Daft Property - Irish Property News

Nama 'perks' for builders add to sense of injustice Developers enjoying allowances on top of huge salaries -- and all at taxpayers' expense... DEVELOPERS who work for Nama will be entitled to claim expenses and may even stay in their palatial homes as they draw salaries ranging from €70,000 to €200,000, the Sunday Independent can reveal. Confirmation of the generous allowances being given by the State's so-called 'bad bank' is sure to provoke fresh anger from a public reeling from the revelation by Nama chief executive Brendan McDonagh last Wednesday that his agency has approved salaries of €200,000 for two of its biggest developers. Appearing before the Dail's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Mr McDonagh also confirmed Nama's intention to approve salaries ranging from €70,000 to €100,000 a year for between 110 and 120 developers on its books before the end of this year. Confirmation of the multimillion euro pay bill has unsurprisingly been met...

Ireland’s property boom was the biggest, and our crash the most violent. In a week that brought news of a further drop in house prices, Economics Editor DAN O’BRIEN explains why the market won’t recover any time soon... ‘THE FUNDAMENTALS of the property market are sound, going forward.” This mantra was repeated constantly during the boom by those who believed that no risks were attached to soaring property prices. If any reminder was needed of how badly wrong this view was, it came this week with new official figures showing yet another fall in residential property prices in August. This, according to statisticians, brought the total decline since the property-price peak, in late 2007, to more than 43 per cent, one of the biggest drops in the world. The latest figures from the auctioneer Sherry FitzGerald, also published this week, are worse still, suggesting that average prices are down by a huge 58 per cent since the bubble burst. The belief that property was a one-way bet b...

Nama declines to issue list of art collections to be auctioned... A NUMBER of valuable artworks seized by the National Asset Management Agency from property developers are to be put up for auction in the coming months. However, Nama has declined to provide a list of the art collections it has acquired, saying only that it was “keenly interested in getting best prices for the works”. Last month, the agency published a list of assets it had for sale but it made no reference at that time to the various art collections seized from developers who own billions to the banks. While the agency will not name the individuals involved, it has already seized the art collection of Derek Quinlan – a former tax inspector turned property speculator, and resident of Shrewsbury Road, Dublin 4 – who moved to Switzerland in 2009. It is expected other collections assembled during the boom will come under Nama’s control in the months and years ahead as the assets of other developers and companies a...

Taxpayer beware as Nama makes spectacular loss. Loss-making Nama has become a seemingly endless gravy train. Worse still, it has emerged as a bailout for some of the same developers who have brought this country to its knees... When it was announced by then Finance Minister Brian Lenihan during his emergency budget speech in April 2009, we were told it would get credit moving, we were promised it would not be a bailout for developers, we were told it wouldn't be a gravy train for advisers, consultants and public sector fat cats and we were told it would make a profit. Set up to save the country from the greed and recklessness of the banks and developers, including Liam Carroll, Bernard McNamara and Sean Dunne, Nama was an unprecedented development in Irish history. But, more than two years on from its inception, there is no question on all of these fronts: Nama has failed and failed spectacularly, and the taxpayer should be very concerned indeed. As last Thursday's an...

Celtic Tiger developers trying to scam Nama – Taoiseach Taoiseach Enda Kenny has declared concerns that developers could be buying back assets seized by Nama at knockdown prices. Mr Kenny said he had some indications that boom-time speculators who could not repay massive loans - now tied to the taxpayer - were attempting to repurchase their properties at their current prices. Just over a week ago, the state toxic assets agency dismissed allegations repeated by a Fianna Fail senator about the practice. Mark Daly had claimed the taxpayer was picking up the bill, running into hundreds of thousands of euro, for the plunging loan values while those who borrowed the money regained their properties at a fraction of the original price. Speaking at the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Cork, Mr Kenny signalled his intention to meet finance minister Michael Noonan about the issue. "I have had some indications of attempts to acquire property that was taken from developers thr...

Millions wiped off value of land in dezoning... DEVELOPERS have taken massive hits on the value of their land banks, as one-in-three local authorities have dezoned land earmarked for development. The moved has wiped hundreds of millions off the value of land across the country -- with taxpayers facing a massive bill for NAMA loans linked to land returning to agricultural use. Planning Minister Willie Penrose said yesterday that 12 of the State's 34 local authorities had made changes to their development plans which has resulted in thousands of sites now being classed as unsuitable for development. Last year, local authorities were ordered to dezone, rezone or forbid development on massive land banks to comply with tough new planning guidelines which set out where houses and commercial units could be built. The move came because councillors had zoned enough land during the boom years to build more than a million homes that were not needed. Councils had previously zoned m...

And They're Off... The Hook Again... As the Nama smoke begins to clear, it is apparent developers deemed too big to fail are being bailed out just like the banks... Last week, there was the ritual sacrifice. Seán FitzPatrick "bowed to the inevitable" as he said himself, and petitioned to be declared a bankrupt. From here on in, if he is to enjoy any luxury in his life, it will be as a kept man. His wife, who never worked a day in Anglo Irish Bank, enjoys half a pension pot somewhere north of €3m. She is also part owner of a number of properties, which is just as well for the FitzPatricks, if they are to continue living in the style to which they have become accustomed. There is little sympathy for FitzPatrick. In a country where so many are struggling, he has become the pantomime villain. As a result, there was no way that Anglo Irish Bank was ever going to accept a private deal to settle his debts. The public would have been outraged. But what of all the rest? FitzPatric...

