u/CtrlZMyLife2627

I’m looking at affordable housing in Ireland and I’m wondering how buyers can properly investigate the builders/contractors involved before committing hundreds of thousands of euro.

One example that caught my attention is Dolphin House in Dublin. Phase 1 of the regeneration involved 100 homes and cost about €26 million, including 37 new-build homes and 63 refurbished units. It was completed in 2018. Eight years later, residents have reported issues including leaking roofs, damp, cracks, heating problems and windows cracking/overheating. Dublin City Council has said defects and residents’ feedback from Phase 1 are now being used to inform later phases and that inspection standards have improved. Purcell Construction, the contractor involved in Phase 1, told The Irish Times it had “no knowledge of the matter” and declined further comment.

That genuinely worries me. If I found out that a company associated with developments where serious problems have later been reported was building an affordable housing scheme I was considering buying into, it would be a major red flag and I’d want to investigate properly before signing anything.

Ireland urgently needs housing, but we’re also building at huge speed. For buyers, especially people using affordable purchase schemes, this is still an enormous amount of money and potentially a 30-year mortgage. How can we make sure speed and housing targets aren’t coming at the expense of quality?

Is there somewhere you can check a builder’s previous developments, building-control records, defects, enforcement notices, disputes with councils or complaints? Can you FOI a local authority for records relating to previous projects? And is there a way of finding out exactly who the contractor, developer, engineer, architect and assigned certifier are before purchasing?

What checks would you do before buying an affordable/new-build home?

Hi everyone! I have a question and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through something similar.
I was diagnosed with PCOS and I’m currently taking Metformin alongside Mounjaro. It has helped reduce my appetite and I’m trying to make healthier food choices, but my weight loss has been much slower than I expected.
I started at around 120 kg (265 lbs) and I’m currently fluctuating between 118–119 kg (260–262 lbs), so I’ve only lost around 2 kg (4.4 lbs). I know any loss is still progress, but with the amount of money I’ve spent and the changes I’ve made, I was hoping to see a bigger difference.
I’m currently on 5 mg Mounjaro and was planning to move up to 7.5 mg. Unfortunately, I’m not exercising at the moment because of a back injury, so I have to be careful until I recover. I had hoped to lose some weight first and then gradually introduce exercise.
With PCOS and my hormonal issues, I was really hoping Mounjaro would make a bigger difference. I’ve even wondered whether stopping for a month and restarting might somehow make it more effective, although I wouldn’t do this without speaking to my doctor first.
Has anyone with PCOS/insulin resistance experienced very slow weight loss on Mounjaro at the beginning? Did things improve when you increased your dose?
I’m starting to feel a little discouraged, so I’d really appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences.