A new consumer guide has identified issues relating to documentation, planning and taxes as among the prime causes of delays when buying and selling a property in Ireland.
The guide, which is primarily aimed at sellers but will also be of interest to buyers, has been published by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and the Law Society of Ireland with the aim of speeding up property sales. It sets out in detail the steps anyone selling a property needs to take; the questions they need to ask, who they need to contact, as well as how long it usually takes and costs.
CEO of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland Shirley Coulter says that while the average timeframe to complete a sale is over four months, for a significant number of sales there can be considerable delays.
“Many people don’t realise the volume of documentation around key issues which needs to be gathered to complete a property sale”, she said. “One key document is the property’s title deeds, which is often held by a bank or other lender, but others include copies of marriage or civil partnership certificates and land registry and mapping documents.
“Additional information and documentation may be required if third parties have rights over a property, such as a right of residence or right of way or if there have been boundary issues or disputes with a neighbour.
“Compliance with or exemptions from planning permission and/or building regulations is an area where we are seeing an increasing number of hold-ups. For example, if a building extension has been added on, copies of planning permissions and evidence of compliance with that permission and with building regulations will be required.
“A valid Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate and BER Advisory Report are legally required if you are selling a property. So, the sooner you engage your professional team the sooner you can begin gathering the relevant documents,” Ms Coulter explained.
The guide notes that measures to prevent money laundering and a requirement to collect outstanding taxes and charges have been introduced in recent years.
According to the guide, if the property is being sold following the death of the owner, then the sale could be conditional or ‘subject to’ probate, causing additional delays. Another issue which very often leads to delays is when buyers have not got the finance in place to complete a sale or when sellers have not got the final redemption figure from their bank to settle the existing mortgage.
‘Speed up your property sale – a guide to avoiding the most common delays’ is available to download free of charge online.
