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AT A TIME when house prices in Ireland are almost 20% higher than they were at the peak of the Celtic Tiger, purchasing a home has arguably never been more difficult.
We asked you, our readers, for your stories about buying or trying to buy a home in Ireland and in response, we received dozens of replies from people who felt frustrated, ripped off and in some cases taken advantage of by the professionals they encountered during the process.
Many who shared their stories said they felt the estate agents they had dealt with were taking advantage of people desperate to get on the property ladder.
Some people who reached out are still on the hunt for their home, and many reported feeling despondent, with some giving up and choosing to continue renting for the foreseeable future.
The overriding theme in responses was a frustration with the lack of transparency in the home-buying process, particularly the process of bidding on secondhand homes.
For the new build market, readers told us about issues with changes being made to plans and estate agents giving incorrect or false information to potential buyers. Common to these responses again was a frustration over the lack of transparency in the process.
One reader, Carl, who is a first-time buyer in his forties and in the process of buying a home with his wife, told us about the stress of trying to secure a new build because of the lack of information that is given to buyers.
“We have met agents at viewings who open the door to tell you that you need to pay the €5k booking deposit before they’ll even really talk to you…Even now, we have signed contracts and are waiting for utilities in order to complete, but we have no idea of even an approximate time frame – we’re told anytime in the next 24 months.
“We’re investing so much time, money and energy into the property, but we are not even given basic information, such as when we might be able to plan to move.
“This seems poor practice to me, especially as we are renting in Dublin in the meantime and throwing a lot of money away while we wait. It is disrespectful to the buyers,” Carl wrote.
Readers also got in touch with stories related to the sky-high asking prices attached to some properties and the inflated prices attached to derelict homes.
One reader told us that they have had several instances where estate agents have told them that the higher asking price of vacant or derelict properties is due to the availability of government grants.
Many people also got in touch with stories of difficulties attached to being in a chain.
A lot of these readers, who had a house to sell before they could purchase a new one, said estate agents favoured cash or first-time buyers.
A number of people in chains said they felt like they were just used as part of a bidding war to drive up the price.
“It’s a complete scam,” one reader in Wicklow wrote.
“When myself and my husband were looking to buy a house, the estate agent told us there was a bid in at €400,000. We found out later that this was a cash buyer and the seller had accepted the offer,” the reader wrote.
Despite this, the reader was encouraged by the estate agent to put in a higher offer. The cash buyer then increased their offer to €410,000, which the seller agreed to sell for.
“It was just a ruse to sell the house for more money,” the reader said.
“At another house viewing, which we wanted to put a bid on, I was told by the estate agent my offer wouldn’t be considered as there were two cash buyers bidding against each other. The agent didn’t want to deal with mortgage applicants…I really feel for people in the market now,” the reader told us.
Another reader, whose house has been sale agreed for eleven months, but who has not yet managed to have an offer accepted on a new house, told us: “Our hopes are shattered, and we can’t trust the estate agents. We are now in a position where all properties are going up, and we might have to ask our buyers for a better offer, or re-market our property, which never looks good to see a house go back up for sale.
“We basically get lied to and used, and never seem to get anywhere with a purchase as we are dependent on selling our house first, contract signed, before any consideration on offers.”
Another reader, Gavin, told us how he has previously bought new and second-hand properties, but faced major issues purchasing his most recent home last year. This was a new-build property with a value of €800k.
Gavin was not alone in telling us how he was advised to sell his current home and enter the rental market before buying a new home, a risk he was not willing to take.
“First and foremost, the number of developers that refuse to engage with anyone in a sales chain was shocking, particularly considering the value of the home. Some flat out refused to deal with us,” he said.
He also highlighted issues with the developer and the slow pace that work was carried out by the bank and solicitor.
“It’s like dealing with the worst IT service desk you’ve ever encountered.
“Our solicitor was ok, but clearly once engaged, they have no sense of urgency,” he said.
On the developer, he said they placed a clause that he was advised was “nearly illegal” in the contract.
“They wanted to charge €200 per day for every day you fail to close beyond the agreed closing date, effectively penalising the buyer for any delay.”
Many of the readers who reached out to us shared their frustration about the complete lack of transparency when bidding on second-hand homes.
“The buying system lacks any transparency. You don’t even know if there is a real person up against you,” one Dublin-based reader in her fifties wrote.
A report from property selling platform MyHome.ie earlier this year found that on average homes are being sold for 9% above the asking price, with one in seven selling for 20% above.
Many readers told us that they felt the estate agents they dealt with were “chancing their arm” to get the highest possible price and the easiest possible sale.
A number of readers told us that they learned from their estate agent after securing the home that they had overbid on the property.
Andrew, 33, in Dublin, told us how he secured his home for 14% above the asking price.
“To cap it all, the agent — in their typical tactless manner — let slip that my offer was several thousand above the next best bid, basically admitting they’d taken me to the cleaners.
“Adding insult to injury, the agent later phoned to request a glowing written review. I never want to see them again,” he said.
