1. Speak To Your Solicitor First
The most important advice we can give is to speak to your solicitor first. It is the best way to ensure you get the closing date you want. If you are starting out in the process, please contact our offices. We can make an appointment for you to come in for a free consultation, guide you through the entire process and ensure you are fully informed from the start. Many sellers will put the property up for sale and agree a sale price and only then inform the solicitor. This can lead to real delays. If there is a mortgage on the property it could take weeks for the bank to release them and slow the process so please do contact your solicitor in advance.
2. Ensure Your Paperwork Is In Order
When you are selling your property, there are a lot of documents you will have to have in place such as:
- Up to date payments on your Local Property Taxes
- Irish Water Registration
- An NPPR Certificate of Exemption or
- Receipt for payment if you own a second home
To name but a few. To get all of this in order, you will also need to have a BER Certificate carried out if you do not already have one. Speak to your solicitor about all of this from the start. Once they take up the title deeds they’ll be able to inform you about what is left outstanding. This is crucial because your buyers won’t any contracts until all your documents are in order. So, the sooner they are in place the better and we can help guide you along with this process.
3. Tell Your Solicitor If You Have Carried Out Any Alterations Or Renovations To The Property
This is a very important point that sellers often forget. You may have made some small alterations or additions to your property that didn’t seem to at the time did not require planning and thought no more of it but this is a common mistake. We would always advise that purchasers carry out a structural survey of a property and for sellers you should always be prepared for this to take place and that we can answer any queries or issues raised by the survey. Very often works carried out that are below the minimum requirement for planning will still require certification by an architect or engineer so if we have this in place when sending out the contracts it will help progress matters. Furthermore if any alterations or additions did require planning we can ensure all the documents are ready or copies in place from the local authority. This is one of the biggest reasons why the sale of a property can be delayed but they are easily rectified and the sooner we are aware the sooner we can deal with these queries.
4. If You Are Including Any Contents From Your Home In The Sale Price Do Let Us Know
It is quite common for sellers to include items in the home such as the oven, refrigerator or dishwasher in the sale price, these are commonly known as the white goods. Otherwise if there are any items of furniture or fittings that have been agreed in the sale price please do let us know and we can ensure they are included in the contracts so there is no confusion at the end. It is also important to bear in mind that whatever items are not included in the sale price have to be removed from the property and this mean you will have to clear out all the items you may have stored in the garden shed, garage or attic depending on your property.
5. You Do Not Move Out When You Sign The Contracts
This is not the closing date but merely the date the buyer puts the deposit down. When the purchaser puts a booking deposit down at the start they have merely agreed a purchase price. We will sign the contracts to bind both parties to the deal and we then need to agree a closing date between the parties. Once this is in place you will need to make arrangements to ensure the property is empty on or before the closing date, your solicitor has all the required documents and if you are renting the property out to tenants that they are given the correct notice period to end the tenancy. This is another reason to speak with your solicitor from the start. We cannot complete the sale when there is a tenant remaining in the property unless agreed in advance with the purchasers and they are effectively taking over as landlords of any existing lease. This is complicated and tenants have rights that have to be adhered to but we can advise you on following the correct procedure from the outset.
6. The Sooner We Have Our Documents In Order The Sooner The Sale Will Complete
The question we get asked the most is how quickly we can close and we will always tell clients that the sooner we deal with all the queries and get the purchasers to sign the contracts the sooner we can look to a closing date so the preparation is key. If all the planning, taxation and legal documents are in order from the start it means there are less queries which will be answered much quicker and we can get the contracts signed. Once they are signed and exchanged we can progress to the next stage of preparing everything for a closing date but if we have to arrange to get architects or engineers to prepare certificate or we are chasing up our Local Property tax receipts it will always cause a delay. We can arrange a free consultation from the outset to sit down with you and outline the common areas that will cause delays and advise the client of how to avoid this as we want to minimise the stress on our clients as well and make it as smooth a sale as possible.
7. If You Have Any Query, Big Or Small, Let Us Know
Whether you are a first time seller or a seasoned investor you cannot be expected to know how the entire process works so by all means telephone, email or call into our offices. Your solicitor is there to help and no question is too big or small to answer as the more informed you are the easier the process will be for you and we are there to help you and we are happy to help as we want to have your property sold as quickly as we can.
Further Information
Feel free to call us on 01-5266790 or email us at cillin@slaw.ie and we can answer any queries you may have regardless of whether you are only thinking of selling there is no charge for a First consultation and we charge set fees for sellers so you can contact us at any stage.