All about Dublin Property

Look for the right rental property

2010-03-02T09:08:00.001Z

AT LEAST a third of rented properties in Irish cities are failing to pass basic safety and quality inspections carried out by local authorities for the Department of the Environment.

There are up to 19,000 residential properties available to rent in Ireland, according to Daft.ie’s property report and rents have fallen by almost 25% since their peak in early 2008.

In Dublin city, 42% of rented accommodation failed its quality inspection. A total of 2,576 houses were inspected and 1,061 failed to meet regulations.

In Cork city, over a third of houses inspected failed to pass the test – 671 privately rented houses were visited.

A city council spokesman said a lack of ventilation was the main defect.

In Limerick city, a third of houses failed to meet Department of Environment regulations. The bulk of these failings, such as lack of fire blankets and emergency evacuation plan, were rectified by landlords on foot of an improvement notice but 8% of the failings were deemed serious and requiring a lot of structural work.

537 houses were inspected last year in Limerick city. Inspections followed complaints from the public and random inspection of those on the local authority data- base. A total of 12 properties were removed from the rent supplement scheme last year due to bad quality housing.

In the area of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, 38% of rented accommodation failed to meet the standards last year.

Up to 925 houses were inspected and 352 failed the test. Of those who failed, 22% of them rectified the problems without improvement notices while 149 had notices served and then complied. A further 20% of landlords whose properties were substandard are still being followed up.

According to a spokesman for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, lack of smoke alarms, fire blankets and inadequate ventilation were easily resolved but structural faults and dampness were more serious.

According to the Department of the Environment, when a landlord’s house fails inspection, a repairs letter is issued with a timeframe for compliance. If the dwelling still fails to comply after the expiration of the timeframe given, the council can initiate legal proceedings.

In the Fingal area, privately-rented properties are of a high standard, as the vast majority are new build properties. The council inspected 380 properties and over 95% passed inspection.

"Of the properties that failed the inspection, the vast majority failed due to non-provision of rent books. A small minority failed due to non-provision of appropriate fire equipment as set down under new regulations," a spokesman said.

The director of housing organisation Threshold, Bob Jordan, said standards introduced in 2008 are making a difference: "It does appear standards have improved hugely. We must also remember a quarter of the private rental stock was built since 2000. That all helps."

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Monday, March 01, 2010

Good News for potential office occupiers...

2010-02-24T09:26:00.001Z

WITH OFFICE rents still falling because of weak demand and high vacancy rates, Dublin has moved from the 14th most expensive office location in the world to 17th, according to a new survey released by Lisney and its international partner Cushman Wakefield.

Total occupancy costs (rent plus taxes and service charges) for prime space in Dublin at the end of 2009 were €511 per sq m (€47.50 per sq ft) compared to €620 per sq m (€57.60 per sq ft) a year earlier.

Dublin estate agency, says take-up in 2009 was well down on previous years, vacancy levels reached a record high of 22.6 per cent and, according to the Lisney rental indices, prime rents fell by 36.5 per cent.

For occupiers this had been very good news with exceptional deals on offer. “We anticipate that 2010 will present further opportunities for occupiers seeking space. However, vacancy levels, particularly in good quality city centre offices, should start to fall,” says Nugent.

The survey showed that occupancy costs in all leading global cities fell during 2009, the first such worldwide decline since 2003. Dublin experienced the second biggest fall in Europe at -38 per cent, only trailing Kiev in Ukraine which fell by 50 per cent in 2009. The survey noted that even previously resilient office markets were affected, including London’s West End, which slipped by 25 per cent and Warsaw’s central business district which recorded a decline of 24 per cent.

In the rankings of the world’s most expensive office locations, the top three cities remained constant with Tokyo moving into first place from second with occupancy costs totalling €1,441 per sq m (€134 per sq ft); London’s West End moved from third to second place with costs of €1,220 per sq m (€113 per sq ft); while Hong Kong fell from first to third position with costs of some €1,207 per sq m (€112 per sq ft).

Concern on newly built houses in Ireland

2010-02-24T09:17:00.001Z

UP to 20,000 homeowners in Ireland are facing the devastating "pyrite problem" which is destroying recently built houses.

The Irish Independent has learned that this many claims for pyrite-related damage, such as cracked floors and walls, have been made to the builders' insurance company HomeBond -- which may not have enough funds to cover the cost of all the claims.

Its cash reserves have dropped from €50m in 2007 to €26m, according to its latest accounts, due to declining stock market returns.

This means it would only be able to pay around €1,250 per household. The average cost of removing the pyrite from a house and repairing the damage is between €50,000 and €70,000.

