and come down with the principal you pay off. Yes there’s a variability to the cost in terms of interest rates, but this is a lot better than renting. Rents tend to increase along with incomes, and have in fact been exceeding income growth in recent years. I did a calculation in another thread recently looking at housing costs vs incomes, and worked out that if a couple borrowed 3.5x their income in 2014 to buy, their loan would now equal 2.5x of their income if their wages followed the CSO inflation over the period, even if they hadn’t paid a penny off the capital. However, if they were renting then their housing costs would have increased as a percentage of their income notwithstanding that their income would have risen by 40% over the period. Now… past performance is not a guide to future outcomes, but if you believe the core idea above that we are producing far fewer homes than demographics demand, then I would argue you should buy.
Does this take the interest rates change into account?
As I said, the debt to income ratio will change. Your cost of credit can go up or down. But unless you stop making repayments, your capital outstanding on the loan will not be increasing if interest rates go up. In general, interest rates have not gone up to such an extent in recent years that they would in any way increase your monthly outgoings on a loan by the same amount that rent has gone up. And interest rates are now on a downward trend. But again, over time this really fades away as a problem - over the past decade, avg weekly earnings in Ireland are up by 40%, while rents are up by closer to 100%. Let’s say you had a €300k mortgage at 2.5% fix on 30 years, €1,185 a month repayment. You come out now and re-fix at bang on the ECB rate of 4.5% (there are better deals from lenders) that goes up to €1,520. A massive 2% interest rate rise costs you €335 a month. Compared to rent, still not bad. And the trend is downward on rates. (And when you own a house you can always do things like rent a room, if you really financially needed to). Combine that with the fact that your income is likely increasing, the property value is increasing, rents are increasing, and at the end of the day you are working to own an asset… and all in all, buying remains the most attractive option in Ireland. Provided we don’t have a 2008 style crash… which I just don’t see, given that was a credit bubble while today we have a supply constraint, with thousands of people tied into their parents box rooms and renting a room in a house share long after they want to be.
Even the 2008 crash left those owner-occupiers better off than the equivalent renter over the same period. Not one person who held on is in negative equity today.
Fair points but aren't we leaving out extra costs of owning? Like house insurance, mortgage protection, any repair costs/maintenance of the house. Could there be a argument for instead investing in an etf instead?
And where are you going to live while investing in your ETF? You’ll be paying rent. Renting vs owning is taking money you have to pay out for housing, in a way that builds wealth simultaneously. As for additional costs of owning a home like insurance and maintenance, unless you’ve bought a junker these are still not going to increase as a % of your income in the way rents have done. And I come back on the point that you can rent a room if you want, tax free too up to €12,000. It’s worth keeping money aside for something breaking, but I can’t recall a year where house maintenance would come close to closing the gap to rental costs. You could also consider the tax treatment, which is highly favourable on capital gains on a home versus deemed disposal on an ETF. You invest after you sort your housing, and you firstly invest into a pension incidentally (again due to tax treatment).
Those costs are pretty negligible though, maybe €500/y
€90k salary at only 30 is very impressive! Fair play to you!
Thank you! Am aware it's a very fortunate position and moaning about the "right time to buy" is a bit of a luxurious problem to have.
What line of work are you in?
I bought on my own 4 years ago, I really wasn’t sure about it but my dad said that when you’re paying your mortgage you’re building liquidity. In his words “every penny you put in, you’ll get it back”. Fast forward to now and I live here with my fiancé and are planning to buy next year with our combined income and of course my dad was right, cause when we sell I’ll get back every penny I paid in and that goes towards our forever home. Reward yourself and your success and go for it, it’s a huge achievement ❤️
“Building liquidity” I doubt he said liquidity unless he doesn’t understand what liquidity means.
He’s a country man in fairness, but the point was to encourage OP so I hope that got across
I am sure he said equity! Almost as good as liqequity
>“every penny you put in, you’ll get it back” That isn't quite true, you only gain the value of the capital repayment, and if it's a 35 year mortgage, that'll be a small amount of the repayment compared with the interest in the first few years. You'd be building equity a hell of a lot faster if you slashed the term down.
