Home Buyers Guide

Chapter 4: Choosing the Right Property

Step 2: Decide if you’d prefer a house or an apartment.

The first question you should ask yourself is whether you want to buy a house or an apartment. There are pro’s and con’s of each. A house was always my first choice – but it’s really down to your personal preference.

Things to consider if you want to buy an apartment:

Apartments have an annual service charge or management fee to cover:

• Cleaning of common areas

• Upkeep of the garden

• Rubbish collection

• Building insurance

• Lighting of communal areas

• General maintenance

• ‘Sinking Fund’ for major repairs

This fee varies from apartment to apartment but is often in excess of €1000 - €1500 per year.

The estate agent selling the property will be able to tell you what the annual fee is.

You may need a bigger deposit than if you’re buying a house.

Some lenders require home buyers to have a bigger deposit if they are buying an apartment rather than a house. It may seem unfair, but the banks are concerned that there is a huge oversupply of apartments in Ireland at present.

As a result they believe that apartments are a bigger lending risk.

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