Whether you are a first-time buyer looking to purchase a house or apartment, a homeowner seeking a remortgage to extend a property, or trading up and selling and buying at the same time, our focus at Bowen & Co is to ensure that this will be a positive experience for you.
Purchasing or selling property and moving can be incredibly stressful and we pride ourselves on getting to know our clients and the properties that they are purchasing and selling, and also on being ahead of the game.
We like to develop a rapport with our clients to ensure that they feel comfortable about asking us anything in relation to the property. These may be practical matters such as access or the structure of the property, or tax planning may be necessary in cases where stamp duty or other tax arises on the purchase or transfer of properties.
Buying your Home
The first step is to agree a price with the auctioneer and to pay a booking deposit. First-time purchasers in particular are often concerned about the payment of the booking deposit but this represents a notice of intent only – it does not bind you into purchasing the property but allows Contracts to be sent to your solicitor so that your solicitor can examine the title and planning documentation.
- Proof of Funds – When you have selected your home, you may be asked for proof of funds, which will be in the form of an approval in principle from your mortgage provider or, indeed, from savings or from the sale of another property – or a combination of all these sources. All Contracts are made subject not only to loan approval issuing but to the purchaser being able to draw down funds. This means that your deposit is protected.
- Survey and Planning – We advise all purchasers to have a survey carried out. Surveys are generally carried out after we have had sight of title, but contract would be subject to satisfactory survey. If the property is second hand, you are deemed to purchase with full knowledge of the state and condition of the property. If defects are pointed out, you cannot force the vendor to repair them but it may affect your decision to purchase if the defects were serious enough (e.g. subsidence or some such). Some people elect not to have a survey carried out, but it is something that we highly recommend you do. The valuation for banking purposes is not the same thing at all: it merely confirms the value and is a superficial inspection. We advise that potential purchasers do not have a survey carried out until we have had sight of contracts and have ensured that all matters are in order. A survey costs approximately €400.00- €600.00, and this money will not be refunded if the purchaser decides not to proceed. You are also recommended to carry out a planning search. This is where an investigation is carried out into future development plans for the area that you are purchasing in, particularly where there may be concerns about windfarms or zoning. Again, Contracts can be made subject to satisfactory survey and planning search.
- Contracts for Sale – Once title documentation and planning documentation has been provided and we are assured that all local property tax on the property is paid up to the relevant date and in the relevant band, Contracts can be exchanged. At that point you will be obliged to make up the balance of the deposit (i.e. 10% of the purchase price less whatever booking deposit you have paid to the auctioneer) and, in general, at this stage, you are committed to the purchase of the house, subject to the loan approval as set out above. A closing date will be agreed between the parties. If issues such as content passing are very important to you, you should ensure that these are recorded in the Contract. Any assurances that may have been given during the buying process are set to one side and the Contract becomes the written agreement between the parties. Understandably, with the purchase of a newbuild house, the closing date can be very moveable. Builders will have 12-18 months from the date of exchange of Contracts to complete the property. When the property is ready, we will draw down your funds from the lender. Any balance, such as our fees and outlays, and any stamp duty due, will need to be lodged to our client account and the sale will be closed. For a newbuild, when you are advised that the property is ready, we strongly recommend that an engineer carries out a ‘snag’ list – this makes sure that all minor defects are repaired by the builder prior to handing over your new home. On the day that closing monies are paid over to the Vendor’s solicitors, or shortly thereafter, when all title matters have been approved, your keys will be released.
- Procedural Matters – At this point, we shall immediately pay the stamp duty due on the property and lodge the matter for registration in Tailte Éireann (formerly known as the Property Registration Authority of Ireland, formerly known as the Land Registry). Registration can take as little as a few weeks or, in some cases, depending on the type of property (such as newbuild properties, which involve first registration and a new folio), it can take more than a year – sometimes two years. We shall provide you with a dealing number, and we can track the progress of the same. On completion of registration, if a mortgage is involved, we forward your title documentation to your lender, and we let you have a copy of the folio showing the property registered in your name.
