Our Services
How can we help?
Buying Property Solicitors
Buying Your Home
WARNING. Buying a house is a stressful process. The good news is it is a rite of passage, you will get there. And our Buying Property Solicitors are here to guide you.
When you decide that you want to buy a house you should shop around to see what bank can offer a loan that suits you. When you have completed the application form and provided all the documentation your mortgage application will be assessed. The bank may provide you with what is known as Approval in Principle. This is comparable to an estimate of the amount that you may be approved for and gives you an opportunity to consider potential properties you wish to buy while you wait for the formal Letter of Offer from the bank. Once you know how much money you can borrow, together with whatever money you have, that will be your budget.
Your budget must take into consideration costs associated with buying the house and not just the cost of the house. The typical costs associated with buying a house are (1) stamp duty, (2) Property Registration cost & (3) Solicitor fees / costs. There may be other costs like management fees or apportionment for local property tax, etc. Your solicitor will be able to advise you.
In relation to your solicitor, you should shop around. The solicitor will be able to give you a guide on the level of costs associated with buying the house. It is important to remember that the solicitor fees should not be the overall determining factor when choosing a solicitor. It is important that you find a solicitor that you can work with. The solicitor client relationship is important when buying a house.
Why is the solicitor client relationship important? This relationship is important because your solicitor is the only person in the transaction who is looking after your interest. This is because the seller and their solicitor are looking after the seller's interest, the estate agent is employed by the seller thus their obligation is to the seller and the bank want to lend the money as that is how they make their money. Your solicitor is there to protect your best interest.
Now that you have found a solicitor that you can work with the hard work begins.
What our buying property solicitors can help you with
- You need to start the search for the house that is right for you.
- When you find the right house, you make an offer for the property to the estate agent. If your offer is accepted, you then pay a booking deposit and give the estate agent our details.
- Do not be too disheartened if your offer is not accepted or if somebody else out bids you, this is the way of the world.
- If the offer is accepted, congratulations, you pay the booking deposit. The booking deposit is refundable if you do not sign the contract.
- The contract will issue to your solicitor. We will examine the contracts and title deeds to ensure that the vendor is entitled to sell to you as well as ensuring that the title good marketable title and that there are no onerous conditions in the contract. We will insert any special conditions into the contract which you may require, for example if you are applying for a mortgage the special condition would be inserted to state that the contract is subject to the purchaser being able to drawdown the mortgage funds.
- The loan pack from the bank should also issue to your solicitor around this time.
- The solicitor will review the terms of the loan / mortgage.
- When the terms of the contract are agreed, and the mortgage facility is in place the solicitor is happy for you to sign the contract and pay the balance of the deposit. Local Solicitor will arrange for you to sign contracts of sale and return them to the vendor’s solicitor together with the deposit (usually 10% of the purchase price). The vendor’s solicitor will then arrange for the vendor to sign the contracts and will return one part. Once contracts have been signed and the deposit paid there is a binding agreement in place.
- You may want to get your own survey done before you sign the contract and pay the balance of the deposit.
- Once you sign the contract and pay the deposit you are committed and will lose your deposit if you pull out.
- When the seller signs and returns a copy of the contract local solicitor will apply to the bank to drawdown the mortgage funds.
- When the funds come in your solicitor will send them to the seller solicitor
- The seller solicitor will release the title documents.
- The closing searches will be done at this stage. (do not worry your solicitor will explain this to you). Local solicitor will order a set of searches against the vendor and their property. These searches are carried out by a third-party service provider to ensure that the vendor is not bankrupt (a bankrupt person cannot sell a property), or that there are no judgments or undisclosed mortgages registered against the property. It is also possible to check whether there are any plans for road widening, etc. This is an additional search which is available at the request of the purchaser
- When the searches are done the money will be released to the vendor and the keys will be released to you.
- Congratulations you have your keys.
- 17 Local Solicitor will then arrange for the Stamp Duty to be paid on the deed of transfer.
- Once the deed is stamped Local Solicitor will arrange for the transfer to be registered so that you are recorded as the owner of the property. Local Solicitor will also register the mortgage with the Property Registration Authority.
- Once you are registered as owner and the mortgage is registered on the property Local Solicitor will lodge the title deeds with your bank who will hold onto them until you repay the loan or sell the property.
- The whole process can take approximately 8 weeks, but this will depend on the complexity of the transaction.
Local Solicitor knows that buying your house is one of the most stressful life events. We firmly believe in the concept that an informed client is a happy client thus we will update you on all matters to ensure a smooth and stress-free process.
The list above sounds easy however that whole process can become stressful because you are trying to balance the pace at which the seller wants to move, the pace at which the bank wants to move and the pace at which you can move. Do not worry it happens to everybody and it is a usual part of the process. Hang in there you will get over the line. Remember it is a rite of passage.
This note is an overview and explanation of the general process in buying a house. It is not to be taken as legal advice. Please consult Local Solicitor for legal advice. If you need to get involved in a contract Local Solicitor is in your corner to help you through the process. You can contact Local Solicitor by telephoning 01 8438138.