A recent survey by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland found that 40 per cent of residential property sales in the last quarter of 2022 were landlords leaving the rental market. For many landlords, penalties far outweigh the incentives of investing in Irish property.
This is true for the owner of 47 Marguerite Road in Glasnevin; a lovely fully refurbished four-bedroom house. “I have a small portfolio and my intention was to have them as a pension but the State is doing nothing for small landlords and I am taxed to the hilt on it. It seems like larger landlords [with hundreds of properties] are treated as a business but smaller ones like me are seen as cash cows and 50 per cent goes on taxes with only specific things that I claim against income,” says the owner, who intends to also sell the two remaining investment homes in his portfolio.
Today there are just 235 properties to rent in Dublin at €3,500 or under, and this trajectory appears to be a downward spiralling trend, so heaven knows where the rental market will be at in the third quarter this year.
When it was purchased in 2015, for €412,500 according to the Property Price Register, the house on Marguerite Road was a series of bedsits with a higgledy-piggledy layout in the form of an extension to the rear.
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“We used a company called Merrit Consulting in Sandymount to design the extension and oversee all works. They also looked after the tenders for the build and made recommendations on the project,” says the owner, who was also hands-on throughout the renovations.
A new extension to the rear now contains a loo and bright kitchen by Woodworks of north Dublin. Chimneys were all inspected by Action Chimneys in Naas, who advised that in order to retain the two fireplaces downstairs they would need two flues, which have since been installed to keep the two reception rooms that lie to the front of the house toasty on winter evenings.
The Ber of B3 is indicative that insulation and new windows are keeping out the draughts.
Four bedrooms lie upstairs alongside a family bathroom, and the largest bedroom, which overlooks the front, retains a lovely cast-iron fireplace which serves as a reminder that the house would have been heated solely by fireplaces when it was first constructed.
Lying mid-terrace, the 120sq m (1,292sq ft) house benefits from off-street parking to the rear, which is accessed through electric gates off a small lane lying behind the terrace.
The property, situated on a quiet residential cul-de-sac off Botanic Road, is in turnkey condition and is now on the market through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €775,000.
