Free car when you buy a house!!!

[ThomasJ]

You'd be mad to pay that sort of price in Dublin 15 even if it came with a free car. They (the developers/planners) should be focusing on public transport.

http://www.independent.ie/business/p...e-1337295.html

Developer offers 'free' car with new home
Friday April 04 2008

A DEVELOPER is offering a free car to anyone who buys a house in a new west Dublin housing scheme in the latest attempt to revitalise the moribund property market.

The Volvo C30, valued at €25,000, is being given away with every house purchased at the Alderwood development at Hollystown, in Dublin 15, according to McPeake Auctioneers.

Houses in the scheme, which have been built by a subsidiary of LM Developments, go on sale from tomorrow, with prices from €480,000 for a two-bed property.

A spokesman for the auctioneers McPeake denied the car giveaway was a gimmick, with the cost of it built into the price of the house.

The move comes as a new economic report has found that the sharp fall in house prices over the last year has made homes more affordable for first-time buyers.

And prices are due to fall by another 10pc this year in a move that will make houses even more affordable, economic consultants DKM said yesterday.

A drop of 10pc in property prices this year would come on top of a 9pc fall in the past year, which would take the drop since the peak of the market in January 2007, to 17pc.

The house price declines -- along with changes in mortgage interest relief in the last Budget -- mean that an average first-time-buyer couple now spends 22pc of their income on mortgage repayments.

This compares with 26.4pc at the end of 2006, according to the affordability index from EBS Building Society and DKM.

The changes have meant that the cost of servicing a mortgage on an average-priced home has dropped by €137 a month for a first-time-buyer couple, Annette Hughes of DKM said.

Improvement

EBS executive Dara Deering said the improvement in affordability meant now was a good time to buy, but she admitted that many new buyers would continue to stay out of the market if prices continue to fall.

Ms Deering claimed the new buyer market was now close to a tipping point which would see buyers return.

This view contrasts with a report from ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Wednesday, which predicted that the housing market slowdown would last well into next year.

[Mark Hennessy]

Why not lower the price of the gaff by 25k?

I'd love to know in what country a 2-bed not close to the centre/quality public transport/many shops and amenities sells for 480k?

This is lunacy, utter crazy bonkers lunacy.

[ThomasJ]

Things are gtting out of hand on the property front. The fact that this place as you said Mark doesn't have any property public transport and local amenities, you would think that those factors would affect the price?

Also would love to see how you combat traffic gridlock when you are doing this sort of gimmock?

[plant43]

The article is a bit misleading. It's €480,000 for a three bed, and it comes with a ton of extras (full tiling, full kitchen, jacuzzi bath)

With the car it might not be such a bad deal. Although €25k off would be nicer.

Pity about the location too.

[ThomasJ]

I agree with the location being poor being bad in that it is that it is nowhere near a rail station and the bus service is not the greatest. You'd need a car!

The news article says "€480,000 for a two-bed property" which I wouldn't even consider paying for a two bedroom house not without amenities such as proper public transport.

Hollystown, for anyone who wants to know its location is just behind Tyrrelstown in Dublin 15 near the N2, basically in the middle of nowhere

[Oisin88]

In Tullamore, which is only 1 hour commute from Heuston, you can get a 3 bed for 275,000 + either 2 years free mortgage or 1 year free mortgage + extensive kit out.

It is blatantly about the estate agents, etc. keeping the prices high.

[Mark Hennessy]

Originally Posted by Oisin88

In Tullamore, which is only 1 hour commute from Heuston, you can get a 3 bed for 275,000 + either 2 years free mortgage or 1 year free mortgage + extensive kit out.

It is blatantly about the estate agents, etc. keeping the prices high.

I'm no expert but for the purpose of house valuation for a mortgage, don't all the freebies have to be discounted anyway?
Is is not technically mortgage fraud if you get a loan to the full cost price of a house when the "cost" isn't accurate?

[Thomas Ralph]

I work for Halifax and can confirm that we would count the value of all that stuff against the value of the house when determining Loan to Value ratios.

I doubt it'd be considered mortgage fraud though.

[Colm Donoghue]

Originally Posted by Oisin88

In Tullamore, which is only 1 hour commute from Heuston, you can get a 3 bed for 275,000 + either 2 years free mortgage or 1 year free mortgage + extensive kit out.

It is blatantly about the estate agents, etc. keeping the prices high.

I'd go for the 15 year mortgage so and renegotiate after the first two....

[Mark Hennessy]

Originally Posted by tralph

I work for Halifax and can confirm that we would count the value of all that stuff against the value of the house when determining Loan to Value ratios.

Ok, can someone explain to me

So for a FTB: Hypothetical house for 300k.
Been on the market for a year, developer getting shifty so throws in freebies (kitchen + small car worth 15k) to make bank value the house at say 275k.

Now that the 100% is gone the way of the dodo, banks want 92% LTV so an FTB can only get 253k on this place leaving them to come up with a whopping 47k to pay the developer 300k.

Am I missing something here?
I'm not qualified in building at all but is the developer not making a whopper of a mistake by not lowering the price?

[Thomas Ralph]

We still offer 100% mortgages. [/spam]

But yes, in the situation you describe, the buyer (or, as we're increasingly seeing, the parents) need to come up with quite a bit of funds to get the sale through.

[Colm Donoghue]

Originally Posted by Mark Hennessy

Ok, can someone explain to me

So for a FTB: Hypothetical house for 300k.
Been on the market for a year, developer getting shifty so throws in freebies (kitchen + small car worth 15k) to make bank value the house at say 275k.

Now that the 100% is gone the way of the dodo, banks want 92% LTV so an FTB can only get 253k on this place leaving them to come up with a whopping 47k to pay the developer 300k.

Am I missing something here?
I'm not qualified in building at all but is the developer not making a whopper of a mistake by not lowering the price?

obviously not the car, but good quality fittings( or are they fixtures) would add to the value of a house. like a kitchen or tiling or floors.

[Thomas Ralph]

Yes, sorry should have been clearer. Fixtures and fittings would be included, movables would not.