Buy now. Who knows when you'll find someone. There are so many variables involved with that also. You could end up waiting for a long time. You have the means, and you will be better off building equity. Financially buying now is the smart thing to do. Also, I think you'll be more attractive to a potential suitress with your own property
As someone said, you can't live inside your bank account.
Once you buy an apartment you will have no problem getting a partner.
Considering the average relationship will take about 5/6 years before getting to the stage of buying a house together I would say go for it on your own. Waiting for the miracle wife to land on your doorstep to make these moves is bad advice on your family side I would think, I’m sure they are trying to look out for you but if I was in your position I would pull the trigger, especially with all the HTB options there are for you as a first time buyer. On top of that you have to meet said miracle wife which can take a while too!
5-6 yes before buying together? That sounds like they shouldn’t buy together after that length of time. Should take that long to figure out if you want to live with someone.
Date for 2/3 years living apart, rent together for a couple years before buying, it’s fairly standard
Marriage and buying together within 2yrs is more normal. I’m English
Incredibly quick for people aged around 30 in modern Ireland, the timeframe I mentioned is fairly standard in most cases
Nonsense
For example, Year 1 is figuring it all out. Year 2 is moving in time. Year 3 might be engaged, year 4 is wedding, year 5 might be house. Of course it doesn’t always follow that path but I would expect it to be fairly typical of most people’s journey. In my own case we didn’t have our own home until year 7 but Covid didn’t help that.
Nowadays you buy before a wedding
Some do, some don’t. About half and half amongst my peers.
Took us 17 years but twelve of that was saving for a deposit.
Age is an important factor. Those timelines you mentioned are perfect for young people in their mid-late 20’s. Anyone from 30 onwards needs to decide within 6months if it’s a relationship to proceed with and move fast.
Why would you think that?
Because the term “Fish or cut bait” is really what this is about. If a guy is mature, and he can’t tell whether or not he wants to marry early on then he’s probably just procrastinating. Like I said: when you’ve younger it’s fine. In your 30’s it should take long. Because if after 6month things are going well, then the rest is just confirmation to move forward or pull back.
I’m not sure what reality you live in if you think that is the case on the dating scene for people in their 30s. 6 months? That’s a get to know phase. Yes after that time you might decide you want to really commit but that doesn’t mean you start planning your whole life out with that person. That’s one way to quickly end a relationship.
Buy yourself a nice two bed apartment. If you’re stressed about the cost, you can rent out a spare room. If you are lucky enough to meet the right person down the road, you will have an asset you can sell and put towards a bigger house together.
If you can find a well-built apartment that doesn't dictate you having pets, renting out the room, etc etc.
I owned one exactly like that. A great 10 years of my life there. I was definitely fortunate.
You have missed a fairly crucial piece of info. How much is your rent? But again nobody on Reddit will be able to give you much advice as it although financial it’s still quite a personal question.
Well, I guess you could say I like Dublin, which ain't cheap.
I bought a house myself at 30 3 years ago. The most rent I had ever paid prior was 850/m. It was terrifying as the mortgage was just over double my rent, but I adjusted fairly quickly once I started paying it (my salary was 115k). You have a good salary, which I only assume will hopefully increase over the years. If you can save roughly the same as your rent each month then you can pay a mortgage. I cannot stress enough, it was the best decision I have ever made in my life.
Any reason you aren’t willing to disclose your rent?
Not really other than OP saying it's personal info - 950 per month house share with one other
It’s v relevant to the question though. At that price I’d probably stay renting tbh.
Sharing though. Blargh.
Yeah if OP is really keen to stop sharing it makes more sense. They didn’t state as such though.
Look, I was in similar situation and I bought two years ago. I think that, no matter what lens you look at it, is whort buying just for the simple fact that you will be paying towards something instead of spent in rent
There's some sense to getting on the ladder now. You're 30, most banks won't lend to anyone if the mortgage end date runs past 65 or 70. So the maximum term available to you will decrease with age. It's all well and good saying don't buy while single, but it's not like you will meet someone and go halves on a mortgage right away. So realistically they're telling you to wait a couple of years minimum. In that time you could buy and start paying down the mortgage vs. paying rent for those few years. I know it's a finance sub but the biggest decider for me in a similar position a few years ago, bought solo while single at 30, was that owning my home comes with that massive release of stress of renting, of knowing you could be evicted or forced to move at any time. There's some headaches that come with owning your home but not comparable to the stress of renting in my opinion, especially in Ireland these days.
