August 8, 2024 • 34 mins
Welcome to another episode of the Crazy House Prices podcast with your host, Ciarán Mulqueen. Today, we're diving deep into the vacant home grant—a hot topic on my Instagram lately. I've chatted with two amazing guests: one waiting on drawdown and another who has already drawn down.
If you haven't heard of the vacant home grant, it's an opportunity for owner-occupiers and even landlords to get up to €70,000 when buying a vacant or derelict property. But, as always, there are some bumps in the road! From conflicting council info to needing upfront funds, we cover it all.
Grab a notepad, or open your notes app because you’ll want to jot down these tips and experiences. And don't miss the crucial tip I share in the outro about verifying if a home truly qualifies for the grant. Trust me; you won't want to miss it!
So, let's jump right in and hear from Eleanor about her year-long wait for funds, followed by Tom, who has successfully drawn down his grant. And hey, if you’re enjoying the podcast, consider supporting me on Patreon for exclusive content and more. Happy listening!
You can order my book: "How to buy a home in Ireland" here
Please support the Podcast and Instagram if you can over on my Patreon
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:11):
Agus Fáilte Arash to the Crazy House Prices podcast.
I'm your host Ciarán Mulqueen and today we're talking all about the vacant home grant.
I have interviewed two guests, one who is waiting on drawdown and one who has drawn down.
This has been a huge topic on my Instagram page over the last while.
If you're unaware what the vacant home grant is, it's
(00:33):
basically a grant that owner-occupiers can get
when buying a home that has been vacant for two years or more
i think it has since been extended to somebody if they want to buy and
rent it out also the standard grant is 50 000
euro with a top up of 20 000 euro
when the property is confirmed confirmed by the applicant to be derelict so
there's potential there for 70 000 euro of a grant if you buy derelict property
(00:56):
that has been vacant for two years now there are a huge number of issues with
the grant and how it's operated as usual with a lot of things the government are.
Doing when it comes to housing they kind of rush things through without
figuring them out completely uh which is which i
understand you know they need to tick boxes and they need to try and get stuff
done but sometimes it just causes a lot of teething problems
(01:17):
so for example just 100 of more than 6
000 applicants for grant aid to refurbish homes
under the government scheme had been paid out by the end of
last year and that's according to figures from the irish
times but one of the biggest issues seems to be
conflicting information depending on which council you're dealing
with so there's also the issue that you need to have
(01:38):
the funds up front and you get reimbursed at the end
from the council once everything has been inspected and
it's proving really difficult to get the inspection it's also
you know not everybody has access to 70 000 euro or 50 000 euro or whatever
it is if you're doing a renovation it's likely going to be costing more than
that anyway especially if you're in dublin but there are lots of other problems
and i've been getting a lot of complaints from people who are going through
(02:02):
the process but But it's not all bad,
as you'll hear later on in this episode.
There are lots of helpful tips in each conversation.
So I recommend grabbing a notepad or opening your notes app on your phone and
taking down details or timestamps to refer back to. That's something I do.
And I know I'm listening to something that, you know, might require one or two
listens rather than listen to the whole thing.
(02:23):
You can just take timestamps and get back into the bits that really are applicable to you.
You also really make sure you listen to the outro at
the end as I have a very important tip for you if you're currently looking at
buying a house and it's been advertised as being eligible for the vacant home
grant so let's get into it first up we will hear from Eleanor and get her experience
(02:44):
as she is still waiting to draw down the funds.
I am just going to pause the podcast for a second to talk to you about some
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(03:06):
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(03:27):
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Eleanor thank you so much for coming on on the crazy house
prices podcast to talk to us about your experience with the
vacant home grant uh so if you
(03:49):
wouldn't mind just letting us know which which council which council
are you dealing with when it comes to your grants yeah i'm
with dublin city council okay and where
are you in terms of a application stage
uh have you done the work are you waiting on drawdown or
where are you um i'm waiting on drawdown and have been
waiting on drawdown for nearly a year right so uh right
(04:12):
we'll get to that that's absolutely insane but let's
just maybe go back to the start because i know the application process people
are saying is very tedious so can you
kind of talk us through the application process what steps did you have to take
initially yes so i am i went to celebrate in a house in inchicore in september
2022 and um my other big bugbear with the house buying process in ireland is
(04:35):
probate but that's a conversation for another day yeah um but because Because
the probate took so long,
at the time when I first bought the house.
Dublin City Council wasn't on the list for the vacant property grant.
And by the time the probate cleared and I bought the house, it was.
So I think when I initially, I mean, I started filling out applications in late 2022.
(04:57):
And I think back then you nearly had to get quotes from all the builders for
the work, which I think still is the case.
But I definitely remember the application form changed at one point and I had
to refill everything out.
Um so i think i put that in and maybe oh
god somewhere between october 2022 and february
2023 but it actually became quite fortuitous in the end that i got the keys
(05:18):
for this house in march 2023 and the week i got the keys was when they did the
first inspection and that was a very nice guy who they sent out and to be fair
like this house had been empty eight years it um there were burn marks and plugs like there was
crazy wiring everywhere. Like
you could tell the place needed work and he spotted that straight away.
(05:39):
So yeah, I remember everything about it being quite tedious.
Like even when I first went on the website, like there was no button to click
to like apply and it was all this digging.
And eventually I found an email address and that's how the ball started rolling for me.
And then yeah, it fell out one application form. Then it changed. I just fell out another.
And I did that. They did the first inspection and then I started the work and
this house needed the work.
(06:00):
I would have been doing it no matter what and so i started the
work i think early april 2023 when they'd
done the first inspection yeah so you had approval
before you have to have approval before you touched the
place is that right i i actually didn't um so you
have to have in the inspection has to be done before you
touch the place because otherwise they won't know um what
(06:21):
state it was in and did they take photos during the inspection
or what did they do he did now he didn't take loads photos he took
a few but again there were burn marks and flogs I
was able to very easily prove the house had been empty eight years and
so that part of the process was very simple he
would again the guy who inspected it was like oh this place needs
work I'm putting you forward no like he took some photos again like there was
(06:43):
a brain pipe outside that was rusting and looked like it was about to fall off
the house and and some other issues and but no I did I I started the work early
april because i knew whether they approved me or not i was going to have to do it yeah and.
The house was empty i was fortunate that i was living with my mom at the
time so and me and my builder had
decided like this we're gutting it and so the one thing i will say and this
(07:07):
is where you really when you're filling out the application form have your builder
sit down with you go through it because it's line itemized and you need to have
every single amount correct because Because later when you go to get the money,
they're going to go through with the fine-tooth comb.
But sorry, I'll just say, so the kind of step-by-step process for me was I had
the first inspection late March, started the work early April.
(07:29):
I didn't get the approval letter till mid-May of 2023.
And I was approved for 30 grand. And by that time and point,
it had gone up, the amount had gone up to 50.
And I asked, I said, oh, can I get approved for 50?
Like I spent much more than 50 renovating the house top to bottom.
And I was told, oh, you'll have to reapply and start again.
