Warning on apartment maintenance

Most Irish apartment blocks do not have enough cash for essential maintenance, leaving property owners facing serious financial risks, experts warn in a new report. Apartment owners contribute cash to special “sinking funds” to pay for maintenance and replacing services and structures in shared areas in individual blocks. However, the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) says that almost nine out of 10 apartment block managers claim they do not have enough cash to cover these costs. Barry O’Halloran has the story.
Ireland will effectively avoid any financial scrutiny under the EU’s incoming fiscal rules, posing a significant risk to the exchequer, the head of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) will tell the Oireachtas committee on budgetary oversight on Wednesday. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the story.
German business leaders read Chancellor Olaf Scholz the riot act on Tuesday, blaming him and his warring Coalition for an extended recession and uncertain investment outlook. At the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) gathering in Berlin, Mr Scholz insisted his government was delivering and urged managers to avoid a self-fulfilling gloom prophecy. As Derek Scally reports though, industry is sceptical of Mr Scholz and some feel his main opponent Friedrich Merz may be a better bet.
In his column, John McManus runs the rule over the report from the Dublin city Taskforce, and questions the politics behind the taskforce’s creation.
In Money Matters, Joanne Hunt looks at inheritance and how savvy moves now will help minimise the State’s take when it comes to passing on to your loved ones.
Department of Finance officials have recommended that the taxation on investments in funds be aligned with the lower, 33 per cent capital gains tax rate that applies to direct investments from stocks to property.
A fraud awareness campaign led by the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland is warning that people are “being conned out of between €6,000 and €8,000″ thanks to a new phone scam. Fiona Keeley reports.
The number of fully remote job vacancies available in the Irish labour market continued to fall in the third quarter of the year, new data from IrishJobs has shown. Ciara O’Brien has the details.
There was a 4 per cent dip in the number of job vacancies in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, a new report shows. Morgan McKinley’s latest quarterly employment monitor outlines key trends in Ireland’s professional job market. It shows there was a drop of 2.1 per cent drop in job vacancies in the third quarter compared to the previous three months. Colin Gleeson has the story.
In Commercial Property, Fiona Reddan reports that builders and developers seeking a quality infill site in a mature location are likely to be interested in the Red House in Lucan, a period house that is coming to the market along with a substantial site of residential zoned land, while investors looking for a prime development site in Dublin city centre might be interested in the launch of a 0.11-hectare site near Bolton Street TUD. Zoned Z4, the site can be redeveloped for possible uses including residential, office, student accommodation, hotel or medical, subject to planning permission.
Plans to demolish derelict farm buildings co-owned by John Magnier at Parkville near Clonmel in Co Tipperary are facing local opposition. Gordon Deegan reports.
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