- What documents do I need to get started ?
All property transactions in Ireland require an Irish personal public service number generally called a PPS number. This is the Irish equivalent of the American social security number. When your property is purchased and we go to register the transaction with Revenue they will need this number.
Even if it’s a single once of transaction we must apply for a PPS number on your behalf.
Click the link which outlines the details required Here
This is necessary when you are coming from abroad unless you already have an Irish number .
2. Will this delay me looking for a property?
No. The PPS numbers are not needed from the start. You can go ahead and negotiate to purchase the property. Usually buyers wait until they have “Sale Agreed” on a property before they need to apply for a PPS number.
Generally it will issue within 14 to 21 days after we lodge the Application Form .
The purchase process takes usually 4 to 6 weeks depending on whether you as a buyer are a cash buyer or you are raising finance.
3. If I’m coming in from out of the Republic of Ireland are there any other restrictions on purchase of property?
If you’re an EU citizen you have the same rights to buy in Ireland as an Irish citizen. If you come from the North of Ireland or Britain apart from applying for the PPS number there are no restrictions on you purchasing property.
4. How do I go about locating a property?
The search engines are so efficient now that if you want a particular type of property in a particular area the auctioneers in Ireland all put their properties up on the website Daft.ie. .
If you insert in the search engine whether you want a town or country property you will be provided with a selection and the name of the auctioneer selling the property.
5.Is the price quoted always what has to be paid?
The price is always called the asking price. The seller is legally obliged to name the price clearly from the start on any advertisement they make for the property. It is good policy never to offer that price but to offer something lower and allow some room for negotiation. Some of our foreign clients find this difficult and in those cases we recommend that they employ a neutral auctioneer to bid on their behalf. Any person coming from abroad may find they are asked to pay a higher price than maybe justified simply because they are coming from abroad.
6. If abroad and restricted in my travel movements can the person you recommend negotiate for us check the property out ?
Generally auctioneers if appointed by someone abroad will not certify the property and its condition. You are better to employ a local engineer who deals with that type of investigation to prepare a report as to the structural quality of the house. Visual inspection even online will generally give an idea as to the quality of the house you are asked to pay for.
In plain English if it looks like a cheap house there’s probably a good reason why and may need a lot of repair work to make it habitable. Every buyer is different. Some want property which is cheaper but requires work and they are prepared to invest their time in it . Some buyers from abroad simply want a turnkey situation with the house fully ready for immediate occupation.
7.I’ve gone sale agreed on a property after negotiations what happens next ?
The Auctioneer will take a Booking Deposit from you .They are bonded so your money is safe if the Purchase falls through. This comes off the final price. It does not guarantee the purchase will go through but it does reassure buyers from abroad that no other contracts will issue once the contract is sent to us as your solicitor.
The Auctioneer will want to know the name of your solicitor who will purchase the property on your behalf checking out the title and all the requirements to ensure everything is in order. We recommend you look at our conveyancing cost calculator on our website to give an estimate in relation of the legal costs, tax and outlays payable on any Transaction. This gives you an estimate as to what everything will cost to get the property into your own name to include registration with the Property Registration Authority in Ireland.
8.When we have appointed you as our solicitor what’s the next procedure?
We then advise the sellers solicitor to send the contracts and the title deeds. We check these to see everything is in order. They also send us a list of replied questions known as Requisitions on Title which clarify issues about boundaries, contents, any disputes and various other items which could relate to the property . As you have these in advance of signing any contract you know what exactly is involved.
We will also advise you to get an Engineer’s Report on the property to check it out. We hold everything until your Engineer sends you the report on the property.
9.When we sign the contract what happens next ?
The contract can only be signed when you have paid the balance of the deposit into our client account for forwarding to the sellers solicitor.
If you are borrowing you do not sign until you and your Solicitor have received a Loan Pack from the Bank.
You will already have paid the auctioneer a booking deposit which may be as much as 5% of the purchase price. The balance of the 10% deposit then is forwarded to the sellers solicitor with your signature on it for their clients to sign. Usually also we send over the final transfer document when returning the contracts as it allows the seller to sign documents when he meets a solicitor rather than having to go back at a future time.
10.What happens after the contracts are returned ?
Technically the sale is not in contract until the seller signs. You will see on all the solicitor’s letters that they deny any contract exists and that’s true until the seller signs. Usually however once the auctioneer concludes the deal sales proceed to conclusion.
11.Are there any other documents that we need to conclude the sale?
The most important matter to close the sale is how soon will the money be available . If you’re a cash buyer then the funds to be transferred to our clients account by electronic funds transfer (EFT ) so we are ready to close the sale.
We find properties are selling so quickly in Ireland at present because of shortage of supply that very often sellers are not prepared to move out at such short notice. Moving out of any property is time-consuming and requires effort so even though funds may be available and both solicitors are ready to close obtaining vacant possession of the property which includes cleaning out any storage area must be prioritised.
For our part we agree a date when the money will pass over .We carry out searches against the property, the sellers, and even yourself to ensure that there are no hidden charges on the property or people’s personal circumstances are such that they are entitled to sell the property. The searches must be completed up to the day of closing . There is sent to the sellers solicitor to confirm nothing shows up on the search refers to this property over to the seller.
If all is in order then the title documents are physically sent to to us as your solicitor and we in turn send the funds by EFT to the sellers solicitor. Both parties hold the documents and the money until both sides are satisfied and a letter of release issues usually an email these days to say the funds can be released to the client.
The keys are usually held by the auctioneer and a letter of instruction is given by the sellers solicitor to release them to you as new owner of the property.
As always with any matter requiring legal advice please contact us to discuss your own personal situation on a no obligation basis by arranging a zoom call through our website.