Q&A this week looks at First-time buyer's grants and storage problems.

First-time buyer's grant

I believe that the first-time buyer's grant has been extended until April 2004. I hope to buy an apartment well before that (and am a first-time buyer), so how do I make sure that I get the grant?

The short answer is that you can't. You will remember the controversy when the grant (of €3,900) was withdrawn in the 2003 budget. As it is only granted when the property is completed and the owners are in occupation, some buyers - through no fault of their own - found that they would not be able to get the grant even though they had bought the property before the grant was abolished.

The deadline for occupation was originally November 13th, 2003. With this in mind the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr Cullen, gave a six-month extension to first-time buyers. Applicants must have applied before December 4th, 2002. As you are only in the process of buying, it is too late to apply.

Poor storage in apartment

Storage in my one-bedroom apartment is very poor. There is a built-in wardrobe in the bedroom, a small cupboard in the hall and minimal presses in the kitchen. Putting up shelves, which I desperately need for books, are a huge problem because the walls are not solid and if you hammer a nail in, it just goes through. There's no room on the only solid walls because they are taken up with patio doors, etc. It's really very badly designed. Any advice?

There are special hollow wall fixings that you can buy in any DIY store that allow you to fix screws into hollow plasterboard walls. These are good for picture or light fittings. However, they are unlikely to hold a shelf-load of books, or a very heavy mirror (for that you'll need to locate the timber wall studs and fix the load with wall screws).

Storage is a perennial problem in apartments, especially those built in Dublin in the early 1990s. However, while it is very easy to believe that you have poor storage, it's also likely that you are not making the best of the space you have. Take a long look at unused space in each room. You have a hallway. Is there space for a line or two of shelves above the doorways? In the bathroom could you get a cupboard built-in over the door? What's going on under your bed? Would you consider having a new, higher bed base built that has storage underneath.

This column has seen very smart low platform beds sitting on top of washer/dryers, smart-looking bookshelves, and on cupboards built specially to hold skis and sporting gear. For some quite inexplicable reason kitchen cupboards usually stop quite a few centimetres from the ceiling - and all that goes on up there is a lot of dust and grime collection. Taller cupboards would give extra storage.

Do you have a balcony with space for a trunk-sized box that could provide storage and double as a seat? These are only pointers but should get you started at looking at the available space in your apartment in a different way.

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.