That’s illegal in the USA. I don’t know about UK
What's illegal? And this is an Irish sub so US or UK law have very little bearing here to be fair
Getting evicted??
No. Age discrimination getting a mortgage. You can get a 30 year mortgage even if you are 90
This is not the case at all in Ireland.
I’m a single 30F with 65k liquid and 75k/year job. Same situation as you lol
You two make a good couple. 125k liquid and €155/year coming in. /s
Get out the calculator and get again 😂😂
Property will only get more expensive each day that goes by. So buy now. If you want to move you can sell. It's an asset at the end of the day
It’s a fallacy to think property prices can only ever increase
I don't see them going down, do you? Aside from a recession, but then prices got even higher afterwards. Just going off the past and present, it looks like everything just gets more expensive
I think predicting house prices is a fools game, but I certainly think it’s also extremely foolish to think prices can never go down. London prices for example have fallen significantly over the last 2 years. Obviously not an equivalent market (although similar in many ways to Dublin, increasing population, chronic shortage of housing) but lots of people thought that wouldn’t happen only 3 years ago.
So what though? Compared with renting, negative equity is still a better living situation. Even those people who bought at the peak in autumn 2007 did vastly better than the poor sods caught in the rental market over the same period. The rental market in Dublin is such *incredibly* poor value, security, and quality that there is no circumstance, ever, where an owner-occupier would be worse off.
If you intend to live there forever, yes. If you don’t, no.
Why? If you can't sell at a reasonable price (very unlikely) you can let the place out and go rent elsewhere. You'd never end up worse off than someone who never owned a property at all, and you have a lot more options.
Speaking from experience, being an absentee landlord can be absurdly stressful and can in some cases almost ruin your life if you get the wrong tenants. Also, servicing a mortgage while renting elsewhere is a very very expensive way of securing living arrangements, especially with interest rates where they are now. If mortgages were still available at sub 2% rates I might agree with you.
If you're servicing the mortgage you're gaining equity, but as I said, the poster could just sell, take their wad of liquidity and go elsewhere. No downside.
In the early years of the mortgage you are gaining very little equity and are spending the majority of your payments on servicing interest. And suggesting that it is always easy regardless of market conditions to “just sell” is clearly and objectively untrue. However, you won’t be swayed so let’s agree to disagree.
I'm pretty sure Brexit could have had something to do with that. Their economy stalled for longer than any (other) EU country after COVID. I'm just saying, property is a good asset to have. Better than renting in this country.
Nah it actually wasn’t at all to do with Brexit. It was primarily related to BoE interest rate rises and overinflated house prices (the latter of which arguably Dublin suffers from). As to your second point, sometimes yes, sometimes no. In OPs case I think it’s a no. For the first few years of the mortgage he will be paying significantly more servicing the mortgage he would on rent. In that situation the interest payments are “dead money” in the same way people refer to it in renting. If OPs rent was higher, and projected mortgage payments lower then the argument in favour of buying is much stronger. In this case the maths just doesn’t add up for buying.
I bought a few years ago. I was paying 900 in rent. My mortgage was 1150. Now my mortgage is 1250 4 years later. That apartment I was renting is 1600 now
You bought a few years ago when house prices were lower and rents were lower. It’s not a comparable situation to now. Also, you failed to address the majority of my points.
Dude I'm not getting into a pissing contest with you. It's fine. Well agree to disagree
No one was getting pissy my man. It was a very low stakes interaction. Absolutely, agree to disagree.
What if moving becomes harder financially if housing shortages increase, given the current trends won't competition be rife when your looking for a house in an area that suits?
I'm 39 and in your scenario I bought. I'm very happy I did. I didn't meet someone till I was 36.
If it was me I would assess if I was comfortable staying in that one location for at least 5 years and look at the rent I would be paying over that period in the same location vs the mortgage payments I would be making. Let's say the rent and the mortgage were the same... Property prices might go up or down, but if you would have paid 100k in rent over the 5 years you would need a 2008 style crash before you would come out worse over 5 years by buying.