Another reader, Kevin, was in a selling chain around four years ago. He and his partner initially bid €10k over asking but were told by the estate agent that the seller would only take €20k over asking.
Kevin and his partner agreed and secured the home. Eventually, he became friendly with the person they bought the house from.
“He remarked to me one day that we overpaid for the house, and he would have taken the asking price because he wasn’t interested in making loads of money from the house. He just wanted a quick sale as he had a deposit put down on another house.
“I told him that I paid that amount because the estate agent told me that he wouldn’t accept our first offer.
“Turns out the estate agent never went to him with our first offer.
“Still makes me angry to be treated like that,” Kevin said.
Another reader, who wished to remain anonymous, told us that she and her partner were bidding on a house they really wanted that was being sold through a well-known estate agent.
Bidding went €60k over the asking price, but the estate agent would not tell them if they were the highest bidder.
The reader phoned the agent and spoke to a person in the office who told her there was no update available.
“I got my sister to ring them five minutes later and she was told they went sale agreed.
“I rang back straight away and asked the same girl about what she said to my sister, she hung up on me. The agent eventually rang back and said that our bid wasn’t high enough. Absolute disgrace,” the reader said.
Rob, in Dublin, told us how he bought his home seven years ago at the age of 30.
“We had a really good rapport with our estate agent but we didn’t trust her even a little bit,” he wrote.
“She was from one of the big agencies. After a lengthy bidding war that drove the cost of the property up from the initial asking of €350k up to €395k we were told that a final bid of €5,000 [more] would secure us the property.
“We took a full 48 hours to agree and once we’d bid €400k, she relisted the property on Daft because hitting that threshold moved it into a new bracket of searches and drew the attention of potential new bidders.
“She advertised a new viewing and we got in touch to say we were no longer interested if this was how she was going to conduct business. I’m not sure if we ended up calling her bluff but I don’t think the viewing went ahead and we ended up going sale agreed without having to place a new bid.
“We were under our max budget, but I’m still convinced she was chancing her arm and when we threatened to pull out, we spooked her.”
Another reader told us how an estate agent in West Cork didn’t put their offer to the seller so that they could have a faster sale from a cash bidder.
“The estate agent told us that our higher offer was not being accepted and the vendor was taking a lower offer from a cash buyer. I then used the land registry to find out the name of the seller, then Googled her name and address.
“Luckily, she was self-employed and I found her email address. I emailed her and asked her if she was aware that we made a higher offer than the one she accepted.
“She didn’t reply but the estate agent emailed us the very next morning saying that the seller has accepted our offer into the bidding chain.
“Arsehole of an estate agent hadn’t made her aware of our offer because he wanted a faster sale from the cash bidder. We bought the house and love it!”
The reader added: “Sometimes it pays being a cheeky fecker.”
Another reader, William, who has been searching for a home in Munster, wrote to say he has given up his search and is happy renting for now.
William’s main frustration with the property market in Ireland, like many other readers, is the bidding process, which he dubbed “completely archaic”.
He described driving to viewings and taking time out of work to make an offer on the “sticker price” of the home, only to be outbid within 24 hours.
“This method of buying a house is completely archaic, based on centuries-old British land laws, and is considered highly repugnant in other countries,” William wrote, highlighting how in some countries, bidding on “an essential resource like residential real estate is heavily frowned upon.”
William noted that in Germany, for example, most properties are offered for sale at a fixed price.
He concluded: “This is not worth my time at all and for that reason I’ve decided to just continue renting for now as at least I have some transparency with what I’m paying and what I am getting for my money.”
Other readers got in touch with stories of dodgy practices from estate agents.
Jill Magan told us she and her partner had been trying for four years to find a home with their “tiny cash budget”.
On two properties, they went sale agreed. In one instance, the surveyor found that the septic tank was in the field behind the house and on land not included in the sale.
“When we told the agent we would not proceed with the sale and why, we got ‘it’s grand, you can easily make a new one’. There was zero space behind the house and a small front garden next to the street. You could give the benefit of the doubt here, but the property was back up on Daft two days later (we reported it),” Jill said.
On another property they went sale agreed on the agent and the solicitor worked on the same street as each other.
The solicitor told Jill and her partner that if they went ahead with the purchase they would have to sign a document that said he advised against it due to an extensive list of problems with the contract.
“Crossed the street to tell the agent we were withdrawing our offer and he also did a ‘sure don’t worry about all that, I’ll have a word with [solicitor]’,” Jill said.
On another property they viewed, the couple were told by the local postman that there was a major problem with subsidence and dampness in the development. The agent claimed to know nothing about it.
Jill and her partner have since managed to buy a property in Offaly.
Overall, readers struck a sombre note when describing their experiences of the property market in Ireland.
One reader, who saw the builder of their new build home removing items from the property “presumably to pass a snag in another house” signed off with some advice for anyone buying their first home:
“Don’t be in a rush to get the keys. The seller is just as eager as you… All issues must be resolved before you sign, and make them believe that you are quite happy to walk away at any stage.”
Some quotes have been edited for clarity and brevity.
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