(07:51):
And I didn't because the work had already started. I didn't really know how
that was going to look. And because the process had been a bit confusing,
I didn't know how to do it.
I just felt, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, take the 30 grand and keep going.
So I think in mid-August, I contacted Dublin City Council and said,
right, the work's nearly done.
Can we book in a second inspection for some time in September?
(08:12):
And they came back and said, that's fine. And that again was,
that was an easier part of it. We got a date lined up.
And the only thing I found a tiny bit annoying was they sent a different guy
to do the second inspection.
And I was like, you did not see what a shit heap this place was before.
Like um but he and again like any
renovation for you know it's a lot of the work's in behind the walls but
yeah he gave him a full tour showed him all the changes and
(08:35):
he took some photos but again sorry i've been told by dublin city council document
everything photos videos obviously you're going to have your receipts but they
were like take progress imagery and video which i was doing and so he was like
oh yeah like you know the place looks great this is all fine but he had
to print a copy of my application form and he said oh
um now everything you put in this they're only going
(08:57):
to give you the amount you said so if you said replumbing cost
five and you actually paid seven you're only getting five
back okay and and that's where he was and i honestly at this point was like
can i have a look at that i haven't seen that in months i can't even remember
what i wrote on it um so the one thing i would say again this is my like hot
hot hot tip to anyone doing in this application process sit down with your builder
(09:20):
do the application form together i would.
Add 20 to every predicted cost just to
cover yourself but if you say again rewiring is
going to cost 10 even if for some forsaken reason of course you're
15 you're only going to get 10 back and everything
has to be in the correct area i kind of
threw down a lot of things that i knew i was doing i did have
quotes for a lot of it which was good but some of them i was kind of
(09:43):
guessing the estimate um and he said oh they're only
going to give you back what you again wrote to
each section so I had my second inspection in September I
still don't have the money so it's again we're 10
months later um I think around Christmas
I got asked for my IBAN and my solicitor's
contact details so I was like oh my god it's coming soon and
(10:04):
so at that point I've been waiting three months and every time they
contact me my dad I get back to them straight
away i do whatever they ask and i found
some parts of it a bit you know like in december i was
asked for tax clearance certs for all my my builder.
My plumber and my um builder plumber and
the electrician and um that was fine i
(10:24):
got those i sent them over but it's just it's all quite bitty yeah like
it's streamlined where you're just told ahead of
time here's all the things you need to brought down yeah so it's
it seems to me that yeah you know they they put this thing in place without
actually working through how how it would work in the real world so you obviously
(10:45):
have a good relationship with your builder then if you're able to sit down with
him and or her and go through all the the quotes so did this human because it was so long ago um.
And I know how renovations work. I did one myself. I know the price of things goes up.
So when you initially put those quotes in, did anything go up after that?
And if that was the case, so you're not getting the extra money for that.
(11:08):
And are you still only getting the 30 or are they giving you the 50?
No, so they're only giving the 30. And also they're now only trying to give
me 20 out of the 30 based off my application form and the receipts,
which is crazy because my, the re-plumbing, the rewiring, and then a huge part
of the kind of actual building work,
pulling down the walls, rebuilding them, all of which is covered by the grant.
(11:28):
Those three things literally come to $29,300.
And I have those three receipts. I have tax clearance certs for all of those people.
I'm like, can you just give me $29,300 and let's call it a day?
But because my application, again, I didn't itemize it exactly specifically,
correct me. There's a section for substructure.
(11:49):
This is what I'm saying. If you're going to go for this grant, get your building,
it's the time to beginning go through everything again I
had quotes for some stuff but they're now being kind of sticky about
the money one quote they at the moment
and they didn't so when they came to
me it's 20 I was like can you give me a breakdown of the costs how does this
work then they did give me that and my plumbing isn't on it and there's no reason
(12:13):
why I can see why they wouldn't have a tax clear insert I pay that money and
and now I'm looking at that receipt and I I think there's a bit of handwritten
writing on it. I don't know if that's an issue. Um, I don't know.
Address my full address wasn't on it so i basically got
the plumber to reissue that receipt with all the details i actually
printed out my bank statement and highlighted the payments to send
that off so again if you're applying for it like i just think
(12:36):
the information you're giving again isn't clear enough again sit
down with your builders make sure you're hiring people who have tax
care inserts and are going to give those over to you which is fair enough
like you have to reliable suppliers who pay their
taxes whatever um and then it's just that timeline to
the money like it's it's been coming on a year since
my second inspection you could go weeks or months without
(12:57):
a reply or an update you really have
to pay stuff and this is insane that's insane
like nearly a year and nearly a year and then it's
again this thing of i have valid receipts from valid suppliers
coming for valid works it's covered by the
grant coming to the exact amount i was approved of but because
my application is the itemization is
(13:18):
slightly off i'm being really argue back
on this um i'm getting stressed for
you i know i know that's insane like we
all pay so much taxes i pay so much taxes every
year so i just feel like the reward of paying taxes is grants and stuff like
this and um i like i was very fortunate that like all of those suppliers because
(13:41):
you have to pay everybody up front and obviously you get the money back and
i thank god was able to pay all
of those people but only because i could borrow money from my mom who i.
Now owe money to who luckily isn't um you
know she isn't banging down my door looking for it but that's
the thing if if you had gotten a loan out say from
the credit union which is what most people are doing most people are getting
a loan from the credit union at whatever eight nine percent interest
(14:04):
you're paying nine percent interest on the loan for
nearly a year now like that's thousands extra just just because like have they
given a reason why it's taken so long or is there there's no you don't have
a point of contact or anything in there that you can just like ring i do and
like they are nice like i just want to say like they're very nice on email i feel,
(14:26):
I feel like I've got Stockholm syndrome with Dublin City Council.
Like they have all the power and I need to play ball, but I'm also like frustrated.
But yeah, it just takes a while for them to get back.
But I know someone else who's doing a Dublin, sorry, Dun Laoghaire,
Rathdown County Council, and they're also waiting ages and they do have a loan
with the credit union and they're
(14:46):
like having sleepless nights over paying that back. I'm sure, yeah.
At the, you know, 9% interest rate. and so
it's just again to anyone who's
going to do it like if and when i get the money and it's
all worked out it will be great but um it's just it
takes so long and um again i'm
(15:08):
very lucky that my mom could lend me the money so your main tip would be having
gone through nearly finished going through it i won't i won't we won't go into
the details about the renovation that's a whole other topic but i know the way
renovations work there's always there's always things you don't predict There's
always a cost and all that, and it's very stressful,
I know, I've been through it, it was, you know, a really hard thing to do.
(15:29):
But that's, again, another topic, but I guess just focusing on the actual grants.
And so your main tip for people then would be.
