Pioneers of the Total Absenteeism Association

Unlike many of his contemporaries back on the old sod, Seanachie has managed to bravely sustain the age-old Irish tradition of impecuniosity, and has thus missed out on the opportunity to become an absentee landlord, a position in society that has scarcely being so popular in Ireland as it is these days. It is therefore with some amusement that I witnessed the collapse of the Spanish property market last month, causing much grief among the Irish landlord class. A story in today's New York Times tells of the new wave of Irish investors attracted to New York by a weak dollar and the possibility of high rental returns. A dream for the Irish boy-come-good. The story ends on a dissenting note though, courtesy of Real Estate agent William Fegan (probably one of our own with a name like that) who said that

he feared that many Irish buyers were too focused on the potential rental income and not enough on all of the other costs of owning an apartment in New York.

“For the life of me I haven’t been able to figure it out,” Mr. Fegan said. “If I was to advise them, I’d probably tell them not to do it. Carrying an apartment in New York City is an expensive proposition.”

Irish people focussing only on a quick buck and not on long-term costs? Who would have thought it possible?