A Guide to

Buying your S o l i c i t o r s

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3rd Edition, September 2021 Crestfield Centre,
Glanmire, Cork

This guide is to help set out in clear terms what is The purchaser’s solicitor will review the title Key Stakeholders
involved in buying or building a house. It should on offer and raise “pre contract enquiries”.
not however be relied upon as legal advice. Common enquiries would relate to rights of Auctioneer/Estate agent
way, planning issues, or matters of title and Your first point of contact to negotiate the
For most people buying a house that already ownership. The purchaser would also be well transaction. While some people choose to sell
exists there are three steps involved. 1) Finding a advised at this point to retain the services of privately, most still use a property
house, 2) Signing contracts and 3) Closing the an engineer to survey the property to ensure professional to help market their property.
transaction. Conveyancing the name commonly there are no expensive defects. Estate agents are regulated by the PSRA and
used for the legal process that gets you from a abide by the rules of their profession with
handshake with an estate agent to being the legal Once the title and all other aspects of the regard to taking bids and deposits.
owner. property check out, you will be invited to
attend the office of your solicitor to sign Mortgage broker/bank
1) Finding a house contracts and pay a deposit of no more than Will help you get the finance in place to
15% of the entire purchase price. Once complete the transaction. It is never too soon
While some houses are bought and sold on a
contracts are signed by all parties you have to get a broker/bank involved, and most
private basis, most property transactions in
reached the point of no return; and a binding estate agents will require proof of funding
Ireland are done with the assistance of an
contract exists. The only big exception to before taking a buyer seriously.
auctioneer. The auctioneer advises on the
presentation of the house, solicits bids and this is where a contract may be signed Solicitor
advises the vendor on the sales process. subject to finance, which is generally viewed A solicitor’s job is to make sure you get good
Interested buyers place their bids with the as good practice. title to your house. He/She guides you
auctioneer, and if they are successful the through the process from beginning to end,
auctioneer notifies all interested parties that the 3) Closing the transaction and in many ways adopts the role of project
property is gone “sale agreed”. In Irish law this The final step for the buyer of a house is to manager once you have placed a booking
essentially means nothing more than the close the transaction. This is the point where deposit.
interested parties are going to work towards you get the keys to the property, and it is the
agreeing and executing a binding contract. point where you pay the balance of the Engineer
entire purchase price. The Engineer surveys the property on your
The auctioneer will usually request the successful behalf and tells you about the physical
bidder to place a booking deposit of If you are a cash buyer you will be asked by condition of the house, planning issues that
approximately €5,000-€20,000 depending on the your solicitor to lodge the balance into the might be of concern and will often check to
value of the property. At this point the purchaser firm’s client account in advance of the make sure the boundary matches the title
will need to retain the services of a solicitor to closing date. If you are getting a mortgage maps.
assist in the remainder of the transaction. then your solicitor will request funds from
the Bank in enough time. Valuer
The booking deposit is always refundable (unless The Valuer confirms to the bank the property
you are clearly told otherwise) and is more a show On the closing date, the solicitor for the is worth the price you are paying. They do not
of good faith, and a convenient way of making buyer will either attend the office of the carry out an exhaustive check on the house
sure the auctioneers has funds on account for its vendor’s solicitor or close by way of an and should not to be confused with an
fees (which are paid by the seller, and not the agreed postal closing procedure. Either way engineer who carries out a much more
purchase. the result will be the same, a substantial sum thorough review.
of money will be exchanged for original title
2) Signing Contracts deeds, keys, and possession of your new
After paying the booking deposit, contracts are home.
usually dispatched by the vendor’s solicitor to the
purchaser’s solicitor within 1 to 2 weeks.
The Timeline to getting your Home
Establish Your Budget Consult with your Bank's mortgage advisor to determine HIDDEN PITFALLS
what level of finance you can raise.
Title Issues
Find Your House Find your ideal house and agree a purchase price with the
vendor. The vendor is usually represented by an estate agent. As solicitors we
Once the terms of sale are agreed, the estate agent will are first and
normally ask you to nominate a solicitor to handle the
foremost
purchase for you and you will be asked to pay a refundable
booking deposit. However, there is not at this point any concerned
binding obligation on you to purchase the house. Both with the title to
Parties can walk away. the property you are buying. Most title
issues can be resolved, but sometimes
Step1 - Sale Agreed this can lead to delays.