To sit down at the start to make sure
the application is perfect and sit with
the builder and go through every single little detail but what like
a lot of builders maybe won't do that without knowing
there's a full commitment there that you're actually going to go through with
(15:52):
it because yeah oh yeah and also i
like i didn't use a one-stop shop builder i
actually used a bunch of different suppliers all of like i
like the electrician and the plumber and the builder they all didn't
know each other they didn't you probably yeah yeah i
i project managed it so that's why i think i but
i know some people who've just hired a one-stop shop builder who subcontracts
(16:13):
all those things so if that's what you're going to do get that
builder to sit with you go through the grant you're paying
them directly so they're they're not losing out they're not.
The ones waiting on the money yeah and then my second thing
would be for your receipts when you're submitting them make
sure you're correct and full addresses on it make sure the
the dates correct and just make sure everything looks really
(16:33):
pristine and then you also be asking
for the tax clear inserts um when you're
finished with the renovation because you're going to have to submit up to date ones of
those for your suppliers which again if you're finding i don't
know maybe some suppliers are not paying their taxes you
need to just make sure it's people who are going to be willing to give you that stuff yeah
um so it's definitely it's a
(16:54):
lot of stress and it's a lot of waiting i mean when i get the
money i'll feel very happy and i think it's a a great initiative
from the government to to make
people buy like like i saw some gruesome houses
when i was something this place was gruesome when i bought it but the long-term
potential um is why i went i have no regrets and i just want the money that's
(17:18):
all that's my final note i want the money please give me the money to the city
council well look hopefully the money comes
in ASAP in time for maybe a little summer holiday or something.
But listen, Elinor, thank you so much for coming on and giving us your experience.
Thank you so much. I'm going to pause the podcast for a second because I want
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(17:41):
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(18:02):
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(18:24):
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back to the podcast now we
will hear from tom who has actually managed to draw down
now i have tom on the podcast
with me now to run us through his experience with the vacant home grant and
(18:48):
how he got on with it so tom just talk talk me through the initial stages then
the application and and then we'll get on to you know where you are i know you've
drawn down so So people will be really interested to hear that.
So talk me through, anyway, from the start, your application process.
What did you do with that or how did you find it? So my application was put in in November of 2022.
(19:14):
And I got my initial inspection in January.
And I didn't hear anything until
the end of March. Then I got a second inspection at the end of March.
Sorry, early April by 200 inspectors. and then I got my approval letter in May.
So there was nearly a seven-month gap between when I got my approval letter.
From application to approval, seven months.
(19:36):
Yes. That's in the city council, is it? Yes. And in terms of the actual application,
the form itself, did you do that by yourself or how did you manage it with costings
and all that? I done everything by myself.
Bear in mind, when I applied, the grant became just available for the city scheme.
It wasn't just a pre-commitment act.
(19:56):
Rural scheme so initially i had
an a to z file that i handed in to the
offices and i didn't hear anything back and then
when i contacted the department for the grants
and loans there was actually no body looking after
these grants because they were only new the government announced them without
actually liaising with the local authorities they
(20:17):
have a tendency to do that my lord you know the
announcement without uh informed local authorities and it
was paperwork it was look i picked the
day where i went off and got everything that i needed to get
and every time that i needed something else like a
um surveyor's letter for the
proof of vacancy or dereliction which will.
(20:40):
Get in a few minutes um and everything else was
literally if even if you aren't savvy you
with printing or email if you pick
a day and you went there and just got it's just your proof
address proof of vacancy proof of ownership the home
has to be insured and you have to be not be
in arrears of your mortgage everything has to be above board
(21:00):
and it's literally the step-by-step guide from
a to z i had it in a file and then i
was really excited in november december didn't hear anything
christmas came as well and january came
and we're just told they're putting a a body of
employees together to drive this on and it was
it was tough it was tough but if you asked me to shovel
(21:22):
your garden for seven eight twelve months for 50 60 70 000 i'd shovel your garden
every day i was just thinking that yeah i look i know people are complaining
a lot about the application itself but it's like it could be worth as you said
up to 70 grand or 50 grand if it's
bacon so it's definitely worth this i have
(21:42):
been speaking to a good few people about this and a really
good tip i got in and i'll say this
in the intro and stuff but a really good tip i got in from people was to contact
local councillors or local tds parliamentary assistants and they'll they can
kind of help you with the application running through it step by step but it
seems like you you had it all kind of fairly under control so if that gives
(22:06):
you all the documentation and.
Stuff, the A to Z file as to what you need.
How did you go about finding builders and getting quotes then for the renovation work?
So I was lucky enough that I know a few builders and I got two quotes.
Of two different builders and um submitted
them sorry i submitted one quote which was for over i
(22:27):
think was for over 79 000 at the time is what the house needed
um and i got a
different builder to actually cover the work he gave me a quote a
very similar quote to the other one and once that was submitted i
just then had to wait on my approval letter before i
carried out any works which there was a lot of confusion around this
with um local authorities because some
(22:48):
people were told on their general inspection yeah you
will be approved you can start your works and then
you are starting them and then told no any works started are
not covered so it's a headache for for a homeowner um
and i had some work started that's um look i do work do wear covers when it
came to it and you got it so have they put any clarity on that since are you
(23:12):
able to start or are you better off just not doing anything until everything
is approved i think you take i think you take the whole big
deal of of home into account if if you have your
windows and doors after your general inspection and
then they tell you that any works covered like there's
no there's no real loopholes in this but they can't they can't take 10 000 away
if they've come out and inspected it's only if they come out and the whole house
(23:35):
is the kitchens in the windows are in and they're like there's paid prepaid
for it's like tough luck really but um that's i i i think every situation should be different um.
And it should be treated in a therapeutic sense with people's situations.
And on the financial aspect of it, it'd be a headache for local authorities and the government.
(23:57):
But I personally think the money should have probably gone to builders that
want to sign up to carry out the works and they'd get paid in stages of the project.
But it would be a massive headache. But I think that would be more feasible.
Yeah. Or if they just funded it up front and gave you the money up front,
it's a lot easier to deal with a builder then if you have the money rather than
(24:17):
you have to try find the money pay the builder and then
you have to go try claim it back i don't know it's it
just needs to be a bit of a mess it's it is a
mess but um and every local authority has different rules
yeah um but i know i
know another person that got that actually the builder actually fronted the
money oh wow yeah yeah that's a nice builder carried out the works in front
(24:40):
of the money yeah um but it's very it's very difficult that they're making this
grant available to people that have only purchased a home that needs 100,000, 150,000.
And then they're saying, okay, you can get this grant, but you have to pay before you get it.
Now, Draft are bringing out just this week the new local authority renovation
mortgage loan, which we're not going to go down a rabbit hole with that either.
(25:03):
But if two years ago, if that was available, I would have been able to buy a
home and got the loan on top of it and then draw down the grant after.
It um so it's it's a
messy old scheme but at the end i hope there's
not cases in two or three years where their approval letters are gone in the
bin and the home is still vacant i hope that's not the case for people yeah
(25:23):
hopefully not so when you got your quotes then once you submitted your quotes
to dublin city council how long did it take for you to get approval in may i got my.
Approval letter in may in may and you submitted your quote in november okay
okay so six months for dublin city council but that was then maybe maybe they're
(25:44):
a little bit quicker now yeah i'm.
