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Better with Money with Aideen Finnegan
Stephen Farrell, programme manager with the SEAI, and Rachael Uí Bhaoill of Spreag.ie, speak to the Better with Money podcast about bringing vacant or derelict homes back into use.
“The best advice I can give is that when you’re going to buy an old house, assume everything needs to be done,” says Rachael Uí Bhaoill, a Co Kildare renovation strategist. She believes would-be buyers of an empty or derelict property should go in with their eyes open, expecting an old house will need to be rewired, replumbed and have its roof replaced.
“And then every time that something doesn’t need to be done, take it as a win. ” Uí Bhaoill used to be a corporate banker, but now flips homes and advises clients on renovations through her company” returns to our screens, it has prompted a discussion on the Better with Money podcast as to whether vacant or derelict homes in rural Ireland represent a good opportunity for first-time buyers, who are otherwise locked out of the market.
Yes, the empty properties dotted across our towns, villages and countryside are priced in the low six figures and have potential. But given the extensive work these “fixer-uppers” need, that could involve sinking another six figures into them to bring them up to modern standards.
“Why would you not look at a little two-bed town house in your Naas or your Trim or your Navan or your Bray and bring it back to life, use the derelict grants, use the SEAI grants that are available to you, put a bit of love into it have a small mortgage. ” But, she warns, don’t even think about browsing property websites until you’ve gone to the bank and established your financial situation first.
“I won’t even let my clients look at Pinterest until I know they have the money . ”Some grants, for works like insulation, adding solar panels or replacing a heating system, require the homeowner to pay contractors for the work in its entirety, recouping the money from the SEAI later.approach under the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme means it’s possible to draw down the grant immediately, before works get under way.
“If you do a whole house retrofit and avail of the one-stop shop approach, you could get grants on average up to 35,000. So if your builder gives you a charge of, say, 70,000 to install this and bring the house back to life and make it energy efficient, that’s deducted upfront,” says Farrell. There is also scope to apply for additional Government funding if a property built before 2008 has been lying empty for two years or more.
The It can be topped up by a further €20,000 if the home is deemed derelict by an independent, qualified professional. If all this sounds overwhelming, Uí Bhaoill is at pains to emphasise it’s worth pursuing nonetheless. She gives the example of a couple on a joint income of €100,000. Under the Central Bank of Ireland lending guidelines, they could apply for a self-build mortgage worth up to 3½ times their salary.
“If you’re buying a house for ... Let’s say it’s 100 grand, keep the math simple here, right? You’d effectively have scope to borrow another 250 for the work. ” And does she ever think people should raze these “cheap Irish homes” to the ground and start again with that money?
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