‘BEING CONFINED OVER LOCKDOWN MADE US KEEN TO MOVE QUICKLY’
Deirdre O’Brien and Stephen Leonard bought a four-bed, three-storey house for €480,000 during lockdown. The house is in Mariavilla in Maynooth by Cairn Homes, and was sold by Coonan Property.
Deirdre says: “We knew from the outset that we wanted a family home. We’re not buying as an investment, or starter home, we really wanted somewhere where hopefully we can spend the rest of our lives, and raise our future family.”
Stephen says: “During the lockdown, I think it kind of solidified for us that we needed to step on the gas and not take our time because we were worried about what the effects on the economy might be. As well as that, we currently live in a small two-bedroom flat. Being confined there over the lockdown made us realise what we really wanted, which was a bit more space. It made us keen to move pretty quickly.”
Deirdre says: “We were both working from home — in our current apartment, Stephen has his set-up on the kitchen table, I have my set-up in our bedroom. Constantly, I was going into the kitchen to make a cup of tea, and I’d realise he was on a video call and I’d back out. Or he’d go into the bedroom and realise I was teaching a class, and he’d back out. We thought, ‘Ok, we need to push on with this, we need a home.’”
Stephen adds: “Something we’ve realised is that having the extra space in a house for people to work from home, that’s really important. If I was advising someone else who was buying a house where there wasn’t space [for a home office], I would say look at the garden, is it possible to get an office in a shed or something.
Deirdre says: “We did our first viewing in January. At that point, we weren’t sure if it was in our budget, until we discovered the extent of the Help-to-Buy scheme, which has been increased again during lockdown. Then we revisited this estate, and thought hang on, with the Help-to-Buy scheme, and with money that we’re saving from not commuting into work, maybe we can look at this again.”