Selling your house? Here are some practical steps to consider

When you decide to sell your home or any other house that you own there are some practical steps which you should consider taking in order to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible.

Step 1

Consult an auctioneer.  The auctioneer you choose to sell your property will advise you as to how the property should be sold whether by private treaty sale or public auction

The auctioneer will advise you of their costs – including advertising.  They will also advise you in respect of any decorative requirements or minor repairs which should be undertaken in order to maximise the sale price.  It is important to provide details of your solicitor to your auctioneer and to request that the auctioneer advise your solicitor immediately once the property goes sale agreed.

Step 2

Obtain a Building Energy Rating (BER) Certificate for the property – this is a legal requirement for most properties.  You will not be able to sell your property without a BER Certificate.

Step 3

Consult your solicitor early in the process– very often the solicitor is the last to know!  Do not wait until your property goes “sale agreed” to inform your solicitor that you are selling your property.  Often there are legal and administrative matters which have to be attended to before the Contracts for Sale can even be prepared.  Usually these matters can be easily sorted out but they can take time and lead to delays which could otherwise have been avoided had your solicitor known about your plans to sell earlier.

The transfer of the title to the property from vendor to purchaser is an essential part of the selling process.  There are a number of aspects to this, some of which are set out as follows:

1. The title needs to be checked;
2. If the property is mortgaged it is important to note that the title documents will be with a lender and it may take up to two weeks for the lender to release them to the solicitor. In the meantime the Contracts for Sale cannot be drawn up until the title documents are received from the lending institution.
3. It will be necessary to establish if there are penalties for paying back (redeeming) your mortgage early. If the property is in negative equity, it may be necessary to get the lender’s prior consent to the sale. Your solicitor has to be able to confirm to the purchaser’s solicitor that the purchaser can buy the property free of any mortgages or charges registered against the property.
4. Planning issues will have to be checked and the relevant Certificates will need to be produced.
5. If there is a Septic tank relating to the house , registration will need to be confirmed.
6. All charges such as Local Property Tax (LPT), Non Principal Private Residence (NPPR) and the Household Charge will have to be paid up to date and receipts provided by you.
7. If the property is not your principal residence then Capital Gains Tax (CGT) will apply.
8. If the title of your property is Registry of Deeds then you will need to engage the services of an engineer or other suitably qualified person to provide a Property Registration Authority compliant map to the purchaser.

If you are considering selling a property we would be happy to prepare a quote for you in respect of our professional fees and to answer any queries you may have.  For further information or advice in relation to house sales please do not hesitate to contact us on 021 489 7256 or by email to info@douglaslawsolicitors.ie