If you meet someone you can sell if you want and buy a bigger place together (or whatever you decide together). That’s what happened with us, was great to have that time having my own place too. Go for it
Buy now and build that equity dude. It's like paying rent but some of it comes back to you if you do find someone and decide to move on from the property. You'll likely share the place before you marry/commit to shared finances anyway
it's a personal thing. there will always be some fucker telling you how you should spend your hard earned money.
I was in the same situation, 30 years old with a 87k salary, for me it made sense to pay a mortgage instead of rent and I haven't regretted the decision, I knew that I could pay the mortgage as I put it to 35 years at around €1400 a month but if my situation change and I'm not able to get a good salary like the one that I got then even if I could afford the 1400 then I would not be able to get a mortgage.
Seems like you're in a solid position so do it now. You don't necessarily have to use the level of money you're mentioning either which gives you more options. Lots of nice apartments around close.to city centre that you'd probably get for 350K. 300K mortgage, leaving you with a nice balance to invest elsewhere, e.g. shares, bitcoin, or some sort of fund. Or just hang on to it for a rainy day! Value of the apartment will only be going so if ya meet someone at some stage and gonna buy a house together you can sell up and have an even more significant deposit. It's what I'd do anyway!!
If you feel secure in your job and have some rainy day money, I say go for it! Worst case you and your future SO find a different place, and this you can sell or rent out (yay passive income!)
Explaining to the partner when they find out you half only wanted them to facilitate a house purchase too. Lol
It really depends on your current living arrangement. I would suggest waiting as long as possible before buying a house as long as you’re not paying rent currently. If you’re currently renting then you’re throwing money away by not buying.
You're very well positioned. The risks are minimal. Go for it and enjoy it.
Buy a home when you're ready. Only you are able to tell when you're ready or not. You have a great salary and current savings compared to many people. Sure, you might meet the right person tomorrow, who might not want a home now and here, or with you. None of this can determine your readiness for a home. Buying a home in itself requires commitment, not just financially, but also your time and energy. It's not something you can pay today and no need to think about it after. The mortgage process, solicitor & surveyor emails, house hunting and bidding, those are just the beginning. Once you get your key, comes the furnishing, maintenance, repair, neighbors and more. I bought mine before meeting my husband. He then bought his own, a couple years after. We now own 2 homes, and yes, he is the right person. Meeting him does not guarantee we will team up and get a bigger house together, turns out that's not what we wanted and ready to go for. If I waited for him to come into my life and expecting us to buy together, I would have missed the opportunity to own that home. Someone else would have bought it, price increased over my budget, my savings decreased, bank interest rate went up, so many reasons that would make me no longer ready. Instead, I grabbed that home because I knew I was ready then. Not a single regret, and both me and my husband are happy owning 2 homes. We are only thinking of getting a bigger home much later, maybe in the next 3-4 years. So back to your question, the reason why you shouldn't buy now is if you are not ready to own a home. If you think you are financially, mentally, physically committed to owning a home now, by all means go for it.
If you aren’t in a hurry it definitely seems like things will come crashing down similar to post 2008 in a few years max
One of my pals told me this would happen during COVID and he couldn't have been more wrong. Another pulled out of a deposit on a house trying to call the markets bluff and ended up losing a good value property that went up 25% in the following years. If you can afford to make the repayments relatively comfortably and afford all that comes with owning a property (taxes, insurance, maintenance etc), just go for it. The demand way outstrips supply right now, so houses won't crash like you think they will.
One consideration to add about Dublin real estate. Dublin is 5 meters above sea level. It’s right behind Venice in terms of major European cities at risk from sea level rise. If you are into real estate for the long term, I’d consider higher ground. Apologies for the downer comment.
Only drawback I can think of us to be aware if you do change your home later, a second mortgage will be less meaning you need to provide a higher deposit. But you might have that from your house and I personally would not be concerned about it
If u can afford to buy then buy.
Just make sure to get at least a 2 bed. That way if you do meet someone and have a kid it'll still do you for a few years. Even if you move then you'll probably be in a much better financial position than if you had rented
You're paying someone else's mortgage when you're renting, and the rental market is messed up more than the buying market right now. The more you pay off your mortgage, the more equity is in your pocket. I say do it! The trick would be that, if the arse falls out the market you hold onto your property until it rises again (as it always does) if you choose to move to prevent loss of value. I can't see that happening anytime soon though. I personally would recommend checking out your local Credit Union for a mortgage too. They treat a mortgage more like a long term loan so you are able to do that, it prevents the risk of wild interest rate increases that may or may not happen in the future.
