After some hiccups and the usual negotiations, we closed today on the purchase of the apartment in Annagassan.

We returned to Ireland on 16 July, and hit the ground running. The solicitor who had been handling our conveyance work - first on the place in Carlingford, and then on the Annagassan apartment - had some issues that required an unexpected leave, so we transitioned to a new solicitor, who was great.

We wound up closing at a price that worked for us, and the seller agreed to leave the furnishings which turned out to be a big plus for us. We were able to move in without the need to get beds, couches, a TV, pots, pans, and dishes, and all the other things we take for granted until they’re not there.

We’re still at an AirBnB for another week or two while we get the apartment into livable condition - things like utilities and other basics.

On the days just before and just after the car purchase and delivery, we made some decisions on our Irish housing needs. Back in mid-February, we had made an offer on a two bedroom penthouse unit in a gated complex in Carlingford, about 15 miles northeast of Dundalk. That offer was accepted, and we started the process of completing the sale. This involves a number of steps, including arranging for a ‘survey’ (inspection) of the propery, and hiring a solictor to represent us in the closing process. The seller hires his own solicitor, and the two solicitors work togehter to develop a transfer contract that’s agreeable to both, with the seller’s solicitor responsible for preparing the initial draft.

As you might have guessed, there were hiccups in this area. In Ireland, the mortgage holder - almost always a bank - holds the physical title documents. The seller’s solicitor requested the release of the documents into his custody per the standard protocol and in good time. Unfortunately, the bank did not produce the title documents promptly.

We returned to Texas in late February, planning for the closing process to continue in our absence. Every week or so, Carole contacted our solicitor, who told us each time that they had been in contact with the seller’s solicitor, who told them they were waiting to receive the title documents from the bank.

When we returned to Ireland at the end of April, our solicitor was now telling us that the seller’s solicitor was reporting that the title documents were in hand - although that may have just been ‘in transit’. Regardless, the first draft of the contract had not been written, altough our solicitor felt reasonably optimistic that it would arrive shortly.

While all this was taking place, we had a survey done on the property. The survey report was not complete, though, and when we tried to contact the surveyor to go back and check on a few glaring omissions, he had gone silent. Message were left, but never returned. Even so, the initial, incomplete report listed a number of deficiencies, and our brief visit to the property showed water stains on the ceiling that had not been there at our most recent visit back in February.

We also started hearing from locals that we met during our day-to-day activities that Carlingford was infamous for ‘hen-and-stag’ parties on the weekends. In the U.S. these would be bachelor and bachelorette parties, which are tradition fixture in Ireland. The complex in Carlingford has a specific prohibition about renting out your unit for a short-term, specifically to avoid such parties.

With progress stalled in Carlingford, and the need for long-term housing still looming, we decided to check out other properties in the same general area. The first one we visited was in Annagassan, a small town about 15 minutes south of Blackrock along the coast of the Irish Sea (just like Blackrock). We liked what we found - very much. As with Carlingford, this unit was third-floor penthouse apartment, but this unit was right smack-dab on the sea. The view from the big picture window in the living room was striking. And again as with Carlingford, it was a two bedroom, two bath unit, but it was in much better overall condition than the other property.

It wasn’t perfect, but it would need far fewer renovations than the unit in Carlingford, and would unlike that unit could be occupied as-is with only minor discomfort.

We discussed it for a few days, and in the end we decided to put an offer in on this new unit in Annagassan. There was some back-and-forth with a second bidder, but in the end our offer was accepted.

We contacted our solicitors and instructed them to cancel the sale on the unit in Carlingford.

The place in Annagassan is about 50 minutes closer to the Dublin Airport than the one in Carlingford, which should make it must easier for our own travel needs and for picking up any visitors.

To recap, after 11 weeks of waiting for a contract from the seller’s solicitor and with no end in site, we cancelled our purchase of the unit in Carlingford. Instead, we found a different property, in better condition, closer to the sea and closer to Dublin, in Annagassan.

It’s still too early to have a contract, but we’ve been told by the listing agent that they require their sellers to have their documentation in order before they list a property, so we believe that there will be no undue waiting for the title documents.

