{"id":18978,"date":"2024-11-26T10:43:24","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T10:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18978"},"modified":"2024-11-26T10:43:24","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T10:43:24","slug":"we-couldnt-get-a-mortgage-so-live-in-a-mobile-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18978","title":{"rendered":"'We couldn\u2019t get a mortgage so live in a mobile home'"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"BBCBBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Eoin McGovern and his son outside their mobile home<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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A man living in a mobile home with his young family says owning their own home in the Republic of Ireland \u201cfeels impossible\u201d.<\/p>\n

Eoin McGovern from County Cavan had a mortgage application rejected when his wife became pregnant, so they moved into a mobile home on the grounds of his mother\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would just love for my kids to have their own bedroom. Being confined to a small space is very disheartening,” he said.<\/p>\n

Housing is one of the most hotly contested issues in this week’s Irish election<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Eoin McGovern’s mobile home is on the grounds of his mother’s house<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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The Ballyhaise native lives with his partner and two young children.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWe had an initial mortgage acceptance offer from our bank, but then when my partner received her first maternity payment into our account, everything changed and the mortgage was denied.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr McGovern added: \u201cIt was a very tough time, because we fell between the cracks. We couldn\u2019t afford to rent and we\u2019re above the threshold to qualify for social housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea for the mobile home was a temporary solution until we both could start working again when the kids were old enough for creche and we would be in a position to re-apply for a mortgage, but it hasn\u2019t worked out that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old hotel worker was contacted by Cavan County Council and informed that without planning permission the mobile home was against regulations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Eoin,<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Eoin, his partner and their two children in their mobile home<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t blame the council, I honestly didn\u2019t realise you needed planning permission because it\u2019s on wheels on my mother\u2019s property,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe council could come tomorrow and take it away, I pray to God that doesn\u2019t happen and I just hope we\u2019re able to get a temporary planning exemption, just to give us some sort of chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

BBC News NI contacted Cavan Council but a spokesperson said it did not comment on individual cases.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Young people ‘struggling’ in Irish housing market<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Although the circumstances will vary, Mr McGovern and his family aren\u2019t alone. <\/p>\n

The average price of a property in the Republic of Ireland as of September this year was \u20ac346,000 (\u00a3289,000). <\/p>\n

In Northern Ireland the average price is \u00a3190,000.<\/p>\n

James Spring is an estate agent in County Cavan.<\/p>\n

He believes that with properties at this value, it\u2019s not surprising it\u2019s proving difficult for young couples to buy their first house.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Estate<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

James Spring is an estate agent in County Cavan<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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He said: \u201cThe number one story I hear is about mortgages expiring after six months, then you have to re-submit everything again and if your circumstances have changed, your mortgage offer can be in doubt.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s why housing is such a big issue in this election because young people are struggling, they\u2019re getting out-competed in the market and lending rules with banks seem to have really tightened up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Spring said it is a “supply and demand” issue with not enough houses being built in the Republic. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Waiting lists<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Waiting lists and social housing are also an issue. There are around 58,000 people are on the social housing waiting list in the Republic.<\/p>\n

Martin Loughran is chief commercial and development officer with Tuath Housing.<\/p>\n

The company has just finished an 11-storey apartment building in Drogheda, County Louth.<\/p>\n

All the homes will be occupied by individuals and families on the social housing waiting list.<\/p>\n

Mr Loughran believes a substantial increase in projects like this will be needed throughout Ireland to chip away at the waiting list.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Martin<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Martin Loughran is Chief Commercial and Development Officer with Tuath Housing<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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In Northern Ireland recently, news headlines have been dominated by the fact that a lack of access to water and sewerage systems<\/a> is preventing people from being able to move into homes \u2013 including social housing developments.<\/p>\n

Mr Loughran said there is a similar problem in the Republic.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThere has been talk of setting up a Department for Infrastructure in the Republic of Ireland to support the Department of Housing in government, we would be supportive of that and I think it\u2019s needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Rows<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Housing has been a key issue in the Irish election campaign<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Many commentators will say the Republic\u2019s ongoing housing issues can be traced back to the financial crisis in the late 2000.<\/p>\n

This saw a reduction in public investment and it\u2019s argued by some, that successive governments have struggled to hit housing targets ever since.<\/p>\n

Whatever the cause, for people like Eoin McGovern and his family, they\u2019ve been left feeling like the system is working against them.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIf I had a time machine I would try and get a house before I had kids because when you\u2019re trying to get a decent mortgage with dependents in this country, it\u2019s nearly impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis election will come and go, but things are going to stay very tough out there for families like us for a while yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Source: <\/em> www.bbc.com\u2026<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BBC Eoin McGovern and his son outside their mobile home A man living in a mobile home with his young family says owning their own home in the Republic of Ireland \u201cfeels impossible\u201d. Eoin McGovern from County Cavan had a mortgage application rejected when his wife became pregnant, so they moved into a mobile home […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18978\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}