Aware that it's like it's a human decision of like it's
a bit like throwing in your mortgage it's not a computer system it's a human decision
and it was all it was nationally a new scheme and
the pressure uh from people on local authorities is
probably unfair on them because there's only there's
only two or three people actually managing this and
(26:05):
then when it comes to probably not owning the home in the middle
of buying it uh own it but you're in arrears your mortgage there's loads of
factors to not being able to draw down yeah uh did your so your quotes then
when you were doing the building work did did i just know from my own one i
know the price of things tend to go up from when you get the quote when you're
actually putting the plaster on the wall so how did did
(26:26):
any of your prices go up or your expenses go up unexpectedly?
Yeah, well, I still owe some finance out to workers that were on the project.
It's funny, it's a good question because initially when I applied,
it was 50,000 for the derelict and only 20 for the vacancy.
(26:46):
I was only approved for the vacancy, which was 40,000 at the time.
And then in January, early, Dara O'Brien announced that they're increasing it
to 70 for a derelict and I got an engineer out and he deemed the house a derelict
because there was an interior crack through the whole home.
(27:07):
So it was a structural issue. Yeah. Structural issue. So then I went from 40 to 70.
So I had to reapply all again with my dog, with my baby on a new application
form. But it's worth it. It's 40 grand more.
So it's good that they took that into account from your original application
when it was 30 to 50 to then bring it up to 50 to 70 so fair play to him on that that's good to hear.
(27:30):
And and it's the onus is on basically the client to push it yeah
as much as much as much as you can yeah and
as we said it's it's worth it you know if you if you keep pushing
on it so so you're in the house
now are you i mean i'm in the house now yeah and all the renovations are
done and done i'd still love to like everyone still have to have an extra 25
(27:54):
000 oh yeah yeah but it's not i don't think any house has ever done done no
no you're in there and the workers are gone uh so like in terms of the actual
renovation process how did you find that.
Very uh i wouldn't be savvy with construction or no house or i'd be able to
(28:16):
build a skip and wheel wheelbarrows and dig and all that i actually quite enjoy
that but um at the time i was working two jobs um and i like the fact is that
i had no finance up front was very frustrating um.
Because I said yeah to absolutely everything.
I was getting real amazing help from my friends and the builder that done it.
(28:37):
But I was just rolling with the punches.
And I said, right, this is the stage of your life where you're at. I'm a young child.
And I said, I just have to roll with the punches. And wherever it turns out
to be, and I get over the line with this chapter, I'll deal with it. So it's lovely.
Look, I'd still love to have it probably properly snagged the backyard and the
(28:58):
whole lot, you know, yourself.
Yeah, yeah. And it takes time. Yeah, fair play to you. That's great.
So I guess we'll wrap it up.
But what kind of, so what advice would you give to someone then who's considering
applying for this or whatever it's called now, whether it's called Creecona
or Vegan Home Grants, I don't know what they're calling it nowadays.
The Vegan Home Grants is probably more accessible for people.
So what advice would you have for them?
(29:19):
Be very, very patient with the whole process and accept that as a journey.
If you're lucky enough to be able to purchase a house and then you're in a grateful
position to get the approval you're granted.
Enjoy the journey. Roll with the punches. And if you're dealing with an awkward
person on the phone or they don't know what they're telling you or they're telling
you the same thing a hundred times or asking for the same document they sent
(29:43):
you, bite your lip and send it on again if you have to.
It's a great initiative. It's a great scheme. And...
If you're willing to help yourself and listen to people because like nine
times out of ten these people are there to help you there was
there was one lady that i was dealing with um and
she was 100 percent um in in
dcc um and then there was two others
(30:05):
that i was dealing with who are we are really nice but sometimes i
probably knew more about the scheme that
they did when i was asking and i get that because it was all
new nationally and people probably did probably
even have a training day of what this game involved and but
if you're in a position to get it pick a day
or pick two days where you religiously commit
(30:26):
to getting your documentation in order getting
your communication in order with your builder or builders
or if you're doing it yourself you just need your five
or six builders with ten thousand vat and vouch
expenditure and invoice and and enjoy
because like i'm like i still love
to get my brand new sofa i still love to get my brand new table i haven't got
(30:47):
to that yet but it's uh when i'm sitting on my sofa and i'm there with me with
my dog or me i'm just like this how lucky how lucky how lucky have i been to
get this love that i think that's a great place to leave it tom fair play to you no butter no thanks.
August shin a lahai on episode shut off the crazy house prices podcast i hope
(31:09):
this episode helps you navigate the vacant home grant with a bit more insight into what you need to do.
Now, as I said at the beginning, I have a really important tip for you.
So if you're looking at houses and they're being advertised as being eligible
for the vacant home grant, make sure to do your homework.
There are some agents who are using this grant to bump up the price of homes
(31:30):
and some are claiming they've been vacant and are eligible for 50,000 euro.
And people are only finding out then after going on sale
agreed that the estate agent wasn't exactly telling the truth so what you can
do is you can contact the esb so one of my followers did this after being sale
agreed on a property and finding out it wasn't actually vacant someone was in
there for a few months during that two-year period which meant it doesn't qualify
(31:53):
so for the next home what they did was they rang the esb.
And they found them really helpful and they just quoted the
mprn number and were able
to confirm low energy usage over the two years and that was able to confirm
vacancy then so what you can do is you can get the mprn number from the be or
cert i know that's a lot of letters the be or cert on the sei website some more
(32:17):
letters so if you go to sei.ie there's a search function there for be or
certs so any house you're looking at should have the ber
number in the advert if it doesn't contact the
agent because legally they're supposed to have that in the advert and if
you put that in that will give you all the details so you'll be able to get
the mpr and mprn number from that and then you'll be able to ring up the esb
(32:39):
with that number and they'll be able to tell you about energy usage um or what
you could do is uh just ask the agent for it and if they or you could even Even better,
you could think ahead and when you're going to the viewing,
have a little look at the fuse board and at the energy meter thing and just take it down.
That will really help you in the long run. Another tip then is help with the application form.
(33:02):
It could be worth contacting your local TD, their office or a local counsellor.
And often they will have some day themselves or they'll have someone who works
for them that can run through the application form with you and help you out
with it. So that's it. I hope you found this episode helpful.
And please, if you're enjoying the podcast and my Instagram,
and you want to show your support, head over to patreon.com forward slash crazy house prices.
(33:24):
Your support not only helps keep this podcast and the Instagram page going,
but it also gives you exclusive access to bonus content like detailed Q and
A's where I answer every single question sent in.
Plus you'll get the unique opportunity to engage with my community of over 104,000
followers, asking them questions that Google just could never answer for you.
Also my book, How to Buy a Home in Ireland is available nationwide.
(33:47):
Just Google it and you'll find it in stock somewhere or rent it from your local library for free.
I know Dublin City Libraries have over 100 copies.
It was number one in the charts about a year and a bit ago.
It's a really good book if I do say so myself and it will kind of really just
help you with everything to do with buying a home in Ireland,
hence the name of the book. Anyway, I'll chat to you all soon.