Carole and I returned to Ireland on 29 April to continue our efforts. We’re staying at the AirBnB in Blackrock (County Louth) that we used for our Winter trip earlier this year.

We’re about half-way thru our six week stay, and there has been lots of activity. First, we bought a car. On a Thursday afternoon, We went to the local Toyota dealer up in Dundalk - mostly to learn if and how we could buy a car, and Dermot took great care of us. He explained the local rules, and told us we could certainly buy a car, but that insurance coverage might be a challenge. We asked about his used car selection, mostly to get a better idea of how much things cost here, and he showed us a nice looking 2019 Toyota Corolla Hybrid. It was in great shape, except for a minor glitch on the left front wheel well, but Dermot said it was going to the body repair shop the next day and would be ready on the following Monday.

Even though we had no intention going in, we wound up taking it for a quick test drive, and it was refreshing that Dermot treated us like responsible adults. No need to hold our driver’s license, no need to sit in the car with us on the drive. He quietly told me the keypad code to re-enter the lot, and handed us the keys.

The car drove as you’d expect - peppy, better than expected handling, comfortable seating. It’s a four-door sedan, and in the short-term a slightly larger vehicle would be helpful for hauling luggage to/from the airport, but that need goes away soon enough, and the price seemed right.

Carole and I chatted during the drive, and when we got back to the dealer we told Dermot we were interested, wanted to pick it up on Monday if possible, and that we’d work on getting insurance coverage the next day.

As you’d expect, insurance coverage for a non-resident who holds a non-Irish driver’s license is not easy to find. I submitted various forms on a number of insurance broker’s websites, all with no quick reply (which seems to be the Irish way). I made some calls, and got a quote for what I considered a very large amount. But we needed insurance, and I was preparing myself to pay it while I made more calls.

When I called back to accept their coverage, I was told that the insurance company would not cover me for car with a 1.8 liter engine - 1.4 liters was the max size they would accept. That left two choice - either find a different insurance policy or find a smaller car.

Carole suggested I check with Geico, our U.S. based auto insurance provider, to see if they had any referrals for international coverage. Their Irish partner is Clements, whose website claimed they specialized in ex-pat coverage. I called and spoke to a helpful gentleman named Edward, who took my details and went off to check.

When Edward called back, he had fantastic news - his policy quote was less than half the one I had gotten earlier. And, they had no problem with the 1.8l engine. So I pulled the trigger, and paid for a year of coverage. I called Dermot with the news, and made arrangements to pick up the Corolla on Monday afternoon. (The rental car we’d had for two weeks was due for return to the Dublin airport on Tuesday, so this simplified things enormously.)

On Monday, Carole was tied up with work all afternoon, so I drove the rental up to the dealer, and closed on the deal. After discussing it with Dermot the previous day, we decided the easiest way to pay for the car - both for us and for the dealer - was to put the full payment on a credit card, and Dermot has included the fees in his quote. I had called the credit card company to notify them of a large purchase coming thru, and they said no problem. The credit card company handles all the currency conversion, and we can pay it off using dollars, so it also saved us time and hassle over a bank transfers.

Even so, it was pretty surreal to insert my credit card into the terminal to pay for a car. As soon as I inserted my card, the receipt started printing - so quickly that I was certain there was some kind of problem, but it was the actual receipt, fully approved, like magic. U.S. credit cards are chip-and-signature, so I did have to sign the receipt, but it all went much more smoothly than I’d ever imagined it could.

I asked Dermot and the nice woman at the finance desk if they had ever sold a car using a credit card payment, and they both answered no, this was a first for them.

To avoid any potential problems, I asked Dermot to drive the Corolla out to the fonrt parking area, and then I drove the rental car back to the AirBnB. I finalized the insurance coverage using the documents I had just gotten from Dermot, and a few hours later Carole drove us back up to the dealer and she drove the Corolla back.

The next morning I drove the rental car back to the Dublin Airport to turn it in, and took the 100X bus from the airport back up to Dundalk. Carole picked me up in our new (to us) Corolla.