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House buyers offered ‘two for one’ deal by Donegal Real Estate agent

Two houses are on offer for $140,000

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Monday, September 12, 2011, 8:10 AM

Updated Monday, September 12, 2011, 12:33 PM

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Brendan McGlynn Donegal real estate agent gives away two properties for the price of one

Photo by Google Images

A Donegal estate agent has come up with a unique deal for wannabe buyers – buy one house, get one free.

Brendan McGlynn is selling houses in Letterkenny for $140,000 with the attached property next door thrown into the deal.

He also has houses with the same two-for-one offer in nearby Milford. Prices range from $140,000 to $170,000.

McGlynn is making the offer on semi-detached houses in both towns in a bid to allow builders to move on from the estates involved.

“There is absolutely no catch: you buy one and you get the house next door free,” McGlynn told the Irish Times. “These are not houses on a ghost estate - far from it.

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“We think it’s a really good deal and the idea is to get the last of houses on established residential estates sold.

“We have houses in two different estates in Letterkenny and one in Milford which are the last houses on each estate.

“If we can sell the houses we can move on to the next estate and try and keep things going.”

The properties on the three estates are all ‘almost finished’ three-bedroom semi-detached houses. Kitchens and fireplaces have been fitted in some of the houses.

McGlynn believes the deal will be particularly attractive to young couples looking to buy their first home.

He added: “There is nothing worse than seeing a few vacant houses on an estate when the rest of the area is looking well and people are living happily together.

“It brings the tone of the area down and to avoid that is part of the idea for doing this offer.

“Even if two young families come together, this could be the perfect opportunity for two young families.

“People are finding it difficult to get money but people don’t need a huge amount of a deposit to get a house - or even two.”

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Trealach | Sep 12, 2011, 08:04 PM EDT

@EphraimKibbey - what you've said is quite accurate, however the 'risk' is whether the Bank would require both properties as collateral, even though the loan is based on €140,000 and, whether the Government will apply the 3% Stamp Duty on each house valued at €140,000, making the Stamp Duty €8,400 as opposed to half of that for one property. Then there's also the question of legal fees - will they be doubled too, adding another €4,200 - bringing the total extra finance to €12,600 instead of €6,300. The second house would not be classified as a 'primary residence' or as a 'gift' but it would be subject to the annual property tax of €200.00 on 'second' properties - but that tax will apply to all residences from January 2013. The only additional tax which 'may' apply is on rental income, but that is subject to a person's annual income limit, so it is possible though unlikely, that tax would not be paid on the rental income.

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EphraimKibbey | Sep 12, 2011, 01:46 PM EDT

It may have to do with keeping recorded property values up for those who have already purchased homes in these estates. If you bought one house a year ago at $140,000 and the same house today sells at $70,000, when you try to sell yours next year, you will have the lower amount as the comparable value that will be used by banks to set buyer's loan approvals. They will not grant a loan of $140,000 on a $70,000 property. They would want the buyer to have about $15,000 down and would then only finance $55,000 so that their liability is less if they must forclose. Obviously the $70,000 would be the real value of your house now but this way the comparable prices of record are $140,000 so you at least have a chance that someone can get a loan on that amount. Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky but otherwise the estate managers would have quite a revolt of current property owners on their hands. I wonder if the second house is counted as a gift or as a premium and whether the buyer must pay tax on it as income? That would sorta take the charm out of this offer.

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LoyalCitizen | Sep 12, 2011, 10:06 AM EDT

The effective price being 70,000. Why don't they just sell the houses for 70,000. They would attract a lot more buyers. Maybe its just the landlords who have money to spend. Buy one get one free for renting purposes. The story also shows how over priced the property market still is in Ireland. There is a long way to come down still.

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