This will be of interest to anyone that is considering purchasing property and wants to know more about what is involved. If you have any property queries or wish to speak to a Solicitor about buying a house then contact us using our enquiry form or call us in our office here in Cork.
Look for a Solicitor in Cork
It is important that you contact a qualified Solicitor in Cork who will give you a quotation for the costs involved in the purchase of your property.
Bid accepted? Pay a booking deposit
Once you have a bid accepted on the property you wish to purchase, you normally to pay a booking deposit to the auctioneer. Booking deposits can vary depending on the value of the property but may between €5000 and €10,000. Booking deposits are entirely refundable up until the point the contracts are signed by both parties and a contract deposit is paid.
Sales Advice Notice
Once the booking deposit is paid, the auctioneer will ask you for your solicitor’s name and will prepare a Sales Advice Notice and will send it to the solicitors for both sides.
Issuing contracts
The Vendor’s solicitor will prepare the contract and will send it to the Purchaser’s solicitor together with the title documentation for the property.
Letter of Offer
If you are getting a mortgage, it’s important you contact your mortgage broker, bank or lending institution to ensure your loan offer issues for the property. Your bank will send a Letter of Offer and loan pack to your solicitor. Your solicitor will then prepare the Mortgage documents to be signed by you and advise you on the loan offer including any special conditions which you may have to comply with, prior to the signing of any contracts. These would include things like Life Cover or Mortgage Protection.
Life Cover/Mortgage Protection
All banks will require that you have a policy in place to ensure that in the event of you passing away, the loan will be paid back. It is important that this be dealt with as soon as possible. Some Insurance Companies may require medical reports in regard to any medical problem you may have.
Hiring an Engineer
You often need to employ an engineer when you are purchasing a property to ensure that the property is structurally sound, to check the boundaries of the property, to check compliance with planning permission and perhaps to check who is responsible for the roads, footpaths, drainage etc around the property.
Signing contracts
If your solicitor is satisfied that the title to the property is in order and that you are in a position to comply with the conditions in your loan offer, you should be in a position to sign contracts and pay the balance of the deposit which is normally 10% of the purchase price, minus any booking deposit you may have already paid to the auctioneer.
Return of Contracts
Your solicitor will then arrange for the contracts to be sent to the Vendor’s solicitor, who will arrange for the Vendor to sign the contracts and return one copy to your solicitor. Your deposit is now no longer refundable and you are tied into buying the house.
Raising of Requisitions on Title
Your solicitor will raise Requisitions on Title which are a long set of queries dealing with the property. The Vendor’s solicitor will reply to these and arrangements will be then made to complete the purchase of the property.Once a closing date is agreed, your solicitor will arrange to drawdown your loan cheque from your bank.
Closing of Purchase
The closing of the purchase of the property will normally take place in the Vendor’s solicitor’s office. Your solicitor will attend. Your solicitor will check the documents to ensure they are in order and will carry out searches against both the property and the Vendor to ensure there are no judgements or burdens registered on the property, which adversely affect you. Once your solicitor confirms that the documents are in order and there are no matters appearing on the searches which are a problem, your solicitor will pay over the balance of the purchase monies and the Vendor’s solicitor will either give your solicitor the keys or contact the Auctioneer to have the keys released to you.
Signing of Deed transferring the Property into your name
Before the closing, your solicitor will draft the Deed transferring the property into your name. It will be agreed by the Vendor’s solicitor and will be signed by the Vendor. After the closing, the Deed must be signed by you.
Stamping the Deed with the Revenue Commissioners
If Stamp Duty is payable on the property, it must be paid no later than 30 days from the date of the completion of the purchase. Any delay in the payment of the stamp duty could give rise to stamp duty penalties which are considerable. Your solicitor will do this online for you and will have asked you for the money for the stamp duty well in advance. Your solicitor cannot do anything about the cost of the stamp duty.
Land Registry/Registry of Deeds
After the Deed is stamped, your solicitor will register the property in your name in either the Land Registry or the Registry of Deeds. There are two systems of land registration in Ireland. You will have to give your solicitor the registration fees in advance. These will vary depending on the property and which of the two systems of registration it is. Your solicitor cannot do anything about the cost of the registration.
Title Documentation
Once the property is registered, your solicitor will schedule (or list) your title documents and send them to your bank with a Certificate of Title. Your bank will hold them on your behalf, until such time as you require them, either for the sale or the re-mortgage of the property.
If you have any conveyancing queries or wish to speak to a solicitor about buying a house then get in contact using our enquiry form or give us a call here in our office in Cork.