HomeBond only covers a portion of the cost if the builder is liquidated or unable to pay for all the repairs -- so families are facing potentially huge bills to repair their homes.

The claims against HomeBond are separate to a landmark case presently before the High Court.

Quarries

According to an Irish Independent investigation, there are 20 building firms which have used material containing pyrite from at least four suspect quarries -- which are located in Dublin and Meath. These quarries are still functioning.

The affected houses are located in parts of Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Offaly where pyrite -- a mineral that expands in the presence of moisture and oxygen -- has been discovered in the infill material put in below their floors.

In Kildare, one family bought a €560,000 home which has been damaged by the presence of pyrite. Yet they are being offered only a €38,000 settlement by HomeBond when the total repair bill could be up to €220,000.

Fine Gael Meath East TD Shane McEntee said there was a "pyrite epidemic" waiting to be uncovered.

"Over the past 12 months I have been contacted by numerous householders who are experiencing defects within their homes. This is a problem which is affecting estates extending all the way from south Meath to north Dublin and into parts of Kildare," he said.

HomeBond was established by the construction industry in 1978 to provide a warranty to homeowners to ensure builders would fix defects that arose in their home over a certain period. And it would then step in to cover some of the costs if the builder was unable to pay.

HomeBond has provided cover for 680,000 homes since 1978 and now has 300,000 homes under warrantee.

Mr McEntee called on householders who were experiencing pyrite-related defects within their homes to contact HomeBond immediately.

HomeBond confirmed it was currently processing a number of claims for problems associated with excess pyrite under floors. It said it did not offer to cover the full costs of every household against structural damage because there were limits specified in every agreement.

Meanwhile, in the High Court, the Menolly Homes building firm and three associated companies are claiming damages of more than €18m against Irish Asphalt and the Lagan Group. The claims follow the discovery of pyrite in the infill material used under concrete floors in three new housing estates in north Dublin. The repair bill for the 400 houses affected is estimated at €20m.

The High Court is also due to give judgment tomorrow on an application by 175 of the affected homeowners to take separate legal action against Menolly Homes.

Irish Independent

Rents leveling off indicate stability!!!

2010-02-16T17:11:00.001Z

Rents across the country rose by just over 1% in January, according to the latest report published by the property website, Daft.ie. This increase while marginal is the first time rents have risen since they began to fall 24 months ago. The national average rent now stands at €765, almost 25% below peak levels seen in early 2008.

The January increase follows sharp falls in rents during 2009. Over the course of the year, Dublin rents fell almost 19%. Rents in Cork, Limerick and Waterford cities fell by 16%, while Galway rents fell by 11%. Elsewhere in the country, rents fell by an average of 15%.

Over the past 2 years the number of properties available to rent has increased from an average of 6,000 at any one time, to over 23,000 in August 2009. In February 2010 that number has fallen to 19,000 - a drop of 20%.

Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, Economist at Daft.ie said: "It is too soon to say definitively whether rents have levelled off, but the January increase does seem to be broadly consistent around the country. The levelling off is most likely a result of a steady fall in the number of properties available to rent nationwide. Over the past 5 months we have seen the stock of property available to rent fall by more than 20%."

Michael Taft, Political & Economic Reseacher, UNITE, commenting on the latest Daft research on the Irish property market.

The 2009 rental market provides further evidence of an unbalanced, boom-and-bust property market on the slide. National asking-rents fell by 15 percent, consistent with falls in industrial, commercial and retail rents. End of 2009 rents were 12 percent below end of 2002 levels. Stock over-hang, negative equity, plummeting investment - you couldn't write a worse script.

Though numerous commentators are talking up the prospect of 'turning the corner', we may be entering a period of what the IMF has described as a 'statistical recovery but a human recession', something the Government's deflationary policies are clearly engendering. Their fiscally irrelevant cuts in public sector wages and social welfare rates (despite claims, such cuts will have little impact on the Exchequer's deficit) presage a general drive to depress income and growth. January redundancy notifications exceeded the 2009 monthly average. Consumer spending could come under pressure from anticipated ECB interest rate hikes later this year (the domestic banks will beat them to it). Some may be turning the corner; the rest of us are walking a different street.

Falling rents may be welcomed by tenants but this may come at the price of reduced investment and more stock withdrawal (in the last six months of 2009, 20 percent was withdrawn - a result of over-concentration from the buy-to-let and tax-shield sectors). Rising rents - and January 2010 saw a slight increase, focused mostly on inner city Dublin - will be welcomed by landlords and their creditors but hardly by tenants, and certainly not by the enterprise sector which will suffer from displaced spending and upward wage pressures. The interaction of falling incomes, rising interest rates, higher unemployment and emigration could break in any number of directions for the rental market - most of them not good.

