Hi all, just looking for some advice here.
28M recently mortgage approved for 248,000, with savings of 102,000 (I've been saving since I started working full time after college and have been lucky enough to avoid renting by living at home).
When I've had the end goal of buying in mind, I've always wanted a two bed, either duplex or apartment, primarily because I've always wanted a home library/office that can be used for WFH. But the price I'm going to end up paying for a two bed in a nice enough area is going to be hitting probably over 400k at this point.
My mortgage advisor seems to think I should get an exception easily enough based on what I'm putting in myself, but would I just be better off settling for a cheaper one bed? And what would be the rate of appreciation on a one bed vs a two bed? Given that this would just be a starter home, I know I'll be moving from it eventually.
I know how lucky I am to be in this position, any advice would be very much appreciated.
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Always aim for a two bed if you can, If times get tough you can always rent out a room.
Wait until you can buy 2 bedrooms one. Life changes so much after 28 and you will run out of space.
Id definitely get a 2 bed if you can afford it.
You then can rent out a room if you want or just have a wfh space /storage if you prefer
Personally I'd need an office since I wfh. It'd depend on the layout of the place if that'd have to be a bedroom or not, but It'd have to fit in somewhere.
I'd go with a two bedroom myself on paper, but it really depends on what you're seeing available. Like I wouldn't go with one okay bedroom and a box room. I've seen some box rooms and I literally don't know that you'd be able to do with them beyond storage. Don't pay a 2 bed price for a one bed with a glorified cupboard.
Thanks all, two bed seems to be the consensus. Obviously that's what I'd prefer, just seems to be a lot more competition for them and the bidding wars I'm seeing are taking prices almost 100k above asking at points. But I'll aim for them anyway.
The joys of the Irish housing market!
Definitely two bed dude. You'd rather have and not need, than need and not have.
Plus as others have pointed out, if you needed to due to change of circumstances, you could always rent the 2nd room to avail of the rent a room up to 14k tax free per annum
2 bed
Get the 2 bed and you can get the rent a room relief for a few years, bank that for when you need it and outgrow the space in 5-10 years. Even rent a room for 3 years will give you 30k tax free savings to put towards upgrade in future
If it's a starter home where you may be looking to trade, probably two beds in a decent location.
In my opinion, one bed doesn't really appreciate as fast and it is harder to sell due to 20% down requirement. They can be in high demand as a rental though. Also I personally find you can get a lot of sqm for much cheaper.
I personally bought a one bed to live in. Got an A2 one bed house with 68sqm + 30sqm attic + 30sqm garden for 260k in Dublin. Two bed would have been about 400k for little bit more space.
I fit a home gym, office, kitchen, dining table, and a guest bed in my living room.
This shouldn't be a matter of opinion. Surely there will be data available to confirm one way or the other.
I'd be surprised if there's a sustained significant difference in the rates, though, as, long-term, that would eventually mean you'd be able to get two one-beds for less than one two-bed, which just wouldn't make any logical sense.
I think it's just harder to get mortgage for one bed and whoever qualifies for them would likely be in the market for more beds. Your downpayment for a 300k one bed would be 60k but for 400k two bed, you're looking at 40k downpayment.
A quick search on daft, one bed is going for 250-300k and 2 beds start at 400k.
Which area of Dublin? And how much did you get it for?
I think you should focus on overall square footage for apartments. You may be eliminating older large one bedrooms in favour for a smaller 2 bedrooms.
Look up the YouTube channel never too small. Yes it's sometimes the extreme end of things but the configurations you see on them can help you eek out spaces in the apt
A 2 bedroom if I could afford. But I opted 1 bedroom apartment because management fee for a onebed apartment is about 1k, while twobed is more than 2k.
It depends on the management company. Where I live, each apartment owner pays the same maintenance fee regardless of number of rooms.
This isn't very fair for people living in smaller apartments. With smaller living spaces, they can have fewer people, generate less waste, and use the elevator,… less
I know. I have a one-bed and pay the same fee as the penthouse, which is the entire top floor. Just letting OP know not to be put off buying a two-bed if they can afford it because the management fee might be the same for each apartment.
Two bed, can always renr the room out
The definition of bedroom for Irish apartments is minimalistic at best. You may find on the market apartments saying they allow two bedrooms and the second bedroom can barely fit a couch. It all depends on the overall surface area and the layout. If most of the apartment is an open space, the bedrooms are going to be unlivable.
2 or 3
Two bed gives you flexibility that one bed doesn’t.
If your main reason for looking for a two-bed is the home office/library set up, could you find a one-bed with decent floorspace and segment off one part of it to get the same outcome?
This isn't addressing the issues others are raising such as appreciation or renting out the spare room, just the point you've raised as your main sticking point.
If you're 28 and know you're going to be moving on from the house at some point anyway, I'd be thinking about how I just get out of my family home ASAP and start the next phase of my life rather than holding on another 2-3 years until a nice 2-bed is within reach.
I went for a 2-bed (my first apartment was 1-bed). Best decision I’ve made. I currently use it as my office and guest room, but if my life situation would change (financially or family wise), there wouldn’t be a need to find something else asap. I’ve seen couples moving from their own 1-beds to rentals once the kids are born. Being able to rent a spare room tax free is also great.
Just look for old the old…. I bought a 1 bed and now I need a 2 bed but can’t afford to move as the I’m on negative equity now.
Don’t assume prices won’t drop with all the madness going on. That made a lot of people broke just a few years ago.
I bought a one-bed in the mid-00s - a big one. People also pushed me to go for a 2 bed with the notion that I could rent out a room if necessary, but I never wanted to be stuck living in a small space with a stranger out of necessity. I haven't ever regretted it. I do work from home nowadays but was able to separate a space for my office.
2 bed way better value
1 beds are tanking hard in London right now. They always do in a downwards market.
2 bed. I know people who regret getting a one bed.
For your own mental health it would be better to have a separate work space if you WFH. Plus it gives you more options if you meet someone later that you want to live with you, have a kid etc.
Get a two bed in a not so nice area
2 bedroom, period!