Madam, - What a breath of fresh air Christine Madden brought to your Property supplement of October 17th. She also rendered a service to the mass of first-time house buyers striving to gain a foothold in the jungle of the Irish residential property market. Her article also introduced some balance to the fatuous hyperbole passing for information in current property columns.
Her experience with the BFO (no, not a virus but Best Final Offer) is symptomatic of the lack of professionalism now prevalent in this sector. Ms Madden decided that she had been "messed about" too much, placed an advert in the paper and was overwhelmed with the response. She found an ideal home and the cream on the cake for her was knowing that no agent would pocket a penny of the money exchanged. This method of house purchase/sale is quite common in the UK, where estate agents are not held in high esteem; Irish agents beware.
Developers and others assert that the continuing boom is simply market forces operating in an open economy; not so. The Government distorted this market by introducing tax concessions as a carrot for investors. The inevitable overheating of the market compelled it to reverse this decision. This being Ireland, pressure from the usual vested interests resulted in the Minister making another U-turn, restoring the tax benefits and the market was again in overdrive. While developers and others will have a contrary interpretation (more houses available etc.,) the indisputable fact is that the Minister's decision has been of no financial benefit to the first-time buyer. - Yours, etc.,
J.P. McCANN,
Mapas Avenue,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.