McNamara, FitzPatrick facing bankruptcy 'in weeks'... TWO of the Celtic Tiger's highest fliers -- developer Bernard McNamara and banker Sean FitzPatrick -- face bankruptcy within weeks. The Irish Independent has learned that Mr McNamara, once worth almost €240m, is facing a fresh attempt by a group of private investors to force him into bankruptcy. The group is pursuing up to 40 properties owned by the Clare-born builder, records show. Meanwhile, Anglo Irish Bank will veto any plans by FitzPatrick -- who owes the bank €110m -- to reach a private deal with his creditors. Both men are now facing the real prospect of having all their assets, including their family homes, seized and sold off. Pursued Bankruptcy in Ireland lasts for 12 years, with those declared bankrupt facing travel restrictions, curbs on their ability to borrow money and/or run a business. Mr McNamara is already being pursued by investors arising from the disastrous Glass Bottle site investment. But now a sec...

Developers’ castles may be built of sand as flood of debt rises... And what of builders and property developers? There’s no doubt that these Celtic Tiger characters have taken a serious hit to their fortunes. It may have completely wiped out large chunks of their wealth. We suspect that many are just treading water, but we really don’t know exactly how bad it is. Firstly, we don’t know how much they have borrowed and how bad their land and assets are worth. Development land in some parts of Ireland may have fallen by 95 per cent in value. This means that the banks — or rather Nama — owns it. Crucially, we don’t know the level of personal guarantees given by the developers. If they have put everything on the line for a loan, they are toast. If not, they may still retain some shattered vestige of their former wealth. How the likes of developer Johnny Ronan can blow €60,000 on a holiday in Morocco we honestly cannot imagine. But he must have made serious money in the good times — and one ...

29 property suicides leave State unmoved... Families torn apart by cash crisis Twenty-nine deaths by suicide can be directly linked to the turmoil in the construction and property sector but dozens more deaths among small investors, homeowners and construction industry workers linked to financial despair have gone unreported. David Mellon, of the Irish Property Council believes the human misery inflicted by the collapse in the property and construction industry is incalculable and the Government is doing nothing to protect the sanctity of the family home. He predicted that by the time the economy recovers, hundreds will have taken their own lives because they have been plunged into a financial abyss from which they can see no way out. "We are talking about people who invested in property, people who earned their livelihood from it in many forms; builders, plasterers, plumbers, developers and large and small investors. "They are now facing financial disaster, bankruptcy and de...

IRELAND TODAY: IT’S JUST over a year since Wall Street and its Irish cheerleaders chanted “We are where we are” while Main Street reeled. Since then, every wrong-headed, populist Government economic policy, every catastrophic failure of the Financial Regulator, every rampantly greedy, short-termist instinct of the financial institutions and builders/developers has been exposed... A year ago, commentators were predicting something akin to the end of capitalism as we know it. Citizens were demanding humility, apologies, accountability, a purpose of amendment, radical reform, fewer tax breaks, an end to the bonus culture and a fairer share-out of the tax burden. So how is your head now, a year on? Still looking for other heads on plates? There is a lot to rage against. Only this week, headlines announced that banks are being “forced” to pay bonuses. But how long can a people sustain a condition of mass, impotent rage while remaining relatively sane and healthy? A few weeks ago, 1,200 peop...

The property bubble was partly fuelled by political and regulatory mistakes, education minister Batt O’Keeffe has admitted. Addressing the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) conference and dinner last Friday night, O’Keeffe said that those in positions of leadership in the construction industry had the ‘‘opportunity to help shape the future of the sector in a way that acknowledges the mistakes of the past’’. He listed those mistakes as ‘‘the failure of the Central Bank and Financial Regulator to properly control lending practices and the failure of the private sector, including developers and bankers, in amassing wealth without adequately considering the longer term implications’’. He also admitted to a ‘‘failure of politicians to curb a culture of one-upmanship and target-driven greed in the banking and property sectors’’. O’Keeffe said that the annual construction industry review and outlook, to be published this week, ‘‘will not make for happy reading’’. It will show that almost...

Vested interests: 38 politicians voting on Nama have extensive property portfolios... Almost 40 of the politicians who will vote on the critical Nama legislation designed to clean up the banks' toxic loans to property developers have extensive property interests both here and abroad themselves. The current register of interests, in which politicians are legally obliged to reveal any outside commercial interests, shows that, excluding the hundreds of acres of farmland owned by politicians, 38 TDs and senators have substantial development land and commercial property holdings. These range from the relatively modest three properties held by Taoiseach Brian Cowen, including one in Leeds, to Fine Gael's Alan Shatter, who lists joint ownership with an "other" of 14 investment properties in Dublin, London and Florida. Of the 38 politicians, 17 could be considered to have significant interests which, during the property boom, would have provided a comfortable income on their ...

