Your property questions answered
Can I claim tax relief for my own labour?
Q I have an apartment in Spain which I rent out for six months of the year on a winter let. My own family use it during the rest of the year. Every year I go down in April to repaint/repair after the tenants and I claim the travel expenses against my tax. I do all the work myself so can I also claim a deduction for the cost of my own labour? I haven’t to date.
A No, according to Revenue you cannot claim any deduction for the time you spend working yourself in your rental business. So, while the cost of the repairs is allowable, you’re not entitled to a deduction for the time you spend carrying out those repairs.
Is 30-year mortgage too long for me?
Q I am a 38-year-old who is still renting and I was recently advised by a consultant that, with my salary and a €15,000 deposit, it is very feasible that a bank would lend me enough to purchase a property valued at about €190,000 with a mortgage repayment period of 30 years. However, I don’t want to still be paying off a mortgage when I’m 68/69 years old. I’ve been told to look out for “executors’ sales” in local newspapers and also to contact local auctioneers who might be able to look out for such cheaper properties on my behalf. I’d appreciate any advice you can give as I’ve never owned my own property.
A You’ve given a great deal of information but not the crucial bit – your location. At your price level in, say, the midlands, you could get a new three-bedroom house but in Dublin you would be lucky to find a tiny one-bedroom apartment. So while you could happily live in a three-bedroom house for the rest of your life, you might find a small, poorly located one-bed flat a different proposition over the long-term. Also, when you say a “consultant” advised you, do you mean a mortgage broker? These days with lenders being so strict about mortgages it is wise for potential buyers to go straight to the lender to get mortgage approval. With savings of €15,000, you obviously have a good track record with some bank and mortgage approval will give you leverage when you are negotiating a price, as you will be the most prized of buyers – someone with the funds who wants to buy.
As for still paying off when you are 69 – that is a horrible prospect but ideally, if you went for that scenario, you would take out a variable mortgage and overpay where possible to take years off the length of the mortgage. Are you by any chance mixing up “executors’ sales” with sales of repossessed property? The former is simply when a house is sold on the death of the owner. If does not automatically mean a bargain. In the UK, the volume of repossessions means that there are now regular public auctions of repossessed property and there are reports of bargains to be had simply because the financial institution selling is usually prepared to sell to the highest bidder, no matter how low that bid is. To date we have had no specialist public auctions here of multiple lots of repossessed homes – though as the volume of repossessions is growing, that is surely only a matter of time.
Your questions
Send your queries to Property questions, The Irish Times, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or email propertyquestions@irish-times.ie. This column is a readers’ service and is not intended to replace professional advice.