We need a ready supply of quality units at affordable rents which nonetheless provide a solid return to maintain investment (yields in 2009 were marginally above 2006 levels but this may come under pressure by next year without rent hikes). We need this to assist labour mobility and provide sustainable land-use. This is all the more the case when dealing with a commodity that is a social need, a special kind of good, and not just another item of consumption or capital.

To analyse the rental market using traditional instruments of supply, demand and return-on-investment can only take us so far. A significant section of the market is being kept afloat by massive public subsidy through rent supplement, the Rental Accommodation Scheme and the prospective social leasing arrangements. The escalating proportion of rent-subsidised tenants (estimated to be between a third and half of all tenancies) is such that traditional demarcations between 'public' and 'private' are no longer illuminating. Supply, demand and ROI are increasingly determined by public policy, not alleged free-acting market agents.

Historically, the private rented sector has been ignored by Governments although recent reforms such as abolishing bedsits are a welcome step. Nonetheless, the sector remains a fragmented, under-capitalised 'cottage' industry, lacking the professionalism and modern synergy with a strong regulatory culture that prevails in other EU countries. Much of this short-coming can be put down to the lack of institutional investors, insufficient regulatory over-sight, limited powers (and resources) for local government, and insufficient public capital.

We require a fundamental overhaul in the rented sector to increase investment, standards and tenant-safeguards while maintaining consistent rent levels and long-term yields. How do we get there from here? In other countries long-term stable institutional investment is attracted through special vehicles such as Real Estate Investment Trusts in the US. Here institutional funds were channelled through buy-to-let which contributed to the fragmented, boom-and-bust rental market. In other countries, rental markets provide life-long living, accommodating a range of demographics from singles, to families with children to pensioner; here, local authorities, shifting from managing housing stock in blocks and estates, are increasingly managing the leasing of a wide variety of private sector units spread out geographically and varying widely in standards; indeed, local authorities have found it difficult to find accommodation that reaches its' standard for tenants.

The public sector will be crucial to achieving such a transformation. Though tax incentives and other subsidies will be essential, large-scale institutional investment will be understandably wary at first. To kick-start this process, new municipal housing authorities or publicly-structured housing associations/cooperatives could be established. This would provide economies of scale, lower input costs per unit, raise management standards and design a market accessible and attractive to all demographics. Such vehicles could attract institutional investment, even by guaranteeing yields over the long-term. To the extent that such bodies would provide for both the public and private markets, traversing a divide that doesn't functionally exist in many sectors, this could reduce the cost to taxpayers.

This transformation would be accompanied by complete financial, rent and yield transparency. There is no reason why data regarding rents paid, yields and available stock should not be freely available to all. The private rented sector is plagued by lack of data which is why Daft provides a considerable public service.

In this new dispensation, the fortunes of the small-scale investor and provider could also flourish. Working from a new base-line of standards, rent levels and yields, the committed investor could inject flexibility into the market in terms of product differentiation, location and provision without disturbing the underlying stability.

As Dr. Nat O'Connor of TASC points out, the idea that middle to high-income people will all become owner occupiers is coming to an end. Hence, the renting demographic will broaden. In short, the future will be renting.

All the more need, then, for a quality-driven market - stable, professional, and profitable. This will no doubt require considerable upfront public investment. But the social and economic returns would be high. And such investment could be a small antidote to the Government's deflationary policies. This would help ensure that any statistical recovery is translated into a human recovery.

Update

2009-12-20T16:55:00.013Z

Despite all the doom and gloom, a great reputation, an excellent team and a positive attitude has served us well this year. Here's to a successful 2010. Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year from everybody at Vincent Finnegan Auctioneers.

First-time buyers bidding

2009-10-06T09:50:00.004+01:00

We have noted a large return of first-time buyers back into the property market. With a resounding Yes to Lisbon and subsequent liquidity for our two main banks through an increase in bonds, some first time buyers are calling the market at the bottom.

As well as activity increasing by fourfold, we have noticed the number of offers are increasing. Just over a quarter of all our listed properties are now under offer.

With the perception that Nama will work in the long-term, the budget tackling public spending in December and the global economy coming back sooner than expected – activity is up.

This could be the last quarter that you can really capitalise and benefit from a property market that has been on its knees for over 2 years now. There is a tangible feeling of optimism at viewings that has been all too absent in recent years.

