Caden Grimes Estates

Residential & Commercial Property Sales & Lettings | Lettings Management | Accommodation Outsourcing | Corporate Relocation

Japanese Knotweed Can Invade Your Garden AND Your Home

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Seemed Like A Good Idea Back Then…..
But now it can knock €000’s of your home’s value

Japanese knotweed (fallopia japonica) only arrived in Europe in the 1840s, and was brought from Japan by the famous German planthunter Philip von Siebold. It was first introduced into cultivation in the west of Ireland as an exotic ornamental perennial.

Its statuesque silhouette, handsome foliage, vigorous growth habit and popularity with bees (they love its flowers) meant that it quickly found favour with gardeners, so much so that by the early 1900s the influential English plantswoman Gertrude Jekyll was praising its “quick growing ways”.

Deal With It Early

Repeated treatment over several growing seasons with a glyphosate-based systemic herbicide is one, although this should only be carried out according to strict guidelines (see pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/sud).

Another (the most time-efficient) is burial of infested soil/plant material on-site, in which case it is wrapped in an impermeable root barrier membrane and incarcerated to a depth of 3m. Yet another is the licensed excavation and transport of infested soil/ plant material to an approved waste facility.

For those clients looking for an organically-acceptable method of control, and who are willing to play the longer game in terms of efficient control, repeated regular cutting back of the plant over a period of several years is also sometimes sufficient.

Caden Grimes Estates is registered with the PSRA for the Selling and Letting of property, Licence 001883


Our thanks to Botanist and ecologist Dr Frances Giaquinto

Moving into your first place? Here’s what is worth investing in… and what’s not

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  • by LAUREN HESKIN In IMAGE Magazine
    Reproduced here by Caden Grimes Estates
Moving into your first place? Here's what is worth investing in... and what's not

Don’t go completely wild when you first find you need to fill your new home. There are some interiors items worth investing in and some items you can hold off on until you’re in your forever home.

When you first get your own place, you might be tempted to totally lose the run of yourself and your tiny pencil in Ikea, and finally get to snap up all the interiors pieces you’ve been drooling over. However, it can also get overwhelming just how much you needto buy. A bath mat, dishes, cutlery, furniture for every room, cleaning things, cushions, bedsheets, light fixtures and bulbs… It’s a lot.

Knowing what to invest in and when can be tricky, so have your thinking cap on when it comes to interiors shopping. You might love that expensive and beautiful dinner set, but can you afford to buy eight of each and do you have a place to put them? If not, it’ll be impossible to buy more when you eventually need them and, unless they’re neutral, you’ll be looking at mismatched plates for years to come.

However, there are some things that are worth spending your money on now and will see you through for years (and house moves) to come. Here’s our round-up of what you should invest in now, and what you should wait to buy later.

Invest in: A good armchair

Cube Bordeaux Chair, €529, Woo .Design

Whether your place is a shoebox and only has room for one piece of furniture and triple-jobs as lounging seat, desk chair and dinner table pull-in, or you have slightly more room, buying a gorgeous armchair will see you through numerous moves.

If you buy a small one it’ll work great as a bedroom or nursery chair in later years and it’s guaranteed to be the first thing you move in every place after this. That, and the kettle.

Don’t invest in: A sofa

Styles, room and requirements will change between this home and the next. Right now you might want that plush pale two-seater sofa, whereas next time you might want something that’ll hide stains and sticky fingerprints and one you can properly stretch out on. This isn’t to say you should buy a cheap one, we desperately need to move away from the current throwaway culture and that goes for small things like plastic toothbrushes to chunks difficult-to-recycle couches. Hunt through charity shops, ask your parents and family friends, check DoneDeal and Facebook sites. You’re bound to find out that, maybe you don’t love, but you can definitely tolerate.