Receive Contracts The vendor's solicitor will send out contracts to your solicitor. Unrealistic timelines
Your solicitor will then read these contracts and look at the
title to the property which you are proposing to buy. It normally takes approximately 8-10
weeks from a property to go from being
Retain engineer Have the house inspected by an Engineer for defects. sale agreed to moving into it. Sometime
delays occur, particularly where either
Sign Contracts At this point you will need to ensure you have the necessary the buyer or vendor are in a “chain”, e.g.
finance in place. Your bank will assist you in this regard. Once need to sell before they can buy.
you are confident of having the funds in order, once your
engineer is satisfied with the property and once your solicitor Missed Closing dates
is satisfied with the title you will sign the contracts in
duplicate. One copy will be for you and one for the vendor. A A closing date is usually agreed at the
non-refundable deposit of up to 15% is usually paid to the point a contract is signed. Sometime this
vendor’s solicitor at this point. You will also sign the can be missed through no fault of any
mortgage documentation for the bank if necessary at this party. It is not unknown for removal
point. The contracts are exchanged, and at this point you will companies and furniture shops to use
have a binding contract to purchase the house, but you will this as an excuse to charge contingency
not get possession for another while. fees.

Step 2 - Contracts signed Bank problems

Prepare for closing After the contracts have been exchanged your solicitor will It is vitally important if you are getting a
proceed to draft the deed under which the title will pass from mortgage that all information is
the vendor to you. This is passed onto the vendor’s solicitor submitted to the bank on time, and
who arranges for the deed to be signed. Your solicitor will correctly. We would often advise going
now draw down the mortgage (if necessary) and will advise with the Bank’s offering for Life and
you on closing balance, along with any stamp duty,
Home Insurance policies for the first
registration fees and other applicable charges. You should
also at this stage make sure any query the mortgage bank has
year if they are competitive as it reduces
is resolved and activate your life and property insurance the chance of complications.
policies. Contents

Close the Sale On the day of the closing both solicitors meet. Your solicitor It is not unknown that both vendor and
will hand the balance of the monies to purchase the property purchaser have completely different
in return for the signed deed, the title documents, and of expectations as to what contents are
course the key.
included with the property. “No
contents” will usually include items that
Step 3 - Possession of House obtained are built in, but a buyer should always
Your solicitor will now arrange to pay the stamp duty over to double check.
the Revenue Commissioners. Once the deed is stamped the
solicitor will arrange to have you registered as the owner of New Builds
Post Completion
the property. Once the property is registered in your name, If you are buying a new build, it does
the deeds will be sent to the bank if you have a mortgage.
without saying that any delay in the
construction can delay you getting your
keys. (more on new builds overleaf)

Drawing down your mortgage …a word of warning!

While in their adverts mortgage banks try to portray an image of being organised, resourceful and efficient, the opposite tends to be the case by
the time you get to the business end of the transaction. Expect the smallest most insignificant thing to create delays, expect obtuse pre drawdown
requirements, and expect to send documents at least 3 times before they get uploaded onto the system. Getting your loan funds from the Bank
will generally be the most stressful part of the transaction. Prepare for this by anticipating the chaos that is to come and by expecting the worst
at every hands turn. Believe your solicitor when they say they sent the same document three times, or even ten times.
Buying a new build in a development
Buying a new build in a housing
development comes with its own
peculiarities. The first issue is the most
obvious; the house you are buying often
does not exist. As such you will be relying
on specifications, maps, plans and Key things to watch out for:
documents.
Check the specifications, if it not included in the specifications, it may not be
Unlike a buying a pre-owned house, a new included at all. If you are buying a new car you will read the specifications
build will usually come with two carefully, a house is a much bigger deal!
“contracts”, one for the land, and one
“building agreement” which deals with the Price Cost (PC) Sums are often given in place of a kitchen, tiling and bathroom.
relationship between you and the builder. You can then use this allowance towards the ultimate cost of your fitout. Always
check the PC sums being allowed. It’s not unknown for the PC sums to barely
In general there is less to go wrong from a cover the real cost of having a usable kitchen, decent tiles, and anything but the
“title” point of view when buying in a new most basic bathroom
build. The title to a housing estate will
generally be well researched by the Check the whether the price of the build is fixed or can vary. It might also vary
builder and its solicitor. There can according to the rate of VAT.
however be certain pitfalls a potential
buyer needs to be aware of. There is also a The building agreement will specify a completion period which can vary from 6-
slight difference in the process in buying a 18 months, but really the completion date is a moveable feast at the whim of the
new build. builder. Try and tie it down early on.