A group of 46 economists has signed an article in today’s Irish Times calling on the Government to reconsider the National Asset Management (Nama) project. They argue that Nama should pay the banks only the current market value for the loans it will assume. In response, economist Alan Ahearne, special adviser to Minster for Finance Brian Lenihan, said last night that a number of claims in the article were incorrect. He added that most of the economists in the country had not signed the article drafted by Prof Brian Lucey of Trinity College. Prof Lucey said he had contacted about 250 lecturers in economics and not one had come back to say they disagreed with the views expressed in his draft. He said a number did not sign because they did not want to get involved in a round-robin exercise. In the article, the economists say the Government will pay significantly above market value for the bad loans advanced by the banks. “The key difficulty facing the Government is that to pay prices now ...

Nama turns us into a nation of speculators... OPINION: Builders and developers have finally managed to shape the country in their own image... THE DRAFT National Asset Management Agency (Nama) legislation runs to 136 pages, so it’s not too surprising that most people have missed the interesting section 201. It reads as follows: 201.1: Henceforth, all male children shall be called Seán, Seánie, Paddy, Mick, Tom, Joe, Gerry, Liam or Bernard. All female children shall be christened Seona, Patricia, Michaela, Tomasina, Josephine, Geraldine, Wilma or Bernadine and shall be referred to de facto as Seán, Seánie, Paddy, Mick, Tom, Joe, Gerry, Liam or Bernard. 201.2: From the coming into force of this legislation, all citizens shall be required to receive a daily dosage of testosterone and cocaine to induce feelings of competitive aggression and megalomaniacal omnipotence. 201.3: All male citizens shall wear a pink shirt as a declaration that said citizen is so macho that he can wear pink and n...

NAMA: The €90bn gamble Sweeping powers for 'bad bank' 1,400 loans from 50 top developers THE Government last night gave its 'bad bank' sweeping powers over developers and judges as it unleashed a €90bn plan to rescue banks and kickstart the economy. But Finance Minister Brian Lenihan admitted it could take up to 30 years for the new National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) to sort out the toxic bank assets. The State will effectively become one of the biggest property owners in the world as NAMA is granted extensive powers to take over land and development projects from borrowers who are not keeping up with their repayments. Among the more controversial provisions in the proposed new legislation -- described by Fine Gael as a massive gamble -- is a radical series of rules and procedures to ward off legal attacks that could be disastrous for taxpayers. But the plans, which include limited appeals to the Supreme Court and a clampdown on injunction proceedings, have alarmed...

Government to publish Nama legislation today... The Government will today publish legislation setting up the controversial National Asset Management Agency (Nama), the State’s new toxic assets agency. The €90 billion “bad bank” scheme will use Government bonds to buy property loans at a discount from banks, which will then be able to cash the bonds with the European Central Bank. The draft legislation will be published at 5pm today on the Department of Finance website, but the Government intends to amend it next month when it is debated by the Oireachtas. The complex draft laws run to 150 pages and contains more than 200 sections. Nama will operate under the aegis of the National Treasury Management Agency. Banks will have one chance to appeal the price put on their loans by Nama to “a valuations panel”, which will advise the Minister of Finance Brian Lenihan, but the final decision will be his, the Department of Finance has said. Officials expect that loans to the 50 largest property ...

Developers cut prices of new homes in Dublin... Developers have sharply reduced prices at some of Dublin’s bigger housing schemes this weekend, in a bid to stimulate sales of vacant units and entice first-time buyers into the market. Price reductions of up to €150,000 are being offered at the latest releases of apartments and houses for sale. P Elliott & Co has put a total of 80 units at four of its apartment schemes, on to the market through Hooke & MacDonald, at substantially reduced prices. Prices now start at €169,000 for a one-bedroom apartment at Arena in west Dublin, while a two-bedroom apartments at Mellowes Quay in Dublin 8 now costs €269,000, down from a high of €415,000 in spring 2007. Jackson Homes, Kingscroft Developments and Durkan New Homes have also reduced prices at their schemes by about €100,000, or up to 30 per cent on peak levels. Estate agents reported strong enquiries ahead of this weekend’s releases. ‘‘Based on the level of enquiries we’ve had, we expect...

The blame game for the boom is well underway, says Isabel Morton... LAST SEPTEMBER, I rather boldly suggested that we might all consider suing the banks. I am now interested to hear that it is to come to pass. Investors are planning to sue Anglo Irish Bank. Given what we now know about the specific circumstances of that particular bank, it is understandable that investors, who lost a lot of money, are now somewhat sore about it all. However, the idea that property developers are also considering suing Anglo Irish Bank is not quite as easy to fathom, particularly as they are suing based on the grounds that the bank behaved negligently by breaching the guidelines of sensible lending practices. My initial reaction to this news was: that the property developers have some nerve; and that they hadn’t a hope in hell of succeeding. But, having thought about the basis of their argument, I could see that the same argument might actually be applicable to many of the loans and mortgages obtained b...