10 ways to beat the system

Buying a site: It might be worthwhile acquiring a site with an eye to building sometime in the future. But even in less exclusive areas in Dublin, you will pay up to £80,000 for a tiny plot. Look to north Co Dublin or south Wicklow for the bargains.

Building your own: Once you have a site, it will cost £94.25 per square foot to build in Dublin, £85 in Cork and £81,50 in Galway. That adds up to almost £100,000 for the average three-bedroom Dublin semi on top of the site price. Provided, that is, you can find a competent builder with time on his hands. Don't forget levies for connection of water, sewage and electricity, which can work out at £2,000-plus.

Buying with friends: Friends Alex Moynihan, Gavan McCarron and Brian Whelan banded together in 1998 to buy a three-bedroom house off Dublin's South Circular Road. They drew up a financial plan, presented it to the former First National building society and secured a loan relatively easily without the need for personal guarantors. They also made sure to draw up a watertight legal contract. Shared Ownership scheme: Anyone who can show earnings of less than £20,000 in the previous tax year is eligible to apply for a split-level mortgage and rental loan spread over 25 years. The amount lent is based on local housing costs and varies from one local authority region to another (e.g. £100,000 in the Dublin Corporation area, £90,000 in Fingal). The earnings criteria is waived for housing list applicants.

The Affordable Housing scheme: Those on the housing list and living at home, whose parents have room to extend or space in the garden to build, can repay building costs over a 15-year period, after which the property is wholly owned by the parents. The payments are set an affordable level, based on local authority rents.

Co-op schemes: The National Association of Building Co-operatives (NABCO) promotes a scheme whereby local authorities will supply a site (when available) and the buyer has a choice of a local authority or private mortgage when building. Over 3,000 houses have been built countrywide over the past 25 years through the co-op scheme. Dublin's 19 housing co-ops have built 700 houses in the past 10 years. (See main article)

Moving further out: If you are prepared to spend a considerable chunk of the day com- muting or can "telework", two-bed townhouses in Mullingar, south Wicklow or Drogheda are still available for less than £100,000. You will at least acquire a foothold on the property market and benefit from increased equity should prices continue to rise as forecast. Period redbricks in good areas of north Belfast can still be bought for under £80,000.

Living on a houseboat: If land is too expensive, think of all the uncrowded waterways crying out for re-population. Most European cities have floating villages, and the Heritage Council recently called for more serviced houseboat sites along our own waterways. Currently, there are water-based communities at Hazelhatch, Sallins, the Grand Canal Basin and all along the River Shannon. Duchas's waterway service is the government agency responsible.

Just renting: It's an old mainland European custom to rent and, while the "money down the drain" maxim does apply, there are advantages: if the boiler breaks down or the drains leak, you don't have to arrange or pay for the repair; rental properties are no longer the flea-pits they used to be; and there is tax relief on the rent.

House sitting: Put an ad in the local paper offering to house and pet-sit in exchange for a peppercorn rent, or target likely areas. Multinational corporations and retirement homes would be the first ports of call. The downside is the shortness of tenancy and having to walk the dog every morning.