(34:09):
Music.
Music.
(00:11):
Agus Fáilte Arash to the Crazy House Prices podcast.
I'm your host Ciarán Mulqueen and today we're talking all about the vacant home grant.
I have interviewed two guests, one who is waiting on drawdown and one who has drawn down.
This has been a huge topic on my Instagram page over the last while.
If you're unaware what the vacant home grant is, it's
(00:33):
basically a grant that owner-occupiers can get
when buying a home that has been vacant for two years or more
i think it has since been extended to somebody if they want to buy and
rent it out also the standard grant is 50 000
euro with a top up of 20 000 euro
when the property is confirmed confirmed by the applicant to be derelict so
there's potential there for 70 000 euro of a grant if you buy derelict property
(00:56):
that has been vacant for two years now there are a huge number of issues with
the grant and how it's operated as usual with a lot of things the government are.
Doing when it comes to housing they kind of rush things through without
figuring them out completely uh which is which i
understand you know they need to tick boxes and they need to try and get stuff
done but sometimes it just causes a lot of teething problems
(01:17):
so for example just 100 of more than 6
000 applicants for grant aid to refurbish homes
under the government scheme had been paid out by the end of
last year and that's according to figures from the irish
times but one of the biggest issues seems to be
conflicting information depending on which council you're dealing
with so there's also the issue that you need to have
(01:38):
the funds up front and you get reimbursed at the end
from the council once everything has been inspected and
it's proving really difficult to get the inspection it's also
you know not everybody has access to 70 000 euro or 50 000 euro or whatever
it is if you're doing a renovation it's likely going to be costing more than
that anyway especially if you're in dublin but there are lots of other problems
and i've been getting a lot of complaints from people who are going through
(02:02):
the process but But it's not all bad,
as you'll hear later on in this episode.
There are lots of helpful tips in each conversation.
So I recommend grabbing a notepad or opening your notes app on your phone and
taking down details or timestamps to refer back to. That's something I do.
And I know I'm listening to something that, you know, might require one or two
listens rather than listen to the whole thing.
(02:23):
You can just take timestamps and get back into the bits that really are applicable to you.
You also really make sure you listen to the outro at
the end as I have a very important tip for you if you're currently looking at
buying a house and it's been advertised as being eligible for the vacant home
grant so let's get into it first up we will hear from Eleanor and get her experience
(02:44):
as she is still waiting to draw down the funds.
I am just going to pause the podcast for a second to talk to you about some
sponsors of the Crazy House Prices podcast.
This episode is sponsored by Daft.ie. Daft is Ireland's number one property portal.
Daft has the most properties available for sale and rent and is the preferred
(03:06):
national property website amongst consumers in Ireland.
So Daft.ie's core vision is to make buying, selling and renting property better
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(03:27):
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visiting daft.ie Ireland's number one property website okay
Eleanor thank you so much for coming on on the crazy house
prices podcast to talk to us about your experience with the
vacant home grant uh so if you
(03:49):
wouldn't mind just letting us know which which council which council
are you dealing with when it comes to your grants yeah i'm
with dublin city council okay and where
are you in terms of a application stage
uh have you done the work are you waiting on drawdown or
where are you um i'm waiting on drawdown and have been
waiting on drawdown for nearly a year right so uh right
(04:12):
we'll get to that that's absolutely insane but let's
just maybe go back to the start because i know the application process people
are saying is very tedious so can you
kind of talk us through the application process what steps did you have to take
initially yes so i am i went to celebrate in a house in inchicore in september
2022 and um my other big bugbear with the house buying process in ireland is
(04:35):
probate but that's a conversation for another day yeah um but because Because
the probate took so long,
at the time when I first bought the house.
Dublin City Council wasn't on the list for the vacant property grant.
And by the time the probate cleared and I bought the house, it was.
So I think when I initially, I mean, I started filling out applications in late 2022.
(04:57):
And I think back then you nearly had to get quotes from all the builders for
the work, which I think still is the case.
But I definitely remember the application form changed at one point and I had
to refill everything out.
Um so i think i put that in and maybe oh
god somewhere between october 2022 and february
2023 but it actually became quite fortuitous in the end that i got the keys
(05:18):
for this house in march 2023 and the week i got the keys was when they did the
first inspection and that was a very nice guy who they sent out and to be fair
like this house had been empty eight years it um there were burn marks and plugs like there was
crazy wiring everywhere. Like
you could tell the place needed work and he spotted that straight away.
(05:39):
So yeah, I remember everything about it being quite tedious.
Like even when I first went on the website, like there was no button to click
to like apply and it was all this digging.
And eventually I found an email address and that's how the ball started rolling for me.
And then yeah, it fell out one application form. Then it changed. I just fell out another.
And I did that. They did the first inspection and then I started the work and
this house needed the work.
(06:00):
I would have been doing it no matter what and so i started the
work i think early april 2023 when they'd
done the first inspection yeah so you had approval
before you have to have approval before you touched the
place is that right i i actually didn't um so you
have to have in the inspection has to be done before you
touch the place because otherwise they won't know um what
(06:21):
state it was in and did they take photos during the inspection
or what did they do he did now he didn't take loads photos he took
a few but again there were burn marks and flogs I
was able to very easily prove the house had been empty eight years and
so that part of the process was very simple he
would again the guy who inspected it was like oh this place needs
work I'm putting you forward no like he took some photos again like there was
(06:43):
a brain pipe outside that was rusting and looked like it was about to fall off
the house and and some other issues and but no I did I I started the work early
april because i knew whether they approved me or not i was going to have to do it yeah and.
The house was empty i was fortunate that i was living with my mom at the
time so and me and my builder had
decided like this we're gutting it and so the one thing i will say and this
(07:07):
is where you really when you're filling out the application form have your builder
sit down with you go through it because it's line itemized and you need to have
every single amount correct because Because later when you go to get the money,
they're going to go through with the fine-tooth comb.
But sorry, I'll just say, so the kind of step-by-step process for me was I had
the first inspection late March, started the work early April.
(07:29):
I didn't get the approval letter till mid-May of 2023.
And I was approved for 30 grand. And by that time and point,
it had gone up, the amount had gone up to 50.
And I asked, I said, oh, can I get approved for 50?
Like I spent much more than 50 renovating the house top to bottom.
And I was told, oh, you'll have to reapply and start again.
(07:51):
And I didn't because the work had already started. I didn't really know how
that was going to look. And because the process had been a bit confusing,
I didn't know how to do it.
I just felt, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, take the 30 grand and keep going.
So I think in mid-August, I contacted Dublin City Council and said,
right, the work's nearly done.
Can we book in a second inspection for some time in September?
(08:12):
And they came back and said, that's fine. And that again was,
that was an easier part of it. We got a date lined up.
And the only thing I found a tiny bit annoying was they sent a different guy
to do the second inspection.
And I was like, you did not see what a shit heap this place was before.
