u/Rough_Wrangler2430

The sheer amount of 50+ year olds in my life who talk about Thatcher (almost never Reagan) as though the sun shone out her rear is genuinely mind-boggling to me. I can understand how Tories in the UK might think she’s God’s gift, but socially liberal Irish people being so taken by her is always a wonder to me. My family and many of the people I know through them are not just taken by neoliberalism, but by Thatcher specifically.

Has anyone experienced this, and why do you think it is?

My partner (24F) and I (26F) were talking the other day about possibly buying an apartment rather than renting, as we’re finding it hard to justify watching our savings drop to 0 when we pay deposits and rent (as if we want to rent a 2 bed to have an office, or even a 1 bed with a large living space to put an office setup, we’re looking at €2k+/month in Dublin). We know that if we rent it’ll be really hard to save for a deposit and may just lock us out of buying a home. At the minute we’re back living with my parents, which certainly isn’t fun for either of us, but it means we can save a bit each month. We’re back there since January and while we have been saving, we’ve also been enjoying our money somewhat with a couple of holidays as we didn’t have as much leeway for this when we were renting previously.

I’m making €40k (increase to €45k in September) and she’s on €38k (€41k from January) so while we’re not flush, we’re in the bracket to be able to consider a 2 bed in Dublin, and our mortgage repayments would be significantly less than what we’d pay in rent. We’ve a few grand saved, but we’ve said that we’ll take the summer to decide if we want to go ahead with this to give us both time to think independently. I’m conscious that we’re both still young and definitely don’t want to rush her into anything, but we’re definitely both on the same page about the utility of buying and the freedom it would afford us, and are willing to forego any of the nice trips we might otherwise want to do.

My main concern isn’t really about the saving, as I know this just needs some knuckling down, but it’s about when the banks take a look at my finances. I maybe miss 1/2 small direct debits each month (no more than maybe a tenner each) which is completely due to bad scheduling on my part and as soon as I see the declined notification I go and rectify it manually. I know this isn’t looked over favourably, so even if we had the money we need in a year I’m worried about this being a mark against me even if I tighten up here.

My other thought is around things like gambling. I’m not a big gambler by any means and in a whole month I’d maybe throw €30 max at Paddy Power for the odd football game (no winnings to report). Again, I’m conscious that this isn’t looked on favourably by the lenders, and even if I stopped immediately I don’t know that it would help in a year’s time.

Ultimately, I’m concerned that even if we have the money saved for a deposit that small bits like these will mean that we have no choice but to wait until 3 full years after a last declined transaction or a bet? To what extent is this stuff taken into account if they can see evidence of your personal finance management improving over time and that you’ve been able to save? I’m sure she has a few bits also that she would be worried about in this respect also, but in terms of my own bits if we’re applying jointly I’d hate to think that I’d be the reason we might get declined after we do all the hard yards with the saving.

Please no comments about buying a house with someone you’re not married to, we’re together a long time now and we’re both lawyers so all arrangements between us would be in writing and signed, and we’ll be talking to solicitors and financial advisors if we decide this is definitely what’s best for us.

Just got word that I was unsuccessful for a cost rental that seemed like the only shot my partner and I had at finding a place that’s right for us for a decent price. We were eligible for a 2 bed which was €1,695/month (already more than my parents have eve paid for a mortgage on a 3 bed in Kimmage, but that’s the market I guess) and it was right around the corner from where my partner works. Now that we’ve not gotten that I’ve accepted that we will have to just find a place on Daft or something, but the prices are even crazier than when I last looked a few months ago.

Everything under €2,000 is a studio, meanwhile most of the reason we’re looking to move is because we already live in a single room in my mam’s house. To get any more than that you have to share, which is just crazy given the price. I WFH often and am studying for my masters and she’ll be doing the King’s Inns next year, so we very simply need either a spacious one bed (even a large studio) or a small 2 bed so we can fit a desk in and not have to see it when we’re trying to relax or sleep.

But this is just insane, we’re 2 young qualified professionals making decent money straight out of college and there’s just nothing there that you could swing a cat in. However market-pilled we all are, €2k for a studio is genuinely insane. I know I might sound like this is my first day on earth with these comments, but I’m actually just losing it over what has become normal. Maybe some people think I’m asking too much, but again, all we need is a one bed to ourselves for less than TWO THOUSAND EURO PER MONTH, I just don’t think that’s an insane ask.