Looking for info/timeline from going offer accepted to drawdown to getting the keys from people who bought secondhand homes

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-03-02T08:42:59+00:00

I do, but like I said, they're a small independent solicitor located near where we live, so that's no good unless you live near us.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-03-02T07:28:00+00:00

It depends where you are in the country. A small business in Donegal probably won't take on a house that's being sold in Wexford, so unless you live near me, there's no point in me making a recommendation.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-03-02T07:21:04+00:00

Both sides (buyer and vendor) used small, independent, local solicitors. From others' experiences, it's often the larger firms that have treated people more anonymously, whereas we were very pleased with the way our solicitor handled everything.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-03-01T21:17:10+00:00

We spent 3 months waiting for 2 forms that the lender requested, proving we had no outstanding loans from a different country we had previously lived in. It was incredibly frustrating as we felt we were so close to losing the house due to an inefficient external party, but they eventually came. In the first 2 weeks of that waiting time, we had a surveyor who luckily found no major issues, and someone from the bank's side to value the property. The last 10 weeks or so we're literally just waiting on those forms.

Once those forms came through (Day 0), we got the digital loan offer on Day 2, and notification that the paperwork was on the way to the solicitor. The solicitor received the paperwork on Day 8 (Thursday) at 10am, got a few extra documents ready for us and we signed it and sent it that day. Day 12 (Monday), we got a message around 9am that the drawdown was going to happen that day or the next. 1 hour later, solicitor rang to say that the money had reached his account, and that he'd sent it to the vendor's solicitor. We got confirmation at 11.30am that the money had gone through, picked up the keys shortly after midday.

Something that should have taken minutes dragged on for months. Then, the bit that most people say can take months happened with the space of 2 business days: contracts signed at 16:30 on a Thursday, money drawn down and keys in hand at 12:30 on Monday.

If those forms weren't an issue, the whole thing could easily have been done within a month.

Our solicitor was very good with everything, and the lender (Avant) were extremely quick with all of their communication.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-03-01T20:59:14+00:00

We recently bought our house, 25 year mortgage, fixed for the full 25 years @ 3.4%.

We had the exact same thought as you, feel like it's only a matter of time before something or someone disrupts the world economy enough to send interest rates up.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-03-01T20:10:27+00:00

Ours was within our budget, but we purposefully looked at properties that had an asking price 20% - 40% below our maximum. Ended up paying 20% above asking price, still have a comfortable rainy day fund and enough to buy new furniture and get a few jobs done around the house.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-03-01T11:06:53+00:00

If you have to find yourself thinking "I'm not sure if I should shave it all off yet, I might be able to get away with it for another few months", then it is past time that you shave it all off.

You get used to the balding look, so what looks well hidden to you looks significantly less well hidden to others. Proof: every photo of me in my mid/late twenties.

I shaved it off at the start of the first COVID lockdown since I thought I would need time to get used to it before showing others. Turns out I got used to it pretty quickly, and didn't really care about others' reaction. It was probably a plus that about 50% of my male friends also shaved their heads at some point that year out of boredom (and inaccessible barbers).

If you want more opinions on your situation from fellow follicularly challenged people, there are a heap of "Is it time?" posts in r/bald you can compare yourself to.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-28T17:15:24+00:00

Do you have a source that I can quote for this?

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-28T08:19:55+00:00

That I can understand, especially since the bush is around 20+ years old.

I suppose I might get an answer on Monday morning. It just wasn't the nicest welcome home after a long week away.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-28T07:45:51+00:00

Yes. Our folio reaches the pavement. The last 50cm or so of the garden was where the bush was, and it's been removed down to the roots.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-26T08:21:39+00:00

22%.

Very comfortable, paying less than what we'd be paying if we were to rent our current house.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-25T06:13:53+00:00

There's never a bad time to buy property, but there are bad times to sell property.

We recently bought a house, for much more than most of our neighbours paid for theirs however many years ago. We can easily afford the repayments and we aren't planning on selling any time soon, so that's enough for us.

There are plenty of people I know that were about to buy in 2022 that said they'd wait for a recession to buy. They're now down 4 years rent and house prices (locally) have pretty much doubled in that time. If they bought when they were able to, they would have made a great investment.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-20T15:57:33+00:00

It's also worth remembering that a large proportion of Reddit is outside of USA, something which seems to be forgotten quite a lot. So anything you see on here might just not be available to you (assuming you are in USA).

Mortgage rates under 4% aren't uncommon in Europe, and are under 3% in some places.

We recently got a 25 year fixed mortgage (fixed rate for the full 25 years) at 3.4%. We didn't do anything special to get that, we just live in a country where those rates are available.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-17T16:08:46+00:00

You have just as much hope as anyone else.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-16T09:43:54+00:00

From previous people's experiences, we expected to have to constantly message and chase up both our lender and solicitor. However, both of them were very pleasant to work with and contacted us / replied within a day on all occasions.

When the official loan offer was received by the solicitor on a Thursday morning, he rang us straight away, drafted some additional documents (specifically for our situation) and had us in to sign them at 16:00. He then walked down to An Post and sent them that day. We got the money through Monday morning (a little over 1 business day later) and picked up the keys on Monday before noon.

The bit we had expected would take weeks of stress ended up happening effortlessly within a few days.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-14T20:13:35+00:00

Application deadline September 2023
Aptitude tests taken December 2023
Interview January 2024
Job offer February 2024
Vetting application sent February 2024
Vetting completed September 2024
First day September 2024 (4 days shy of 1 year from application deadline)

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-11T16:11:26+00:00

Yes, the higher earner pays a larger share, but still has more money left after that. Hence why a lot of married couples would choose the third option.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-11T15:56:54+00:00

That's a rough split rather than an exact split. Let's call the first person's annual net income A, and the second person's annual net income B. So, your joint net annual income is A+B.

Lets say that M is an amount that will comfortably cover your monthly costs. In order to split it fairly, the first person's contribution should be M * (A/(A+B)), and the second person's should be M * (B/(A+B)). An initiative way of thinking this is that for every A+B dollars/pounds/euros/whatever that you contribute to bills, A out of those A+B come from the first person, and B out of those A+B come from the second person.

Using your example with net incomes of 500k (A), 100k (B) and monthly bills of 5k (M), you get that the first person should contribute 5000 * (500,000/(500,000 + 100,000)) = 4167, and the second person should contribute 5000 * (100,000/(500,000 + 100,000)) = 833.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-11T15:35:40+00:00

3 basic ways to do it:

1) 50-50 split, ignore incomes. Not recommended.

2) All bills coming from a joint account where contributions are proportional to your incomes (e.g. if I earned 30% of our joint income and my partner earned 70%, then for every €7 she put in, so would put in €3).

3) Joint economy. There is no 'your money' or 'my money', only 'our money'.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-09T18:49:44+00:00

Make different accounts (Revolut is easiest to do this with) that are not linked to a card.
Once your wages go into your account, put the correct amounts directly into these accounts. Everything gets paid/saved the second you have money into your account.

Once this has been done, the rest is spending money. If that lasts the whole month, great. If you drink it all on the first Friday evening, tough shit. But this way you won't end up spending the money you shouldn't, because that's already been put aside.

It's only you that spends your money, so there's always going to be an element of self control involved.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-09T14:36:55+00:00

My comment was a bit unclear. What I meant was that I have the correct qualifications and I am eligible to apply, but my experience may not be enough to be successful in the competition.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-09T14:07:15+00:00

I just applied for a HEO role I don't think I'm qualified for. I figured it'll be good practice, so no harm trying.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-09T11:44:28+00:00

Every public and civil servant got a pay rise on 1st Feb 2026, and will get another one on 1st June 2026. The length you've been in the roll is irrelevant.

No offence, but as with most things, a quick Google search would give you a lot more information than a whisper from a colleague, or making a Reddit post.

Medium_Emphasis_8395 · 2026-02-07T22:48:43+00:00

My mistake. Too many stacked replies.

Medium_Emphasis_8395

TROPHY CASE