Like um but he and again like any
renovation for you know it's a lot of the work's in behind the walls but
yeah he gave him a full tour showed him all the changes and
(08:35):
he took some photos but again sorry i've been told by dublin city council document
everything photos videos obviously you're going to have your receipts but they
were like take progress imagery and video which i was doing and so he was like
oh yeah like you know the place looks great this is all fine but he had
to print a copy of my application form and he said oh
um now everything you put in this they're only going
(08:57):
to give you the amount you said so if you said replumbing cost
five and you actually paid seven you're only getting five
back okay and and that's where he was and i honestly at this point was like
can i have a look at that i haven't seen that in months i can't even remember
what i wrote on it um so the one thing i would say again this is my like hot
hot hot tip to anyone doing in this application process sit down with your builder
(09:20):
do the application form together i would.
Add 20 to every predicted cost just to
cover yourself but if you say again rewiring is
going to cost 10 even if for some forsaken reason of course you're
15 you're only going to get 10 back and everything
has to be in the correct area i kind of
threw down a lot of things that i knew i was doing i did have
quotes for a lot of it which was good but some of them i was kind of
(09:43):
guessing the estimate um and he said oh they're only
going to give you back what you again wrote to
each section so I had my second inspection in September I
still don't have the money so it's again we're 10
months later um I think around Christmas
I got asked for my IBAN and my solicitor's
contact details so I was like oh my god it's coming soon and
(10:04):
so at that point I've been waiting three months and every time they
contact me my dad I get back to them straight
away i do whatever they ask and i found
some parts of it a bit you know like in december i was
asked for tax clearance certs for all my my builder.
My plumber and my um builder plumber and
the electrician and um that was fine i
(10:24):
got those i sent them over but it's just it's all quite bitty yeah like
it's streamlined where you're just told ahead of
time here's all the things you need to brought down yeah so it's
it seems to me that yeah you know they they put this thing in place without
actually working through how how it would work in the real world so you obviously
(10:45):
have a good relationship with your builder then if you're able to sit down with
him and or her and go through all the the quotes so did this human because it was so long ago um.
And I know how renovations work. I did one myself. I know the price of things goes up.
So when you initially put those quotes in, did anything go up after that?
And if that was the case, so you're not getting the extra money for that.
(11:08):
And are you still only getting the 30 or are they giving you the 50?
No, so they're only giving the 30. And also they're now only trying to give
me 20 out of the 30 based off my application form and the receipts,
which is crazy because my, the re-plumbing, the rewiring, and then a huge part
of the kind of actual building work,
pulling down the walls, rebuilding them, all of which is covered by the grant.
(11:28):
Those three things literally come to $29,300.
And I have those three receipts. I have tax clearance certs for all of those people.
I'm like, can you just give me $29,300 and let's call it a day?
But because my application, again, I didn't itemize it exactly specifically,
correct me. There's a section for substructure.
(11:49):
This is what I'm saying. If you're going to go for this grant, get your building,
it's the time to beginning go through everything again I
had quotes for some stuff but they're now being kind of sticky about
the money one quote they at the moment
and they didn't so when they came to
me it's 20 I was like can you give me a breakdown of the costs how does this
work then they did give me that and my plumbing isn't on it and there's no reason
(12:13):
why I can see why they wouldn't have a tax clear insert I pay that money and
and now I'm looking at that receipt and I I think there's a bit of handwritten
writing on it. I don't know if that's an issue. Um, I don't know.
Address my full address wasn't on it so i basically got
the plumber to reissue that receipt with all the details i actually
printed out my bank statement and highlighted the payments to send
that off so again if you're applying for it like i just think
(12:36):
the information you're giving again isn't clear enough again sit
down with your builders make sure you're hiring people who have tax
care inserts and are going to give those over to you which is fair enough
like you have to reliable suppliers who pay their
taxes whatever um and then it's just that timeline to
the money like it's it's been coming on a year since
my second inspection you could go weeks or months without
(12:57):
a reply or an update you really have
to pay stuff and this is insane that's insane
like nearly a year and nearly a year and then it's
again this thing of i have valid receipts from valid suppliers
coming for valid works it's covered by the
grant coming to the exact amount i was approved of but because
my application is the itemization is
(13:18):
slightly off i'm being really argue back
on this um i'm getting stressed for
you i know i know that's insane like we
all pay so much taxes i pay so much taxes every
year so i just feel like the reward of paying taxes is grants and stuff like
this and um i like i was very fortunate that like all of those suppliers because
(13:41):
you have to pay everybody up front and obviously you get the money back and
i thank god was able to pay all
of those people but only because i could borrow money from my mom who i.
Now owe money to who luckily isn't um you
know she isn't banging down my door looking for it but that's
the thing if if you had gotten a loan out say from
the credit union which is what most people are doing most people are getting
a loan from the credit union at whatever eight nine percent interest
(14:04):
you're paying nine percent interest on the loan for
nearly a year now like that's thousands extra just just because like have they
given a reason why it's taken so long or is there there's no you don't have
a point of contact or anything in there that you can just like ring i do and
like they are nice like i just want to say like they're very nice on email i feel,
(14:26):
I feel like I've got Stockholm syndrome with Dublin City Council.
Like they have all the power and I need to play ball, but I'm also like frustrated.
But yeah, it just takes a while for them to get back.
But I know someone else who's doing a Dublin, sorry, Dun Laoghaire,
Rathdown County Council, and they're also waiting ages and they do have a loan
with the credit union and they're
(14:46):
like having sleepless nights over paying that back. I'm sure, yeah.
At the, you know, 9% interest rate. and so
it's just again to anyone who's
going to do it like if and when i get the money and it's
all worked out it will be great but um it's just it
takes so long and um again i'm
(15:08):
very lucky that my mom could lend me the money so your main tip would be having
gone through nearly finished going through it i won't i won't we won't go into
the details about the renovation that's a whole other topic but i know the way
renovations work there's always there's always things you don't predict There's
always a cost and all that, and it's very stressful,
I know, I've been through it, it was, you know, a really hard thing to do.
(15:29):
But that's, again, another topic, but I guess just focusing on the actual grants.
And so your main tip for people then would be.
To sit down at the start to make sure
the application is perfect and sit with
the builder and go through every single little detail but what like
a lot of builders maybe won't do that without knowing
there's a full commitment there that you're actually going to go through with
(15:52):
it because yeah oh yeah and also i
like i didn't use a one-stop shop builder i
actually used a bunch of different suppliers all of like i
like the electrician and the plumber and the builder they all didn't
know each other they didn't you probably yeah yeah i
i project managed it so that's why i think i but
i know some people who've just hired a one-stop shop builder who subcontracts
(16:13):
all those things so if that's what you're going to do get that
builder to sit with you go through the grant you're paying
them directly so they're they're not losing out they're not.
