From warehouse to home – what to watch
Q I'm considering buying a small industrial warehouse and converting it for residential use. It's in an Objective MTC zone and residential use is permitted in principle. I'm wondering what pitfalls I should look out for.
AAs international interior and architecture magazines seem to always have at least one amazing loft conversion in an industrial warehouse somewhere or other, we can see the appeal of your plan. But of course, as you know, you need to start at the very basics – the planning permission. We put your query to The Building Consultancy (thebuildingconsultancy.ie), a specialist Dublin-based firm with experience of all aspects of project management, and it pointed out that in its experience "permitted in principle" means "that the planning process will be longer than anticipated and there are no guarantees at the end of the process". As you do not yet own the premises, it advises that you speak to the planners in the first instance to see what its position is before purchasing the building. The company says that you "should also accept that if you get a positive response from the planner at the meeting you still may not get planning permission, so it is high risk". If you are not confident in meeting the planners, "you should, as a minimum, appoint a planning consultant to assess the chances of getting planning permission and then make a decision on the purchase. Allow €350 to €500 ex-VAT for the initial consultation."
Are letting agencies worth the rate?
Q I will be letting out my apartment shortly, as I will be moving abroad, and have been shopping around at letting agencies. It’s quite expensive – around 6 per cent plus VAT for let only (including finding tenants) and 11 per cent plus VAT for let and manage. As it stands, the rental won’t cover my mortgage and annual service charge. Is it worth it?
AThe question is, is it worth it to you? If you do not want to deal with your tenants at all and any problems they might have – from a broken oven to a leak at 4am – then a full let-and-manage service is for you. Letting a property comes with reams of paperwork – from getting a BER cert, to registering for the PRTB, to finding a good tenant to signing the lease and much else – a good professional agent will deal with all of this for you. It does mean giving over a great deal of control and trusting your letting agent, which some landlords don't like. One option would be to use an agency to find a tenant, collect the rent and deal with the paperwork, and then find a family member prepared to manage the letting and deal with tenant problems as they arise. This would be cheaper and give you more ongoing input into the letting. It's worth noting that payments to a letting agency are a deductible expense when it comes to tax time. Look at irishlandlord.com – it is a good source of information for would-be landlords with informative discussion forums about letting agents.
Your questions
Send your queries to Property questions, The Irish Times, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irishtimes.com. This column is a readers’ service and is not intended to replace professional advice.
