Purchasing a Property in Ireland

Purchasing a property can be a daunting experience and is often the largest transaction a person will make in their life. It is important to secure legal advice which will ensure that your interests are protected and that the property which you purchase is free from any charges or other encumbrances. Our firm offers legal expertise in an efficient manner.

The steps involved in the purchase of property in Ireland are as follows:

1. Find and appoint a Solicitor

Once you have found a property, you will need to instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf in relation to the purchase. You can contact our firm and we will give you a transparent quote before you instruct us to act on your behalf. If you decide to instruct us to act, the next step is usually to inform the auctioneer as to the name and address of your solicitor. After you pay your deposit (see below), the Auctioneer will issue a Sales Advice notice to all parties involved, which include you, your solicitor, the seller and the seller’s solicitor.

2. Paying your booking deposit

Once you decide to purchase a property, you generally pay a booking deposit to the auctioneer. The amount of the booking deposit can vary and depends on the purchase price of the property. A booking is usually fully refundable until such time as contracts for the property are signed by both you and the seller of the property. You should always ensure that you receive a receipt from the Auctioneer. If it is a private sale and the agreement is made directly with the vendor, it is important to seek legal advice before paying a deposit.

It is a always a good idea to seek loan approval in principle from your bank before you start looking for a property as you will then have an idea of how much the bank is prepared to lend you. Once you have paid your booking deposit you should contact your Bank straight away to arrange your loan. Once your bank has formally approved your loan in writing on the basis of the price of the house and information furnished by you, a loan pack is issued. Once you receive a loan offer, you should go through the loan offer in detail and make sure that the rates and term in the loan offer correspond with what you have agreed with the bank. Your solicitor will go through the loan pack and discuss the terms with you and arrange for you to sign the relevant documentation.

All lenders require you (and your partner in the case of a joint mortgage)to have Life Insurance in place when taking out a mortgage. Generally banks require that you have mortgage protection.  With this policy, should you die with an outstanding loan on your home, your mortgage will be cleared.  It is important to review your mortgage protection policy every few years, particularly where there are significant changes to property prices and where you have made improvements to your property.

All banks will expect you to keep your property insured at all times. Household insurance is made up of two parts – building insurance and contents insurance. Building insurance covers the main structure and contents insurance covers furniture, household goods, appliances, computers, cloths etc.

6. Engineer’s Report

It is vital to get an engineers report before signing contracts (unless the contracts are made subject to a satisfactory report). Your engineer will be able to inform you about any issues or structural defects affecting the property. They should also be able to advise you on issues around planning permission and compliance. You should also attend the local authorities’ office yourself and investigate if there are any developments planned for the area etc., e.g. major roads, large housing estates, dumps, etc. If the property is in poor condition, you may need to contact a builder or engineer at this stage to establish the cost of repairs.

The vendor’s/ seller’s solicitor will issue contracts to your solicitor.  The Contracts are sent in duplicate together with a copy of the title deeds, planning documentation and BER Certificate.Your solicitor will explain the terms of the contract with you and may raise pre-contract inquiries.

When your Solicitor is satisfied that all matters are in order with the contracts, title documents and planning documents and you are satisfied with the contents of your engineers report. You will attend your solicitor’s office to sign Contracts and pay the Deposit. The deposit paid is 10% of the purchase price, you can deduct from this any booking deposit that you have already paid to an engineer.

At this stage you should also be signing your mortgage documents. Your bank will require that the conditions set out in your loan offer are all completed before you can draw down funds. These conditions typically include:

• Life Cover which may include attending a medical examination
• House Insurance
• Valuation of the house
• Completing all relevant mortgage documentation, bank mandates etc…

The contracts are returned to the seller’s solicitor who arranges the seller to sign them. One signed copy is then returned to your solicitor (the Building Agreement is also returned in the case of a new house).  This creates a binding agreement to complete the sale.

A closing date and time is finalised between the parties and your solicitor will arrange to draw down the funds and carry out the relevant searches to ensure that there are no charges or encumbrances over the property which have not been disclosed. The documents and funds are exchanged and the seller’s solicitor arranges to release the keys to the purchaser.

if it is a new build, the building agreement sets out that the house will be completed within a particular time scale. When the house is completed the builder sends a completion notice which sets out that the property is completed. On receipt of this you should instruct your engineer to complete a “snag” the house. Your engineer will inspect the property and do up a list of unfinished works that need to be completed by the builder. You should add to this list any items that have not been completed to your satisfaction.

After the sale is completed your solicitor will contact you and ask you to sign the Purchase Deed. Your title documents will then be registered in the Land Registry (or in the Registry of Deeds in some cases).

10. How long does it all take?

This is a difficult question to answer as every property purchase is different. The amount of time it takes depends on how long it takes to draw down loan funds, the title to the property and any issues which arise during the course of the transaction. We aim to complete the purchase for you as quickly as possible and to deal with any issues which arise as efficiently as possible.