Property Advice

[bluecheese]

Hi guys,

I’m about to go sale agreed on a house in Hollystown for €458k. The house is Detached 3 bed 4 bath (2 en-suite). (The con is the location, very far from everything).

In the other hand, I have another house in a nice area of Lucan for €455k. The house is semi D, 3 bed 3 bath.

The first house is impressive, like movies house, but it’s very far from everything, the second house is more “normal” but it is in a mature state with many facilities.

Which of the houses would u go for?

 

[celiajones]

@bluecheese I'd go for Lucan rather then somewhere far out. You'll have a better life style, places to walk, maybe some nice neighbours etc.

 

[shuffle]

@celiajones Lad, it's 10 minutes from Blanchardstown. You're making out like it's in Leitrim ffs. It's actually closer to town than Lucan.

 

[celiajones]

@shuffle 10minutes drive though lad? If you have kids etc at some point it's better to have buses and facilities at your door step then having to ferry the little ferrets everywhere

 

[shadowst0rm]

@celiajones And 24 hour buses

 

[turkishgirl]

@bluecheese I lived in Tyrrelstown for many years (which is right beside Hollystown and shares all the services and transport) and it was actually a bit of a nightmare. I drive, but spent a lot of time in traffic commuting to get to the M50. But it was manageable. However, when I wanted to commute on public transport after getting a job in town, it's shocking - one bus and it takes forever to get you to Parnell Street (1hr 20min in the morning). Hollystown also doesn't have local shops etc, so you drive into Tyrrelstown, which honestly is gone pretty anti-social. It's predominantly rental property. Also, one thing with Hollystown is how many houses are being built, so it will get a lot more built up. Personally, if going to a location far out, I would go to one with a train service. We were promised one, but it never came.

If it helps, the main reason I moved from there was that there is not really any nice places in the vicinity. Lockdown really showed this, walks consisted of walking through different housing estates or business parks. I've moved to an area now that I'm a 10 minute walk from a nice park, 15 minutes to the village and amenities and it has a train service. It makes life a lot more enjoyable. I also grew up in a suburb close to town, which is now on the Red Luas line, and it's only when I went home for a bit that I realised how far and underserved it was out in Tyrrelstown.

Hope some of this helps, but if you can find a good, well serviced location, and get a house you can do up over time, personally I think it beats the nice spacious houses. Best of luck!

 

[bluecheese]

@turkishgirl Thank you for your report! I’ll take this into consideration for sure.

 

[mrsdunhill]

@bluecheese Quick google maps search says Hollystown is a 10 min drive from Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.

Is that correct?? Doesn't constitute 'very far from everything'!

 

[bluecheese]

@mrsdunhill It is, when I say far from everything I mean, there is nearly no houses there yet, just farms and no public transport either. Which gives the impression of a rural area.

 

[soulonfire4god]

@bluecheese I don't drive, so that always factored into my decision, but I preferred to be closer to things, and feel like I was somewhere with a bit more going on, then somewhere more out of the way.

A bigger house might be important if you need the space but do think about what will make your life better/easier. Maybe if it's a spectacular house every time you drive up you'll feel happy, and buzzed to be there, and that'll make the distance more manageable. But maybe you'll be able to over look a smaller space and more run down house if you're three minutes to a local shop or a good school.

 

[bluecheese]

@soulonfire4god Thanks for your advice, as my partner and I both drive that wouldn’t be an issue. I understand you point and fell the same.

 

[soulonfire4god]

@bluecheese I get the sense you know what house you want but want reassurance you aren't mad for buying a smaller less fancy house then you can afford (but i could be wrong!). So if it helps I did the same. For what I could afford I could probably have bought a bigger and nicer house, but I would have been really far out of Dublin not really near anything. Instead I bought a second hand house nearer the city that was a bit run down but doesn't need many renovations. I'm still really happy with my decision. Obviously it's personal for everyone but I wouldn't have been happy so far out with not much around so for me the "worse" house was a much better option.

 

[bluecheese]

@soulonfire4god Thank you for your thoughts. We are going for the bigger house and I hope I don’t regret . There is a new state being built there, so I believe more infrastructure will arrive there at some point. And the fact we both drive, we would suffer so much for the absence of amenities at the moment. Thanks again for your tips!

 

[soulonfire4god]

@bluecheese Oh it's fine. So much of buying a house is deciding what compromises you'll make, and what are your essentials. If you feel it's the best house for you then that's all that matters.

 

[spit344719]

@bluecheese I am aiming for mature areas personally and would choose Lucan.

Less renting going on so more likely that people care about the area, also, with all the new families, as the kids grow up you'll have a period where it'll be full of teenagers acting the bollacks. This is my personal opinion though. Hollystown I'd expect will have more transport links over time but this could take years

In regards to blanch center, it gets old pretty quickly and it's a nightmare around Xmas. Lived many years in blanch hence my opinion on it.

Best of luck with whichever choice you make!