The ones waiting on the money yeah and then my second thing
would be for your receipts when you're submitting them make
sure you're correct and full addresses on it make sure the
the dates correct and just make sure everything looks really
(16:33):
pristine and then you also be asking
for the tax clear inserts um when you're
finished with the renovation because you're going to have to submit up to date ones of
those for your suppliers which again if you're finding i don't
know maybe some suppliers are not paying their taxes you
need to just make sure it's people who are going to be willing to give you that stuff yeah
um so it's definitely it's a
(16:54):
lot of stress and it's a lot of waiting i mean when i get the
money i'll feel very happy and i think it's a a great initiative
from the government to to make
people buy like like i saw some gruesome houses
when i was something this place was gruesome when i bought it but the long-term
potential um is why i went i have no regrets and i just want the money that's
(17:18):
all that's my final note i want the money please give me the money to the city
council well look hopefully the money comes
in ASAP in time for maybe a little summer holiday or something.
But listen, Elinor, thank you so much for coming on and giving us your experience.
Thank you so much. I'm going to pause the podcast for a second because I want
to talk to you about a company called Financial Planning Matters.
(17:41):
Their website is fpms.ie.
This is a company that I know very well and the team behind it are fantastic.
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That's why they offer personalized financial advice that's tailored to your unique needs and goals.
Their team of expert financial planners will look at your current financial
(18:02):
situation, and develop a personalized
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It's not just about setting up a pension or investing your money.
They'll consider all aspects of your finances to help you get to where you want
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It could be knowing where to invest your children's allowance.
It could be maybe you have loads of money and you want to know what to do with
(18:24):
it. So their customer service is incredible.
I've been using them for over a year now and I cannot recommend them enough.
So check out fpms.ie now
back to the podcast now we
will hear from tom who has actually managed to draw down
now i have tom on the podcast
with me now to run us through his experience with the vacant home grant and
(18:48):
how he got on with it so tom just talk talk me through the initial stages then
the application and and then we'll get on to you know where you are i know you've
drawn down so So people will be really interested to hear that.
So talk me through, anyway, from the start, your application process.
What did you do with that or how did you find it? So my application was put in in November of 2022.
(19:14):
And I got my initial inspection in January.
And I didn't hear anything until
the end of March. Then I got a second inspection at the end of March.
Sorry, early April by 200 inspectors. and then I got my approval letter in May.
So there was nearly a seven-month gap between when I got my approval letter.
From application to approval, seven months.
(19:36):
Yes. That's in the city council, is it? Yes. And in terms of the actual application,
the form itself, did you do that by yourself or how did you manage it with costings
and all that? I done everything by myself.
Bear in mind, when I applied, the grant became just available for the city scheme.
It wasn't just a pre-commitment act.
(19:56):
Rural scheme so initially i had
an a to z file that i handed in to the
offices and i didn't hear anything back and then
when i contacted the department for the grants
and loans there was actually no body looking after
these grants because they were only new the government announced them without
actually liaising with the local authorities they
(20:17):
have a tendency to do that my lord you know the
announcement without uh informed local authorities and it
was paperwork it was look i picked the
day where i went off and got everything that i needed to get
and every time that i needed something else like a
um surveyor's letter for the
proof of vacancy or dereliction which will.
(20:40):
Get in a few minutes um and everything else was
literally if even if you aren't savvy you
with printing or email if you pick
a day and you went there and just got it's just your proof
address proof of vacancy proof of ownership the home
has to be insured and you have to be not be
in arrears of your mortgage everything has to be above board
(21:00):
and it's literally the step-by-step guide from
a to z i had it in a file and then i
was really excited in november december didn't hear anything
christmas came as well and january came
and we're just told they're putting a a body of
employees together to drive this on and it was
it was tough it was tough but if you asked me to shovel
(21:22):
your garden for seven eight twelve months for 50 60 70 000 i'd shovel your garden
every day i was just thinking that yeah i look i know people are complaining
a lot about the application itself but it's like it could be worth as you said
up to 70 grand or 50 grand if it's
bacon so it's definitely worth this i have
(21:42):
been speaking to a good few people about this and a really
good tip i got in and i'll say this
in the intro and stuff but a really good tip i got in from people was to contact
local councillors or local tds parliamentary assistants and they'll they can
kind of help you with the application running through it step by step but it
seems like you you had it all kind of fairly under control so if that gives
(22:06):
you all the documentation and.
Stuff, the A to Z file as to what you need.
How did you go about finding builders and getting quotes then for the renovation work?
So I was lucky enough that I know a few builders and I got two quotes.
Of two different builders and um submitted
them sorry i submitted one quote which was for over i
(22:27):
think was for over 79 000 at the time is what the house needed
um and i got a
different builder to actually cover the work he gave me a quote a
very similar quote to the other one and once that was submitted i
just then had to wait on my approval letter before i
carried out any works which there was a lot of confusion around this
with um local authorities because some
(22:48):
people were told on their general inspection yeah you
will be approved you can start your works and then
you are starting them and then told no any works started are
not covered so it's a headache for for a homeowner um
and i had some work started that's um look i do work do wear covers when it
came to it and you got it so have they put any clarity on that since are you
(23:12):
able to start or are you better off just not doing anything until everything
is approved i think you take i think you take the whole big
deal of of home into account if if you have your
windows and doors after your general inspection and
then they tell you that any works covered like there's
no there's no real loopholes in this but they can't they can't take 10 000 away
if they've come out and inspected it's only if they come out and the whole house
(23:35):
is the kitchens in the windows are in and they're like there's paid prepaid
for it's like tough luck really but um that's i i i think every situation should be different um.
And it should be treated in a therapeutic sense with people's situations.
And on the financial aspect of it, it'd be a headache for local authorities and the government.
(23:57):
But I personally think the money should have probably gone to builders that
want to sign up to carry out the works and they'd get paid in stages of the project.
But it would be a massive headache. But I think that would be more feasible.
Yeah. Or if they just funded it up front and gave you the money up front,
it's a lot easier to deal with a builder then if you have the money rather than
(24:17):
you have to try find the money pay the builder and then
you have to go try claim it back i don't know it's it
just needs to be a bit of a mess it's it is a
mess but um and every local authority has different rules
yeah um but i know i
know another person that got that actually the builder actually fronted the
money oh wow yeah yeah that's a nice builder carried out the works in front
(24:40):
of the money yeah um but it's very it's very difficult that they're making this
grant available to people that have only purchased a home that needs 100,000, 150,000.
And then they're saying, okay, you can get this grant, but you have to pay before you get it.
Now, Draft are bringing out just this week the new local authority renovation
mortgage loan, which we're not going to go down a rabbit hole with that either.
(25:03):
But if two years ago, if that was available, I would have been able to buy a
home and got the loan on top of it and then draw down the grant after.
It um so it's it's a
messy old scheme but at the end i hope there's
not cases in two or three years where their approval letters are gone in the
bin and the home is still vacant i hope that's not the case for people yeah
(25:23):
hopefully not so when you got your quotes then once you submitted your quotes
to dublin city council how long did it take for you to get approval in may i got my.
Approval letter in may in may and you submitted your quote in november okay
okay so six months for dublin city council but that was then maybe maybe they're
(25:44):
a little bit quicker now yeah i'm.
