Welcome to the October 2007 edition of your Privateseller.ie newsletter

Halloween is that time of the year that's absolutely freakish and screamingly fun. A time when the line between the world of the living and the world of the dead is the thinnest and ghosts, goblins, witches and werewolves are prowling, up to bed time at least! In a nod to the season we're taking a look at gourmet pumpkin carving for true Halloween connoisseurs, and we have an easy pumpkin carving stencil for you to try.

We also tell you about key steps you can take to help eliminate the risk of health problems related to high humidity and household mould. For sellers, Fiona McLoughlin, MD of Privateseller.ie continues her series on “How to get your property sold” with advice on press advertising. More reader’s queries are addressed in The Money Doctor and Legal Advice Columns, and there is a round up of this months property related facts and figures.                    

Boo-ti-ful pumpkins!

The origin and customs of Halloween are rooted in the ancient Celtic New Year's festival, Samhain, which marked the end of summer. It was celebrated on October 31. Ancient Celts believed that on this day the deceased would wander the earth and possess earthly souls...         

Picking the perfect pumpkin.
The pumpkin’s shape and size will determine what type of patterns and designs you can use. Make sure that your pumpkin is tall and wide enough for the design that you have in mind.

Look for a pumpkin that’s not too ripe. It should be the right colour orange and not have any soft spots or bruises. A bruised pumpkin rots quickly. Look for a sturdy stem and never, ever lift the pumpkin by the stem. Sturdy or not, it’s a short trip from 'Super!' to SPLAT!

Hold the pumpkin and smell it around the stem and top. If it smells very strong it’s too ripe. Look for another. Thump the pumpkin [gently] and listen for a solid “thunk”. A hollow sound is bad news.

Prep the pumpkin
1. Cut a circle around the top of the pumpkin without damaging the stem.
2. Remove the top and put aside.
3. Remove and discard the pulp and seeds.
4. With a large spoon, or an ice-cream scoop, scrape the inside of the pumpkin to remove the flesh. [Use this for pumpkin soup, Yum!] Be careful not to damage the wall of the pumpkin.

Transfer the stencil
1. Wipe the outside of the pumpkin and allow it to become thoroughly dry before proceeding to the next step.
2. Tape the stencil to the side of the pumpkin that you have chosen to be the face. Smooth the stencil out as you are taping it.
3. Using an old dart or something similar, gently poke holes through the stencil and into the pumpkin. Follow the lines of the stencil carefully. You will end up with a pattern of holes that resemble a join-the-dots puzzle.
4. Once you have transferred the entire pattern, remove the stencil, but keep it handy to refer to in case you get confused while cutting.
5. It can be difficult to see the pin holes on the flesh of the pumpkin. To overcome this, take a handful of ordinary white flour and rub it on the surface over the marks you have made. It will settle in the pattern holes, making it easier to see.

Time to put your patient under the knife
Although many a pumpkin has fallen under the standard kitchen knife, it’s actually not the best tool for pumpkin carving. For best results get yourself a craft knife and/or a keyhole saw, both available from DIY shops.
Using the saw for long cuts and the craft knife for more intricate work, just follow the pattern carefully and, before you know it, you’ll have the pride of the pumpkin patch right there on your table!
Halloween is not only a chance to eat, drink and be scary, it’s also an occasion to show your creative side, why not enter into the spirit of the season and give pumpkin carving a try?

Detect and eliminate dangerous mould in your home.

Mould thrives in dark and damp conditions, regardless of the temperature. Most types commonly found in indoor environments can result in the aggravation of respiratory conditions, such as asthma, allergies and sinus infections. Children in homes with high mould show three times more than average, persistent, cold-like symptoms... 

Read full article on detecting and eliminating mould      

This month's tip for getting your property sold

Over the last few months we have looked at the important of pricing to entice, of erecting your private seller for-sale board and of Staging your home for sale. If you are pricing to entice, have erected your for-sale board and are presenting your property in its best possible light and you are STILL having difficulty selling what is your next step?...         

The Money Doctor column

I have a property in Manchester on an interest only loan which costs £1345.00 a month. The rent is only £900 so its well short , (actually its breaking my heart). Someone advised me to change over to a euro mortgage. Is this possible and what would be the tax implications? Would you advised this change? I am paying 6.75 % in England .Many Thanks, Hilary.     

Thank you Hilary. First of all, your mortgage is sterling currently and your rental income is sterling. This currency is controlled by the Bank of England who also dictate the interest rates. It may not make sense to transfer to another currency because then you also run the exchange risk as well as two central banks dictating their own interest rates.
Secondly, a competitive euro interest rate on a UK property would be c. 5.50% (1.5% over ECB rate ) so let us compare the two by converting at 0.68 pounds to the euro.