Invest in: A luxury throw

Beyond Darkness blanket by Wild Cocoon, €350, Irish Design Shop

Remember that sofa you’re tolerating? A snug throw can cover all manner of sins, from a simple white Ikea throw to cover up a shabby chair or a beautiful blanket that you cuddle into every time you sit down. Being skint in your first place isn’t meant to be all hardship. Treat yourself to the small things and you’ll suddenly find that next time you look at that second-hand sofa, all you’ll see is your favourite blanket.

Don’t invest in: A rug

You should buy a rug for a room and it should neatly fit the shape and colouring of that space. A good rug is also worthy of investment, anyone who has been spent a few months hoovering up escaped threads from a cheap one will know why.

It’s simply not worth buying a rug unless you’re going to stay for the lifespan of that rug, otherwise, you’ll just be dragging it from room to room of your next home and finding it just doesn’t “work”.

Invest in: A good duvet

Via Ikea

My mother bought me a kingsize down feather duvet when I first moved out. At the time I thought she was being ridiculous (she bought in TK Maxx but still, they are not cheap) but I have thanked her for it a thousand times since. Unless you’re sleeping in a single bed or superking, a kingsize duvet will never be too big and it means that you can just buy kingsize sheets. It’ll stop a build-up of double, queen and king-sized sheets in your cupboard, keeping you on the straight and narrow from the get-go.

Invest a large, top-quality duvet and you will be patting yourself on the back every time you clamber into bed after a long day.

Don’t invest in: A bedframe

A divan will do for now or a good charity shop find will do for now. Your bedroom style will change and shift, as will the size of your bed probably, so don’t buy the dream bed frame in a double, only to have to relegate it to the spare bedroom in five years’ time.

Kerb Appeal, First Impressions, Presentation

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Call it what you will, but it Sells Houses

This property recently went Sale Agreed within 3 weeks of going to market, substantially above the asking price.
For sellers and buyers alike, the Sale Agreed sign is a thing of beauty, the first real step into your new home. But it takes such a lot of work to get there. What can make it easier, what can make getting to that point more simple and more quick?
Presentation. There are lots of elements in a sale, but presentation is the most important one. The prospective buyer must be met with a warm, welcoming sight that he or she can imagine as their own home.
The above property was immaculately presented, very well decorated, spotlessly clean and uncluttered. The impression on walking in was welcoming, clean, warm. Somewhere you could walk into and feel right at home.
Of course it’s not always possible to present a property in show house condition, but you owe it to yourself to make the most of what you’re offering. Unless you’re selling a fixer upper or to an investor, the old adage “they’ll see past that” will cost you time and money.
The Better The Offering, The Sweeter The Sale.

Caden Grimes Estates is a PSRA Licenced (# 001883) Dublin Estate Agent
Info@CGestates.ie 019014480 www.CGestates.ie

Using Property As A Pension Fund

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Renting is now an accepted part of Ireland’s housing market.
And using your pension fund (if you’re eligible) can be very tax efficient.

Fiona Reddin writing in The Irish Times

“If you buy an apartment through your pension fund for example (and remember this has been built up thanks in part to tax relief on contributions), then all the rent flows directly into the pension fund. It does not pass Revenue and does not result in a tax liability.
Should you sell it at a later stage, any capital gains which might arise are again distributed to the pension fund tax-free. The rent that comes in can be invested back into the equity or bond markets.
It is only once you draw income from your pension fund in retirement that there will be a tax liability.
Outside of the pension fund, if you’re a higher-rate taxpayer, almost half of your rental income can go on tax, while gains are subject to tax at 33 per cent”.

Click for More……

If you are considering investing in property as a pension fund, call or email Caden Grimes Estates, we may have a property to suit.

Pride & Professionalism in property services

Caden Grimes Estates is a PSRA Licensed (#001883) Estate Agent.

Info@CGestates.ie
01 9014480

This article is reproduced for information purposes only and does not purport to offer financial advice.
Always talk to your Financial Adviser before making financial investments