Aware that it's like it's a human decision of like it's
a bit like throwing in your mortgage it's not a computer system it's a human decision
and it was all it was nationally a new scheme and
the pressure uh from people on local authorities is
probably unfair on them because there's only there's
only two or three people actually managing this and
(26:05):
then when it comes to probably not owning the home in the middle
of buying it uh own it but you're in arrears your mortgage there's loads of
factors to not being able to draw down yeah uh did your so your quotes then
when you were doing the building work did did i just know from my own one i
know the price of things tend to go up from when you get the quote when you're
actually putting the plaster on the wall so how did did
(26:26):
any of your prices go up or your expenses go up unexpectedly?
Yeah, well, I still owe some finance out to workers that were on the project.
It's funny, it's a good question because initially when I applied,
it was 50,000 for the derelict and only 20 for the vacancy.
(26:46):
I was only approved for the vacancy, which was 40,000 at the time.
And then in January, early, Dara O'Brien announced that they're increasing it
to 70 for a derelict and I got an engineer out and he deemed the house a derelict
because there was an interior crack through the whole home.
(27:07):
So it was a structural issue. Yeah. Structural issue. So then I went from 40 to 70.
So I had to reapply all again with my dog, with my baby on a new application
form. But it's worth it. It's 40 grand more.
So it's good that they took that into account from your original application
when it was 30 to 50 to then bring it up to 50 to 70 so fair play to him on that that's good to hear.
(27:30):
And and it's the onus is on basically the client to push it yeah
as much as much as much as you can yeah and
as we said it's it's worth it you know if you if you keep pushing
on it so so you're in the house
now are you i mean i'm in the house now yeah and all the renovations are
done and done i'd still love to like everyone still have to have an extra 25
(27:54):
000 oh yeah yeah but it's not i don't think any house has ever done done no
no you're in there and the workers are gone uh so like in terms of the actual
renovation process how did you find that.
Very uh i wouldn't be savvy with construction or no house or i'd be able to
(28:16):
build a skip and wheel wheelbarrows and dig and all that i actually quite enjoy
that but um at the time i was working two jobs um and i like the fact is that
i had no finance up front was very frustrating um.
Because I said yeah to absolutely everything.
I was getting real amazing help from my friends and the builder that done it.
(28:37):
But I was just rolling with the punches.
And I said, right, this is the stage of your life where you're at. I'm a young child.
And I said, I just have to roll with the punches. And wherever it turns out
to be, and I get over the line with this chapter, I'll deal with it. So it's lovely.
Look, I'd still love to have it probably properly snagged the backyard and the
(28:58):
whole lot, you know, yourself.
Yeah, yeah. And it takes time. Yeah, fair play to you. That's great.
So I guess we'll wrap it up.
But what kind of, so what advice would you give to someone then who's considering
applying for this or whatever it's called now, whether it's called Creecona
or Vegan Home Grants, I don't know what they're calling it nowadays.
The Vegan Home Grants is probably more accessible for people.
So what advice would you have for them?
(29:19):
Be very, very patient with the whole process and accept that as a journey.
If you're lucky enough to be able to purchase a house and then you're in a grateful
position to get the approval you're granted.
Enjoy the journey. Roll with the punches. And if you're dealing with an awkward
person on the phone or they don't know what they're telling you or they're telling
you the same thing a hundred times or asking for the same document they sent
(29:43):
you, bite your lip and send it on again if you have to.
It's a great initiative. It's a great scheme. And...
If you're willing to help yourself and listen to people because like nine
times out of ten these people are there to help you there was
there was one lady that i was dealing with um and
she was 100 percent um in in
dcc um and then there was two others
(30:05):
that i was dealing with who are we are really nice but sometimes i
probably knew more about the scheme that
they did when i was asking and i get that because it was all
new nationally and people probably did probably
even have a training day of what this game involved and but
if you're in a position to get it pick a day
or pick two days where you religiously commit
(30:26):
to getting your documentation in order getting
your communication in order with your builder or builders
or if you're doing it yourself you just need your five
or six builders with ten thousand vat and vouch
expenditure and invoice and and enjoy
because like i'm like i still love
to get my brand new sofa i still love to get my brand new table i haven't got
(30:47):
to that yet but it's uh when i'm sitting on my sofa and i'm there with me with
my dog or me i'm just like this how lucky how lucky how lucky have i been to
get this love that i think that's a great place to leave it tom fair play to you no butter no thanks.
August shin a lahai on episode shut off the crazy house prices podcast i hope
(31:09):
this episode helps you navigate the vacant home grant with a bit more insight into what you need to do.
Now, as I said at the beginning, I have a really important tip for you.
So if you're looking at houses and they're being advertised as being eligible
for the vacant home grant, make sure to do your homework.
There are some agents who are using this grant to bump up the price of homes
(31:30):
and some are claiming they've been vacant and are eligible for 50,000 euro.
And people are only finding out then after going on sale
agreed that the estate agent wasn't exactly telling the truth so what you can
do is you can contact the esb so one of my followers did this after being sale
agreed on a property and finding out it wasn't actually vacant someone was in
there for a few months during that two-year period which meant it doesn't qualify
(31:53):
so for the next home what they did was they rang the esb.
And they found them really helpful and they just quoted the
mprn number and were able
to confirm low energy usage over the two years and that was able to confirm
vacancy then so what you can do is you can get the mprn number from the be or
cert i know that's a lot of letters the be or cert on the sei website some more
(32:17):
letters so if you go to sei.ie there's a search function there for be or
certs so any house you're looking at should have the ber
number in the advert if it doesn't contact the
agent because legally they're supposed to have that in the advert and if
you put that in that will give you all the details so you'll be able to get
the mpr and mprn number from that and then you'll be able to ring up the esb
(32:39):
with that number and they'll be able to tell you about energy usage um or what
you could do is uh just ask the agent for it and if they or you could even Even better,
you could think ahead and when you're going to the viewing,
have a little look at the fuse board and at the energy meter thing and just take it down.
That will really help you in the long run. Another tip then is help with the application form.
(33:02):
It could be worth contacting your local TD, their office or a local counsellor.
And often they will have some day themselves or they'll have someone who works
for them that can run through the application form with you and help you out
with it. So that's it. I hope you found this episode helpful.
And please, if you're enjoying the podcast and my Instagram,
and you want to show your support, head over to patreon.com forward slash crazy house prices.
(33:24):
Your support not only helps keep this podcast and the Instagram page going,
but it also gives you exclusive access to bonus content like detailed Q and
A's where I answer every single question sent in.
Plus you'll get the unique opportunity to engage with my community of over 104,000
followers, asking them questions that Google just could never answer for you.
Also my book, How to Buy a Home in Ireland is available nationwide.
(33:47):
Just Google it and you'll find it in stock somewhere or rent it from your local library for free.
I know Dublin City Libraries have over 100 copies.
It was number one in the charts about a year and a bit ago.
It's a really good book if I do say so myself and it will kind of really just
help you with everything to do with buying a home in Ireland,
hence the name of the book. Anyway, I'll chat to you all soon.
(34:09):
Music.
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