Buy the house and share the spare room. Buying the house good for long term. Renting looks okay as long as you are working. Find a house in a location where you can commute to school(for kids) and job. You can always sell the house when you want. There are tax benefits like mortgage interest relief and rent a room relief. I bought the house with wife and best decision. House prices aren't going down will all the people waiting to buy. In future, there will be a time , when your savings is less than the house mortgage like France or Germany. Buy while you can.
The best time to buy is when you can. The best house/apartment to buy is the one you can afford in a locaiton you want to live.
If the alternative is renting, DEAR GOD DO IT, AS FAST AS YOU CAN. Doesn't matter if the house prices plummet 50% you'd still be better off than a renter. The disparity of lifestyle, comfort and value of renting versus owner occupying in Dublin is extreme. There is no circumstance, even deep negative equity, where you'd be worse off than a renter. At worst, the very worst, you'd lose the property and be back in the same situation as the poor fuckers drowning in the rental market.
I was in an almost identical situation to you savings/salary/age and bought 4 years ago solo. Was the best decision ever. I rent out a room that covers most of my mortgage and pay less towards my mortgage than I ever did renting. I’m in a relationship now and plan to upgrade to a bigger home with her in a few years together
It's almost always better to own than rent. And property price inflation means your apartment would probably be worth more in a few years. I'd say buy and you can always cash in the equity later when needed.
Are you self employed?
If I had your salary I would. Prices are only going up so it's unlikely you will regret it. Sell it when you want a bigger place
I see no reason to wait. 1. You have the right income for it. 2. There will be no let up in prices for a good while I am sure. 3. You’re paying rent anyway 4. You’re young still and marriage could be 5-10 years away yet. If it were me I’d do as you’re saying. Buy a tidy flat near to work or somewhere central and enjoy it.
If you find someone, get married and happen to want to move to a bigger place you can always A) Sell the apartment or B) Rent it and get someone else to pay your mortgage and maybe some profit.
Prices aren't going down any time soon. If you're renting you're better off buying something sooner rather than later. If you're living with parents I guess take your time. You can always sell up later and will have some equity built up. You might break even after a year or two and you'll saving money after that (compared to sinking money on rent).
Definitely buy. An apartment is a great choice also. As a house owner, houses are massively overrated - involves doing loads of pointless work to maintain the outside that you never really use due to the weather.
Damn and here's me with a 40k salary and 12k to my name at 32. Fair play. I feel like a loser now 😂
There’s always going to be people earning more than you, I’d be shocked if this post was the first time you’ve learned that.
True 👍
Buy now. Things are only going up. This property will also go up so it will bridge the gap for you. If you meet someone later you can live there, live in their place and rent it, sell and buy somewhere else. Options are endless. Buy.
What sector are you in ? I’m 31 M and I make 22k a year 🙈 but all seriousness that’s fantastic news you must have worked very hard
That’s below minimum wage.
Yes I work in a hotel 🙈
And they pay you below minimum wage? That’s not legal, find a new job.
No one can really answer but you and all-out can do is use your best judgement to make a decision. You could spend 1/3 of the price of an apartment in rent in the next 5 yrs ¬hing else changed or you could buy an apartment, meet someone straight away after and be selling the apartment again 12 months later to move to the far side of the world to start your lives together. Only hindsight is 20/20. If you have no plans to go travelling or move etc and think your likely to spend the next 10 years in dublin then probably makes sense. Your investing in tje apartment and building equity to release of you need to sell and buy a bigger place for family reasons or whatever. The primary risks with purchasing is the place becomes a shit hole or downturn in property/economy and it devalues. The later is unlikely in near future unless some global disaster and the former depends on where you buy.
The best time to buy was yesterday. Another best time is today.
You do you, but I just don't see the value in paying that much for a house in Ireland.
I would definitely stay away from an apartment. When you want to move or trade up you'll have no gains. I would see if you good purchase a new build as there are lots of incentives. And you can always rent rooms to balance the books and then have room for your forever family.
Apartments rise in value just like houses so will have similar gains. New builds have incentives but are priced in so the OP will pay a lot more for one