Client & Customer Surveys

2009-09-01T09:28:00.003+01:00

Success in business depends on customers buying what you have to sell. This assumes you have a product or service that is priced right and you have an efficient organization. It all comes down to attracting and keeping customers.

Earnings come from customers, and the best way to increase profits is to attract and retain profitable customers. There is nothing new about this. The only thing that has changed is increasing competition and more demanding customers. You can do very little about the competition, but you can do a lot about customers, once you understand what is happening in the marketplace.

Today's customers are more demanding, more informed, and less loyal. They know what they want, how to find someone who will give it to them, and they will buy from them regardless of whom they have dealt with previously. Customers compelled the music industry to change how it did business. The effect of Napster was to force every major music company to offer digital distribution.

In dozens of cases customers call the shots, and it is just as pronounced in competitive shopping. People know where and how to look for the best bargains. Armed with the right hand-held technology, a shopper can scan the bar code of an item in any store and immediately go on-line to discover who has it for less. Most businesses have an advantage that offsets these factors: They already have customers. All they need to do is keep them; yet this isn't as simple as it sounds.

Companies that want to survive and thrive in the new economy must develop a different attitude about customers and a process that meets their demands. This is more than being "customer driven" or "customer centered" or paying lip service to some other platitude. Firms have been doing that for years.

A few major things stand out: companies that want to succeed will have to find out what their customers want; they will have to find a way to give it to them, and they must have employees capable of dealing with customers in a new way. None of this is difficult to do. There are no secrets of success here; just getting organized should do it.

How do you find out what customers want? It's so simple that I don't know how to make it sound complex. You ask them! You cannot assume that you know what they want and what is best for them. Find out from them. Don't rely on some expert to tell you. Unless you are listening to your customers, you are talking to the wrong people.

If you aren't doing this on an organized, regular basis, you aren't doing it right. Some ways of doing this are better than others.

Focus groups can be effective; however, they are costly, involve only small samples of your customers, and take a great deal of time.
Telephone or on-site interviews are better, but how many people you can contact is limited, and you run the risk of annoying customers if you stop them at your location or telephone them at work or at home.
Surveys are another option. They are less expensive, and you can contact every one of your customers, only your most important ones, or a specific sample of them. Paper and pencil surveys can be effective, but they are old hat. Electronic surveys offered over the Internet are cheaper and faster, and customers can take them at any time. Some companies have the software and expertise to design and administer surveys in-house; others outsource their needs.

Once you have discovered what your customers want, it's up to you to figure out how to give it to them. Most firms find that their own people have the answers and will be pleased to work on the problem once you empower them to do so. After all, who knows the business better than the people working in it? A task force or special committee is often the best approach; but don't forget to ask your customers whether the new process or approach is satisfactory.

Finding people with the right attitudes or skills to deal with customers comes down to two things: hire only those who have the qualifications, and re-train or replace current employees who don't match up. Getting rid of people can be a major problem. Re-training them may take time, but some excellent training programs are available. Don't make the mistake, however, of thinking that a two-day course will turn a miserable sourpuss into a charming delight. Hiring people who come with the right skills and attitudes may be the most effective approach. Fortunately, some excellent tests can enable you to screen new hires and measure the quality of the people you have now.

Any business can attract more customers, retain them and prosper in the days to come. This success simply depends on knowing what to do, how to do it, and having the will and determination to get organized to make it happen. There is no magic solution, no undiscovered secret, just common sense. Think it through for yourself, and don't waste time and money looking for a quick fix.

To this end, Vincent Finnegan Limited are currently carrying out a series of customer surveys over the coming months. We are focusing on client and customer needs. Our residential, commercial, valuation and professional services departments will all be working together to better facilitate you, our client and customer base.

If you have any comments or queries please email info@finnegan.ie

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Vincent B. Finnegan.

News Update

2009-08-25T18:01:00.005+01:00

Vincent Finnegan, busy September selling season expected by team at Vincent Finnegan Ltd., as August proves excellent sales month. finnegan.ie

Welcome to the new Vincent Finnegan blog

2009-07-30T19:57:00.013+01:00

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to our new blog. We hope you will find this blog beneficial as a vendor or purchaser but also as a landlord or tenant in both the residential and commercial sectors. We aim to keep you upto date and involved in the current economic situation that we find ourselves in. As we have over 25 years experience in the Dublin property market, we feel that we can offer the most appropriate advice to all existing and future clients.

This blog will include such items as news updates, feedback from the public about the property market, recent sales and rentals, the commercial market, general economic news etc and an overall view of our company.

We look forward to sharing our experiences with you.