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| The daunting task of buying a house in Ireland |
So you are thinking of buying a house. Maybe it is your first time to purchase and you don’t know where to start. My advice to you is to read ‘Buying a house’ here on our site. We have covered everything to assist you in your knowledge of the procedure.
Let me go through a few things with you. It could take months, from start to finish or it could indeed sweep you off your feet completely. It all depends on how quickly you find that home you wish to purchase.
It is not a decision you enter into lightly as buying a house is one of the most important milestones of your life. The first and most important step is to draw up a realistic budget. As well as monthly mortgage repayments there are also a number of additional costs involved including stamp duty, legal fees, surveyors report fees, land registry and general moving expenses.
If you are a first-time buyer you also have to factor the costs of furniture and electrical equipment, maybe carpets, curtains and wallpaper. Find out what allowances, if any, come with the new house. Sometimes you have a complete wallpaper allowance or maybe a partial carpet allowance. All categories of buyers should have a redecorating budget.
Discuss your mortgage requirements with your lending institution.
Choosing your new home is the fun part. Shortlist a few areas you would like to live in and contact estate agents based in those areas for suitable properties they have available. See our ‘Find an Agent’ and ‘Experienced Agents Countrywide Link’ for e-mail connection direct to their offices.
There is no shortage of property supplements around at the moment so browse through them. Check out our ‘Property Journals’ section.
For convenience it is recommended to narrow down the search to two or three areas and to concentrate on one at a time. Familiarise yourself with the neighbourhood. Take the time to walk around it, check out services, schools, transport links and amenities in the area. Do try and view the neighbourhood by night as well as by day.
Get a list of available houses from our directory of ‘experienced agents’ and drive around yourself to look at them prior to making an appointment to view them with the agent. Straight away you will find yourself crossing a number of them off your list. Take your time when viewing the properties. Don’t be intimidated. Ask all the questions that come to mind. Investigate outside and around the side of the house.
Stay focused on your budget at all times, and if you think that a property would require too much renovation that you just cannot afford then be sensible and walk away.
Once you’ve decided on a house check with the local authority and the development plan for the area to see if there are any future developments that may affect your property. Although far from your thoughts at this time of buying, the resale value of your house should be a big consideration. Will the house be easy to sell in a few years – even in a less than buoyant market?
If you are buying a second-hand house you are recommended to have a structural survey conducted. This is especially true of old properties.
Public auctions and private treaty sales are the two methods by which properties are bought and sold. Public auctions are usually only employed for houses at the top end of the market. If you are attending an auction where you hope to bid on a property then ensure that you have all the groundwork completed – mortgage approval ready to go etc.
A 10% deposit is required and contracts are produced which will specify completion date – the balance of the property price is payable on that date. Your solicitor will guide you through the process.
Sale by private treaty is the more usual method of buying and selling a house. The estate agent will usually attach a guide price to the property and interested parties then can submit offers. Blind or sealed bids have become common where there are 3 or more parties interested in the property.
Once a bid is accepted by the vendor, solicitors become involved in the process and contracts are drawn up. A deposit of 10% is payable on the exchange of contracts and when all the legal and paperwork has being sorted out, the papers are signed and a date is arranged for the keys to be handed over. Solicitors will advise you regarding stamp duty and registration.
Purchasing a new property is a relatively simple procedure. A booking deposit is required to hold the property, which is usually followed by the payment of the balance of the deposit at contract stage, with the balance of the property price payable on completion of the sale.
If buyers have purchased from plans then the developer (if you are buying a new house) will usually give a completion date when the property should be ready for moving into – treat this as a guide only as in most cases you can expect to wait another few months.
You should make up what is called a snag list before moving – this is a list of repairs and further work that you think needs to be done. If you don’t include something on this list it can be difficult to get the developer to fix it at a later date.
Some Criteria to Ponder
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1…Draw up a realistic budget that accounts for mortgage repayments,
legal fees, moving expenses, surveyors report, land registry, stamp
duty and decorating budget.
2…Shortlist two or three areas and contact estate agents to get a list of
all properties in your budget range.
3…Familiarise yourself with the neighbourhood by day and night. Don’t
waste time looking at properties if you don’t like the area.
4…Contact agents to view properties and don’t be intimidated into not
asking necessary questions.
5…Once you have chosen a property then do investigate it thoroughly. If
you think you may be reselling the property in the next few years then
do bear this in mind. Get a surveyors report done if it is a second
hand house.
6…If the house or apartment is for sale by private treaty then submitting
an offer will show your interest and kick start the process. At this
stage have outline approval for a mortgage in place.
7…If the house or apartment is for sale by public auction go along on the
day and take part in the bidding process. Have all the necessary
requirements in place – mortgage repayments monies, moving
expenses etc
8…Once your bid has being accepted a 10% deposit is payable while thye
contracts and the various solicitors are preparing conditions of sale.
9…The balance of the purchase price is payable on signing of the
contracts and a key handover date is finalised.
10..The keys are handed over.
So good luck with your househunting and we at Irish Property Market.com wish you many years of contentment in your new home, when you find it. We only hope we were of assistance to you here at
Irish Property Market.com – the househunters home
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