The Timeline to getting your (newbuild) home

Pre Contract
Receive Contracts The builder’s solicitor will send out contracts to your solicitor. Your solicitor will then review these contracts and look at the
title to the property which you are proposing to buy. Make sure you carefully review the specifications and plans. As the
house you are buying is in construction this is all you have to indicate what the finished product will be like.

HTB Approval Engage with the Revenue Commissioners to establish if you are entitled to any Help-to-Buy assistance

Loan Approval Engage with your bank to get a formal letter of loan offer. It is often viewed as bad practice to sign contracts before you
have your loan offer.

Sign Contracts Like buying a secondhand house you will sign contracts. In this case you will generally sign both a land purchase contract
and a building agreement. Ensure you are aware of the completion period for your home, it is generally 12/18 months from
the date of signing the contract, even if it is hoped the house will be delivered sooner.

Post Contract
Draw down HTB funds If you are getting help-to-buy, you will need to upload a copy of your executed contract to the ROS online system to enable
the HTB funds to be released.

Keep in touch It is a good idea to keep in touch with the builder after signing contracts. They often will require you to make decisions that
only you can make, such as choosing the kitchen and bathroom. You also may opt for certain extras as the built progresses.

Pre closing actions As the house nears completion you should once more liaise with your bank and solicitor to make sure no unforeseen issues
arise which may slow down closing.

Snag List When the builder is satisfied the house is complete, you will be invited to retain an engineer to prepare a snag list. We would
suggest it is a good idea to try and accompany the engineer when the snag list is being prepared. There are things you might
notice that may bother you but no one else!

Completion
Once the snag list has been prepared, submitted to the builder and the issues dealt with the house will be ready to close.
You should have your funds ordered in ample time to avoid being threatened with penalties for delaying closing, and to
avoid disappointment!
Building your own Home

Buying the Site

Before you can commence building you need to own the site.
This is probably obvious! Building on land you do not own
would not be sensible. A vendor will either sell a site subject to Mortgage and Stage Payments
planning permission or “as is” where you pay your money and
take your chances. If the vendor agrees to sell a site subject to If you haven’t fallen out with your broker, bank, engineer, builder, solicitor or all
planning permission it means you can apply for the permission of them by the time the stage payment process has concluded you will be doing
and complete the transaction after. This is obviously less risky well.
than just buying a site and hoping for the best. No matter
In order to protect its position, the bank will only release funds for a new “one
which option you choose the early involvement of an engineer
off” build in stages or tranches. These are each individually requested by the
or planning consultant is essential.
builder and signed off by the engineer. The reason for them is that the Bank will
Getting planning is a reasonably lengthy process. It takes 12 want to keep the “loan to value” ratio in order at each step, while the builder will
weeks for an uncontested grant to issue where there are no expect payment as it proceeds so as to protect itself.
delays, objections, requests for further information or other
There is often a 4 to 6 week delay in the time between funds are requested by
complications. If a third party objector appeals to An Bord
the builder and actually available to be paid out. This can often cause frayed
Pleanala then 6-12 months is a more realistic timeframe.
tempers. The best way to avoid problems is by carefully agreeing the stage
Do bear in mind that at present Stamp Duty on sites is 7.5%, payments at the outset with all parties and making sure the request is submitted
but at the time of writing you can get a refund once you start to the bank in ample time.
building so that the effective rate is 2%.

Also practical and legal issues must be considered. For

instance is it impacted by wayleaves or rights of way. A house
like the one below is likely unmarketable because it was built Retaining a Builder
on a right of way to access a neighbouring property (in yellow)!
Your engineer/architect will advise on the steps in retaining a builder. It is
important that time is spent on preparing a detailed “Request for Tender” (RfT)
document as this will form the basis of any subsequent contract. Review each
tender received carefully and with suspicion! Assume the worst if any
specifications or details are omitted. Review any deviations from the RfT
carefully.

Before commencing work a builder should furnish you with a building

agreement. This will generally replicate the tender, the agreed stage payment
schedule, the drawings, specifications, and ideally any other extras,
assumptions or price cost sums (PC Sums). PC Sums will be used as assumptions
for items such as flooring, bathroom ware and kitchens, but be careful as the
actual cost of these can far outstrip the sums allowed for in the building
agreement …you will be paying the balance!