Tip No 1.
You must get a PPS number, that is a Social Security number which shows you are registered in Ireland with Revenue and in relation to any other services provided by the State. All Irish citizens have one automatically. Anybody coming from another country must register for a specific Irish one. This is possible to obtain by application online with the Department of Social Protection website.
Tip No 2.
Decide the budget that you have to spend.This will dictate what level of property you can try and purchase. At present in Ireland cash is king, there is a slowdown in relation to loan packs and their issue by the financial institutions given the increase in interest rates recently. Anybody coming in from abroad with cash will get priority both with the auctioneers and with potential sellers as there will be no undue delays in completing a purchase.
Tip No 3.
Scan all property web pages. All auctioneers are now very much attuned to listing their properties online. You will see the photographs, the location, the type of property and in particular the costings involved Certain auctioneers specialise in particular areas so local knowledge can be useful .
You should be aware that there is a general housing shortage in Ireland at present both with increasing population, with the migrant situation from Ukraine and the pressure on built up areas such as the main cities mean that properties in those areas now command a premium in relation to the price.
Tip No 4.
Locate your property and enquire with us through our website as to where you should go from there. We have general knowledge in relation to properties in Ireland, both in relation to the locations and the checks which need to be carried out before any contracts are signed. In our experience a non-national person in Ireland tend to pay a higher price as they are not sure of the negotiation process in relation to purchasing a property. We can advise you in relation to the buying procedures in an effort to save you money.
If you locate a house what then?
If you are successful and are going Sale Agreed with an auctioneer in relation to a particular property the following steps need to be taken.
Tip No 5.
You will have to the pay the auctioneer a booking deposit. This is not legally binding on the parties and merely ensures that the auctioneer are able to recover their fees from the vendor.
There can be a delay between going sale agreed and the issue of contracts to ourselves on your behalf. This is because the process now involves all the documents be put up in advance of signing the contract. Previously the method was the contract would be signed first then the investigation of title.
Tip No 6.
When we receive the contracts, only then would we advise you to get an engineer /surveyor to inspect the property to ensure that it is structurally sound. When we have the contracts awaiting the result of the survey no other contracts will issue.
When the engineers report is obtained and you are satisfied with its contents in relation to the property, only then would we allow you to sign the contract and pay over the balance of the deposit to the solicitors for the seller.
We can arrange someone to survey the property and get the quickest results so you can make a decision on your purchase.
If all is in order with the survey and you have forwarded the legal costs and outlays to ourselves, together with the balance for the deposit, we can then send your signed contract back to the seller’s solicitor who will get their client to sign.
Tip No 7.
At that stage you are in contract and matters proceed quickly from there. If there are any documents outstanding from the seller’s side they have to be produced before the matter proceeds down to closing.
These days closing off the purchase is done using electronic funds transfer from bank to bank. Similarly, title documents are sent over by registered post, both parties hold the money and title in trust pending hearing from the other side. The seller wishes to facilitate the buyer in whatever way possible and the buyer for their part through our office carries out searches against all parties involved. Provided these searches are clear in relation to any bankruptcy, fines outstanding and/or title issues such as any mortgages not declared then if the searches come back email authority is given by the buyer’s solicitor to release the funds to the seller, similarly the seller authorises the auctioneer to release the keys to the property to the buyer.
At that stage you are the proud possessor of an Irish property.
We hope this has been more helpful to you in guiding you in relation to how we can assist you in purchasing your dream Irish property in these times.