Worth the Investment?

The address: Apartment 38, James's Wood, South Circular Road, Dublin 8.

The agent: Young's Auctioneers.

The property: two-bedroom apartment for €395,000.

The look: redbrick apartment complex comprising 120 units in three blocks built around a courtyard.

The landscape: located at the Kilmainham end of the South Circular Road, near St James's Hospital.

The features: a 72sq m (774sq ft) apartment with living/diningroom with doors out to a decked balcony. There is a modern kitchen, two double bedrooms and a family bathroom. Communal car-parking is located behind electric security gates.

How much for an investor? Bank of Ireland will lend up to 80 per cent of the property price on an annuity basis and taking a two-year discount tracker (ECB rate plus 1.15 per cent, rolling to ECB rate plus 1.5 per cent), the repayments over a 25-year term are €1,605 per month. Bank of Ireland will lend up to 75 per cent of the property price on an interest-only basis. Taking the above rate, the interest-only repayments will be €900 a month.

How much to buy? Most first-time buyers are availing of the two-year discount tracker (ECB rate plus 0.95 per cent, rolling to ECB rate plus 1.25 per cent). On a 100 per cent mortgage the repayment would be €1,963 a month over 25 years.

To qualify for a QuickStart 100 per cent mortgage, a borrower needs a minimum salary of €35,000 and joint borrowers need a combined income of €50,000.

Potential: the apartment would fetch a rent of €1,200-€1,250 per month. When the last phase of the apartments were launched in 2002, two-bedroom apartments were priced from €247,586.

Verdict: good rental location of interest to an investor willing to hang in for long-term gains.

Calculations by Bank of Ireland