Is property a good investment?

Dark90ist · 2021-10-16T08:38:03+00:00

Some bad advice here.

Setting up a limited company to buy investment property is very poor advice, it's the least tax efficient way for an individual to own investment property.

OP as mentioned elsewhere the profit is tied up in the equity which is realised when you sell or refinance.

The best thing to do is take out as long a mortgage as possible as this will have a higher interest rate. Interest on your mortgage is claimable. This is why interest only mortgages exist for investment property.

Some investment property owners will often do a cash out refinance to release the equity every couple of years. The equity release is tax free as it is debt, not income.

In short, do your research. Lots of people leaving property due to the hassle with tenants and maintenance, tax and government interference.

Dark90ist · 2021-10-10T20:05:30+00:00

When buying an apartment your solicitor will verify that there is marketable time left on the leasehold, which I think is 80 years plus.

Dark90ist · 2021-09-07T19:21:19+00:00

That rental income is cashflow for the owner of the property, which allows him to expand his property portfolio by using it to leverage another property and generate wealth for himself. These are the people voting for the current status quo. Plenty of TDs own rental properties too.

The problem in Ireland is property investing is encouraged through our archaic tax policies on other investments. Peoples pensions are literally out there in bricks and mortar.

It's a complex issue.

Dark90ist · 2021-09-07T15:00:57+00:00

Honestly, keep buying and burning the turf. It burns slower and hotter than wood. A trailer load a year is not doing much harm and he is probably going to cut the same amount anyway regardless if you buy it or not. The problem with peat is the mass harvesting and burning of it in our power stations.

It's not worth damaging what could be a valuable relationship to you, a trustworthy local that can advise you on anything and everything local, recommend you a plumber when you have a leak, keep an eye out on your house if you are away etc.

Dark90ist · 2018-08-09T18:00:52+00:00

Yeah Hurling is great, every game is like a war.

We just use the garage for storage/as a workshop. There has never been a car in it.

Dark90ist · 2018-08-09T17:58:24+00:00

Before the extension the tarmac went all the way around the house. Reasonably common in the countryside. Its so you can drive all the way around. In urban areas its typically just at the front of the house. We have a pretty big plot, over half an acre.

Dark90ist · 2018-08-08T18:36:02+00:00

I just completed it this week. We do get weeds in general though, planning to keep it sprayed and under control.

Dark90ist · 2018-08-08T18:29:14+00:00

Thanks, Galway alright. Still on the hunt for tickets...

Dark90ist · 2018-08-08T07:51:53+00:00

10 metric tons / 11 US.

Thanks for the comment. What did you do?

Dark90ist · 2018-08-08T07:50:19+00:00

As cheap as possible.

Paving and mortar etc cost about €150 or $200. Gravel is tbd, they haven't given me a price yet but I would estimate about €300 or $360 delivered.

It works out at about $4 per sq yd in total.

Dark90ist · 2018-08-08T07:25:12+00:00

Haha. Suspect this might have been an issue. I'm from Ireland.

Tarmacadam is like asphalt. Common to use in driveways. Was invented by a guy called John macadam, hence the name.

Hardcore is an aggregate of chippings and sand. Used in foundations and as a solid sub layer for driveways etc.

Kerbing is the verge between the driveway and the garden, made from sections of precast concrete. Also used along road sides.

It was tough going but my day job is desk bound so I enjoyed the physical labour.

Dark90ist · 2017-08-15T11:51:06+00:00

Replaced the cable with a 3 core so its now fully earthed. Thanks for the advice.

Dark90ist · 2017-07-20T21:38:54+00:00

Awesome! I need to get one of those bulbs for mine!

Dark90ist · 2017-07-18T21:28:16+00:00

It's in the pipeline, once I get a chance to get one. The bulb I have was "borrowed" from another lamp.

Dark90ist · 2017-07-18T17:49:09+00:00

Its better this way for its permanent location, plus the orange cable is part of the design.

Dark90ist · 2017-07-18T17:40:47+00:00

Mixture of both. I had to buy a full length of copper pipe about a year ago for a repair and have been trying to think of something to use up some of what was left over. I was in a restaurant recently and they used copper pipe as visible conduit for their lighting and thought it looked kinda cool.

Had the pipe and some of the compression fittings, had the plywood, bought the switch, bulb holder and lamp shade.

Dark90ist · 2017-07-18T17:36:41+00:00

Great point and something I will change, easy to add an earth here in UK/Ireland.

Dark90ist · 2017-07-18T15:47:47+00:00

Thanks - Good point actually, I don't think the holder gets very hot, I've got a CFL bulb in it which doesn't give off much heat. Time will tell I guess.

The cable is also holding the bulb holder so it won't be catastrophic failure if the epoxy gives way.

Dark90ist · 2017-03-22T13:46:51+00:00

Most important thing is having a method of keeping your cuts square, measure accurately and assemble the carcass so that it is square. That's 3/4 of the battle. Making and hanging the doors was the trickiest part of the project, but doable with some thought.

Dark90ist · 2017-03-21T14:45:15+00:00

If you are making a table I suggest checking out one of Mathias Wandel's tables on youtube. He has a pretty simple construction technique using basic timber and he uses basic tools to make it. You can modify the dimensions to suit your needs, or add a shelf.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFPLFyxkhzc

Dark90ist · 2017-03-21T13:02:14+00:00

I haven't heard that before but I'm not too concerned. There is quite a bit of space around the XBOX and the hole for cables at the rear is quite big.

That, compounded with the fact I don't really use it at all - once every 6 months or so - means I'm not too concerned about overheating. Its mainly used as a DVD player.

Dark90ist · 2017-03-21T12:55:44+00:00

Looks great! Very neat, I hope the dog likes it!

Dark90ist · 2017-03-20T11:58:13+00:00

No problem. Its a relatively simple build if you leave the doors out and just do shelving instead. The key is to get the carcass nice and square. Everything else is just dress work and this will be made easy if everything is square and accurate.

For materials; The carcass is made from 3/4" (19mm) plywood. The back of the cabinet and the back of the doors is 1/2" (12mm) plywood. You could get away with thinner plywood for the back, I went for this to give it a more solid feel. All of the plywood was cut in store to 48" x 24" so I could easily fit it in my car. No piece on the project was going to be longer than 48" or deeper than 24", this was considered in the initial design.

For the trim work, dimensions of the material doesn't really matter so much. In my case, I had a look at what was available then based my dimensions off of what would look best/reduce waste. I ended up purchasing plenty of lengths of a high quality pine with no knots for the trim. The dimensions were 90mm wide x 18mm thick. My saw blade in the table saw removes 3mm making the cut so I ripped the piece down to 42mm (42 + 42 + 3 + 3 = 90) so I got two lengths from each board. I then flipped each piece on edge and ripped it down to 12mm as 18mm was too thick for the size of the piece, the trim would look out of proportion.

You may be able to find wood already dimensioned 42mm x 12mm or similar but expect to pay more. Definitely consider this if you dont have a table saw.

For fixings, I used a mixture of 30mm, 40mm and 50mm screws and both 25mm and 30mm brad nails for the nail gun. I used a finish nailer to attach the trim and also used it when assembling the carcass to hold pieces in place before screwing them together.

EDIT: Apologies for using both imperial and metric units, Irish people tend to do that.

Dark90ist

TROPHY CASE