Selling your Property
It is important to be well-prepared before actually going to market with your property. Below is a list of some items that you should attend to:
- Obtain BER Certificate. These last 10 years but in the event of renovations having been carried out you may wish to apply for a new one.
- Provide the solicitor with carriage of sale with an authority to take up title if you have a bank loan. If you do not have a loan, ensure that you locate the title documentation and give it to your solicitor.
- LPT/Household Charge receipt. You should have received a letter from Revenue confirming your property ID and Pin No. together with your PPS No. This should be furnished to us so that we can download an updated LPT receipt. On this it should show the household charge has been paid. LPT will need to be updated prior to completion of the sale. On any sale closing after 1st of November in the calendar year the LPT will need to be paid for the sequential year. This should be reclaimed from the purchaser and an apportionment account agreed prior to completion of matters.
- NPPR Certificate of Exemption. You will need to apply to the local authority for a certificate confirming that the property was your principal private place of residence between the years 2009 and 2013. To do this you need to assemble preferably two types of documentation – a utility bill and a document from either social welfare or the tax office confirming your address at the property in sale
If your property is in Limerick or Clare, you will need to attend at that local authority’s NPPR section in reference and they should provide you with a Certificate of Exemption, which can be placed on the file. Other counties have different requirements.
- Water charges. You need to confirm to us that you have registered for water and we will need to apply for a certificate of clearance prior to the sale. Please furnish WPRN and registration number. This is still required despite the suspension of the scheme. If you are a member of a group water scheme, please obtain details and a letter confirming no outstanding charges. If you have a well, you may need to show water-quality testing.
- Please confirm whether the property has mains drainage. If there is a septic tank on the property you should have registered this with Protect Our Water. Any documentary proofs in reference should be furnished to your solicitor.
- You will need to sign a declaration confirming that there have been no extensions, alterations or developments to the property since you purchased same and you might please confirm that you have not so extended or developed the property, or that you aware of no extensions to the property If you have, you might please confirm whether planning permission was required and whether you had an engineer involved. If no planning permission was required, we will need an engineer to attend at the property to certify that the works were exempted development. This would also include attic conversions etc.
- You will be signing a declaration of marital status and you need to advise if you have ever been married. If you have been separated, we need to see a copy of your separation agreement/ Court Order.
- All purchasers are advised to carry out a survey, and filled attics and septic tanks overdue for emptying can cause delays.
First you should attend with your solicitor to ensure that the property is ready to go on the market so that, as soon as a suitable purchaser has been identified, Contracts are ready to go.
The timing of putting your property on the market is also important. If you are waiting to sell your property while a newbuild is being constructed, a purchaser may not be satisfied with an ever-moving date for completion of sale. It is to the benefit of both parties to the transaction if they have a full understanding of the timeframe and reasonable expectations.
Again, when selling a property, you need to clear about what contents are being included. Most purchasers expect vacant possession, and so leaving behind objects in the property without the purchaser’s consent – even if you think these objects might be helpful to the purchaser – can result in delays and cause stress at the end of the process.
Remortgaging a Property.
It is important to have clear expectations when you remortgage a property. When you purchased the property originally, much of the paperwork now necessary to make title good for the bank was not necessary. Seek your title from your previous lender as quickly as possible to ensure that everything is in order so that when your letter of loan offer arrives from your new bank you can move on same quickly.
Purchase, Transfer and Sale of Farms
As we all know, farmers are simply different.
The conveyance of a farm is normally by way of inheritance or transfer, and it is unusual for a farm to be purchased or sold.
In the purchase or sale of a farm, it is still important to make sure that the title is right and, because most farms are purchased by way of a company loan, this necessitates the involvement of a third solicitor acting for the bank, which can make the transaction quite slow and cumbersome.
Access to the property needs to be investigated and we need to ensure that the roadways are in the charge of the local authority or, at least, that there is a definable right of way.
Inter-vivos Transfers (i.e. transfers made during the donor’s lifetime) and Inheritances
These are very much family transactions where, typically, one farming successor is identified. It is often necessary to have the whole family involved in the discussion and it can be a very emotional process.
We have extensive experience of dealing with these matters and aim to seek a practical solution for all in regard to the transfer on of the property.
