30/09/2020
10 STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOUSE
Are you thinking of selling your property but don't know where to start. Read our useful 10 step guide to selling your property.
1. CONTACT YOUR SOLICITOR: As soon as you make the decision to sell your house, even before you contact the auctioneer, contact your solicitor. This will enable the solicitor to take up your Title Deeds which may be stored safely off site, with another solicitor or with your lending institution if you have a mortgage.
It will also enable the solicitor to give you an estimate of the Fee, VAT and Outlay which you will pay in relation to the sale.
2. TITLE DEEDS: It may be some years since you purchased the house, so your solicitor will advise you of what title documents may need to be updated.
These include:-
a) Local Property Tax: The Local Property Tax is payable to Revenue Commissioners annually. The Vendor will need to pay the LPT in full for the year of sale. You will need to provide your solicitor with a printout showing payment of the LPT for all liability years 2013 to date.
You are entitled to a refund of an apportioned amount of LPT from the Purchaser of your house. Your Solicitor will deal with this on closing.
b) Non Principal Private Residence Tax (NPPR): NPPR was a tax on properties which were not your principal private residence from 2009 to 2013 inclusive. If you paid the tax, your solicitor will advise you to get a Certificate of Discharge from your local County Council office. If you lived in the property, and it was therefore your principal private residence, your solicitor will advise you to get a Certificate of Exemption from your local County Council office.
c) Certificate of Registration of Septic Tank. All domestic wastewater treatment systems are required to be registered with Protect Our Water. You must provide the certificate of registration to your solicitor.
d) Planning: You will need to advise your solicitor of any alterations or extensions carried out to the property which may require compliance with Planning Permission or Building Regulations. You will need to provide your solicitor with a copy of the Final Grant of Planning Permission, a receipt for any financial contributions contained therein and a Certificate of Compliance with /Exemption from Planning Permission and/ or Building Regulation from the supervising Engineer.
e) Marriage Certificate, Death Certificate and Decree of Divorce. If you are married, widowed, Divorced etc, your solicitor will need a copy of the relevant certificates and/ or Court Orders. These will be needed on closing, which is the day the transaction finalises and you no longer own the house.
3. CONTRACTS FOR SALE. Your solicitor will then prepare Contracts for Sale for approval by you. Contracts for sale will be sent to the Purchasers solicitor with a copy of the title.
4. PRE-CONTRACT ENQUIRIES. At this stage the Purchasers’ solicitor will raise what are called pre-contract enquiries, or queries. These are any queries the Purchasers’ solicitor has in relation to the title. The Purchaser will also have been advised to have an Engineer attend at the property to carry out a full structural survey and boundary survey. If there are queries on foot of this survey the Purchasers’ solicitor may raise these also.
5. SIGNING: Once the Purchasers’ solicitor is happy with the title, the Purchaser has their mortgage approval and any queries on the Engineers survey have been dealt with, the Purchaser will sign the Contracts and pay the deposit, generally 10%. You, as the Vendor will then be asked to sign the Contracts. Once the Vendor signs the Contracts they are binding, subject to any agreed conditions. A date is then set for closing.
6. CLOSING DOCUMENTATION: Your solicitor will make an appointment for you to attend at their office to sign the documents necessary to transfer legal and beneficial ownership to the Purchaser. The solicitor will hold these documents on their file until the agreed closing date.
7. MORTGAGE REDEMPTION STATEMENT. Your solicitor will obtain an up to date redemption statement from your lending institution, which will show the amount due to the bank in order to pay off the mortgage.
8. CLOSING DATE. This is the date you sell your house and move out. Your Solicitor will ensure that all title documentation are received by the Purchasers solicitor on the day of closing. The Purchasers solicitor will transfer the balance closing monies, 90%, plus any refund due for Local Property Tax and service charge if applicable, to the Vendors solicitor. Once the legal process has been dealt with by the solicitors you will receive a call to advise you that the sale has closed.
9. MORTGAGE REDEMPTION: Your solicitor will forward a cheque/ Electronic Funds Transfer for the amount due to your lending institution in order to pay off the mortgage.
10. STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT: Your solicitor will prepare a statement of account showing all monies which came into their account during the house sale. They will show all monies which were paid out on your behalf and detail the agreed Professional Fee, VAT and outlay. Any balance monies will be transferred to you within 5-7 working days after closing.
Contact us today to discuss your sale!
