This article is from page 12 of the 2009-10-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
MEMBERS of Clare County Council have warned that some of the houses in the local authority’s Affordable Housing Scheme are over priced.
At the Kilrush area meeting yester- day (Monday) Marie Commane from the Housing Section told members the council is continuously having the houses revalued by its own auc- tioneer as the price of houses drop.
Clare County Council currently has properties available in eight lo- cations around the county valued in price from €138,000 to €175,000.
In Moinin on the Circular Road in Kilkee, the local authority are sell- ing three-bed semi-detached houses for €162,500 and €170,000.
These homes, it maintains, are available for purchase on the open market for €220,000.
Local councillors Pat Keane (FF) and Gabriel Keating (FG) raised ob- jections however to the valued price of these houses.
Cllr Keane told the meeting that as the houses are not selling at the guide price, the valuation is falsely high.
Cllr Keating said he follows the housing market closely and a house in Carrick-on-Shannon, (Leitrim) which is much nearer to Dublin, can be purchased at €100,000.
“You won’t get that in Kilkee. It is overpriced,” he said of the affordable atelursentee
To date 990 people have expressed an interest in affordable housing in Clare. Of these 564 were valid ap- plications, 163 properties have been allocated with 18 on hand and avail- able for purchase.
The council have received 79 refus- ES
The price of an affordable home in Clare varies from €138,000 to €175,000, and houses are available in Kilkee, Doonbeg, Miltown Mal- bay, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Ennis, Clarecastle, Crusheen and Lisdoon- varna.
Affordable housing is the provision of homes at a discount to the market price for people who cannot afford to buy a home on the open market.
Applicants must have sufficient in- come to meet mortgage repayments, usually an income of €30,000 per annum, although all income is con- sidered.
Applicants must pay a booking de- posit of three per cent, and can sell their home at any stage. If they sell their home within 20 years at a profit however, they must give 25 per cent to the council.
If they sell the property at a loss, then this “claw back” no longer ap- plies.