The Irish cottage dream.... A dilemma.
I have been looking online for over a year or 2
for a small vacation house in Ireland, and so far
I have only found one that has really made my
heart pitter patter. We put an offer on it and it
was rejected.
Thankfully, it was rejected. I now think it would have
been too high in price for us in the long run. I was
dreaming too big. I am sad about the house, but I
have moved on.
So now we are back to searching and have found
some little gems thanks to the internet and
to a good friend who sends emails of goodies
she has found. But nothing that really grabs me.
Well, I take that back. Many have grabbed me with
both hands, but sadly they are way out of our price
range.
Which brings me to similar subject.
Price of homes.....
The prices are still a little high for me. Not to
say they are high, just high for me.
I am not rich by any means and can't fund this
dream by pulling money out of some vast trust
fund. We have saved, skimped, sold items, and
bartered for years to get to where we are. Yet,
we will still need a mortgage of 92% to buy
something very modest.
I have looked at this dream from almost all angles
to make sure it is doable, but the last angle I have
explored has really struck a cord....... This would be
the dollar to the euro exchange rate in relation to
a mortgage. (we are paid in dollars)
I hadn't fully explored this until I had to fill out
mortgage pre-application papers at our new bank.
(Income paper work that needed to be converted from
dollar to euro). Of coarse I had thought about this,
but until it was down on paper I hadn't really seen the gap.
Here is an example.....
(exchange rate today €1 buys $1.387
or $1 buys € 0.72... now think of this in thousands)
Typical Cottage price: €70,000 = $97,117.00
Not too good.
Now lets look at the price after a 25 year mortgage.
Interest rate is 4%.
€70,000.00 + 48,439.00 (interest) = € 118,439.00
very typical outcome after a 25 year mortgage.
Now let's look at what it will cost us... amount is
converted at todays exchange rate, which could go
up or down over the years.....
$97,117.00 + 67,204.00 = $164,321.00!!!!!
I love Ireland. I love its people, I love my friends there
and I really love my husbands cousins in Donegal.
But sadly, I don't believe we can afford this **dream.
I have and always will believe ordinary people can make
extra-ordinary things happen in their lives.... Some
people don't agree and I have gotten the occasionally
negative comment to a post saying so. The comments do hurt
my feelings at first but my response is "I can still dream
and wish and have my day in the sun.... even if the dream
changes or takes a new path".
Old cottage we looked at. No water or sewage inside but
it does have loads of potential in the right hands.
I write these last words with tears in my eyes.....
Fittingly it has gone dark outside with pouring
down rain.
Is the dream of owning a vacation house
in Ireland over?
I don't know. A few hard decisions will have to
be made. New ideas will have to come to me.
Or maybe I might have to revamp my original dream?
Ah well, we'll see.
I haven't lived in the states for so long that
I don't know where to buy a house? Maybe in a
great little town? Plus a little house to
vacation to in Ireland? All these are adventures
I look forward to.
Anyone know a great little town?
Hugs to you all
~kimme
Abbey at Fenagh, County Leitrim
**If you recall, we wanted to start paying for a home in
Ireland now... While we live nearby. We wanted a place
for all of us to call "home" even if it is only a vacation home.
A place we could go to for recharging, a place my daughter
could have her own room to paint and decorate as she likes...
not with all the limitations that go along with renting.