                    Repayment            Rent
STERLING     £239,111                £1345 (RATE 6.75%)         £900 PER MONTH - differential in euro € 654.41
EURO             €351,634              €1611.65 (RATE 5.50%)      €1323.52 PER MONTH - difference € 288.13

Just in this exercise, you are going to be only € 288 short but you run the risk of currency risk, interest rates etc. While initially it may seem attractive, I am not sure it is worth the bother. Bank of England could drop their rates while the ECB raise the euro rates. It is also costly to swap mortgages between legals and bank fees.
As far as the tax is concerned, your income from the UK is still taxable here ( you must return all worldwide income ) but you can offset interest paid for the purpose of acquiring that property against your rental income tax liability. This also goes for maintenance and service costs, management fees and furnishings spread over an 8 year period. In this case, the interest far exceeds the rental income so in fact you will have a surplus each year to carry over to offset future profits and tax liabilities.   

Legal question

I am trying to sell a home that was newly built when I bought two years ago. It is now showing structural problems. What rights do I have as a home owner with respect to the building and repairs? Please advise. Nora,Dalkey

Hello Nora,

There are three possible courses of action open to a purchaser of a defective house, these are: 

• An action at law against the builder

• An action against the builder for breach of contract or

• Recourse under Homebond Scheme or Premier Guarantee Scheme

Under common law the purchaser is entitled under the building agreement to have his or her home built in a good and work like manner, using good and proper materials and be fit for human habitation.

The Building agreement contains rights and entitlements for the purchaser and if the builder is in breach of any of these common law obligations you may pursue the builder through the Courts for negligence. The right to pursue the builder and issue proceedings against him/her lasts for six years. 

The purchaser has rights under the building agreement and the builder is obliged to complete the house to a certain high standard with proper materials as per the plans and specifications planning permission and building regulations. If the builder fails to complete the property according to the terms of the agreement there is an obvious breach of contract. In general these rights co-exist with common law rights. Most building agreements contain a condition to the effect that the builder agrees to rectify any major structural defects arising over a certain period within 18 months from completion of the transaction.

The builder may also agree to remedy any minor defects which appear within 6 months from completion. However the builder will exclude certain minor defects in this regard.

Where the builder is registered with the National House Building Guarantee Company Limited the property will have the benefit of the home bond scheme. This provides a guarantee against major structural defects for a period of ten years and against water penetration for the five years of the warranty period. A purchaser seeking to avail of this should contact their solicitor for more information to discuss the scope of the scheme, the extent of the builder’s obligations and the issue of processing complaints.

Under the scheme the purchaser is obliged to send a written notice to the builder as soon as possible after the defect has occurred. The financial limit of the builder in respect of each property is approximately €200,000.00. The total liability of the builder is limited to approximately two million euro for structural defects.

In contrast to Home bond the Premier Guarantee scheme exists to provide similar warranties for builders. 

Nora, as you have a complaint about a newly built property you should contact  your solicitor without delay to obtain practical advice as to how to best enforce your rights        

Property related facts and figures

Last week the ESRI raised the prospect of a tax increase in the December budget. According to Dr. Alan Barrett of the Economic and Social Research Institute, raising taxes will ''not cause a collapse in civilisation'', but that it is the only alternative to government borrowing to ensure an improvement in public service provision over the next twelve months. The government has firmly ruled out any further reform in stamp duty, predicting a growth rate of 3.5%. Some economists hold that reforming the current stamp duty regime will rejuvenate a sluggish property market. Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen holds fast to the belief that under the current system, not only is stamp duty providing funds for the exchequer, it also ''helps keep other taxation at a relatively low level in comparison to other jurisdictions''.

Minister Cowen argues that the minor reform of stamp duty earlier this year '' restored stability and certainty to the market''. Even though figures from September point to fewer house completions in the coming year.  House guarantee registrations fell by 37%. There was a negative effect on the rate of mortgage growth. The rate of mortgage growth was the lowest recorded since 2002 at 17.9%. Irish Banking Federation data showed  a 23% decline in the number of mortgage draw-downs. The number of mortgages drawn down by investors fell by 26% while for first time buyers, draw-downs fell by16%.

In September, we reported that stamp duty receipts (from all sources, not just housing) had turned negative, falling by 2.1% for the eight months to August this year, compared to +36.4% in 2006''. Given the mixed messages, its no wonder there is a general air of uncertainty prevailing in the market. The sub-prime mortgage fiasco in the US, and the associated uncertainty over possible interest rate increases has undoubtedly contributed to an overall negative sentiment. However, even though the housing market has slowed over the last year, and there has been a marked reduction in the number of houses completed, the mortgage growth rate has declined and the government has a reduced stamp duty take, these may be positive signs for the property market in the long term. The department of finance tentatively predicts that ''residential output is in line with estimates of the medium term demand''.  Other economists have a more positive outlook, believing that the data from house guarantee registrations can be misleading, as they were in 2001, falling by 17%, while actual completions rose 5% that and each subsequent year.

The ESRI's Quarterly Economic Commentary Forecasting Record published in 2005, the ESRI stated that ''there was a slight pessimistic tendency in evidence'' with regard to its own economic forecasts.
The property market could well fall foul of calamity howlers, unwilling to ride out a period of market readjustment and normalisation after unprecedented boom times.

It is likely that the supply and demand balance will recover itself, and,  when interest rates stabilise, conditions should prevail where confidence will be restored to the market underpinned by steady economic and strong demographic growth..