Owners Guide to selling a house

Owners Guide to selling a home

On average, selling a home in Ireland takes about 5-6 months. The process can take longer if you are part of a chain of buyers and sellers.

To sell your home, you will need to:

Check how much you have still outstanding to pay on your mortgage (if you have one)
Find out how much your home is actually worth (Note: most local estate agents/Auctioneers will
value your property at current market rates (for free, but check first!)
Decide if you will use a Real-Estate agent (Auctioneer) to sell your home or try to market your property yourself through online websites such as househunter.ie
Choose a solicitor or conveyancer who will do the legal work involved in transferring ownership(s) and registering your folio etc.
Give potential buyers the legaly required paperwork, including an Energy Performance Certificate (BER) for your home.
Decide on a selling price
Accept or negotiate an offer
Exchange contracts
Transfer ownership and move out (called ‘completion’)

Getting the Asking Price Right

You will know what the price of your property was when it was purchased but are you aware of what others in the locality have recently sold for? Knowledge of recent local house sales in your area for properties similiar to your own will give you an idea of jow much you might be able to obtain for your own house sale in the current market.

Asking a local Auctioneers or Estste agent along for a valuation will also give you a guide price but also be aware that theirnguides are only estimates and it is always advisable to get the opinion of more than one as they also can under or overprice your property.

The value of your property is only as much as someone is willing to pay for it at the end of the day, so any price valuations given are just a guide price. You should not be too greedy when advertising though, an advertised price could also achieve a lot more than the asking price if you manage to get more than two bidders bidding against each other!

Finding the Right Agent or “going it alone”.

Obviously you will already be aware who is active in your local area but just because someone is based down your street does not mean that they should be used. In today’s modern world there are a lot more options for selling/buying property made available thanks to the internet. Any Estate agent should really have a great internet presence (ie. their website should be visible and accessible wherever and whenever buyers choose to look). If they can not promote your property to its best audience then are you (and any potential purchasers) really getting value for money from them and the amount of money that they ask?

Perhaps you should seriously consider if you could market your house for sale yourself! Nobody knows your property better than you and finding cheaper options will mean (i) either more profit for you in the event of a sale or perhaps an (ii) advantage over other local competition by being able to take a lower asking price to beat the estate agents commission priced alternative property.

Compare our deals to what you are being asked by your local agents and then make a decision that you will be happy with. You could save thousands of Euro by selling your property yourself!

Answering Common Buyer Questions-

Having answers already prepared to the following questions might be advisable to anyone selling their own property –

What is the asking price?
Why is the owner selling/ Why is the seller leaving?
What is included in the sale?
When was the house built?
How quickly are you hoping to move?
Are you in a chain? (Buying another house that seller is waiting on purchasers etc.)
Have neighbours got any Future development plans (ie building works/extensions etc.)?
What is the neighborhood like?
What are the LPT (Local Property Tax) costs?
Is the property under any aeroplane flight paths?
Have any major renovations been made to the property? If so, are guarantees still in place?
Is the property a listed building (Protected structure)?
Is the property prone to flooding or likelihood of any other disasters?
How is the property being kept (Is it in good condition, Recently painted etc)?
What is the local area like? Bear in mind that your purchaser might not be local to the area!
Where are nearest transport links (Bus,Train)?
Are builders plans still available for the property?
What’s your best advice for homebuyers in this area?

The Sale Process

Step 1: Prepare your property for the market, a lick of paint and removal of all personal photos and belongings is advised. Buyers want to see themselves in your house and not you and your family. So think about putting away a lot (if not all) of your cherished family photos and ornaments, they will be boxed to move anyway so do it before advertising. A good time to declutter now will also save you time and money in moving costs.

Step 2: Hire a solicitor
In Ireland, it’s a good idea to appoint a solicitor at an early stage in the process. They will request the title deeds which could take up to 8 weeks to reach them. This could help speed up the length of any sale. Shop around as they can all vary in cost and expetise. Ask for quotes before choosing.

Step 3: Select an estate agent or go it alone (see above).

Step 4: Set the asking price (see above).

Step 5: Market the property
Most Auctioneers/Estate agents will market your property by creating a listing, taking professional photographs, and possibly creating a virtual tour or video. You should also do this yourself if you go down the route of selling your property yourself! Look through our property listings and ask yourself if you could compile your own description and highlights etc.
Auctioneers/Estate agents will also advertise your property on various platforms, such as online property portals, social media, and their own agency’s website. Look around to see where you could do this too whilst keeping costs down!

Step 6: Be prepared to Host viewings
Once your property is on the market, you’ll start receiving viewing requests. It’s advisable to make your house as presentable as possible for each viewing.
If selling without any agents then always be prepared to get calls from last minute buyers wishing to view soon. Not all buyers just do weekends. Will you available at short notice to undertake viewings?

Step 7: Negotiate and accept any offers
If a buyer is interested in purchasing your property, they will submit an offer, usually through their estate agent. If selling yourself, then dont be pushed into accepting any offers on the spot. You can accept, reject, or negotiate any offers, especially if you have more than one interested parties.
Once you have agreed on a price, the buyer must pay an initial booking deposit to your estate agent which is often a fixed sum of €5000 or a percentage (1% – 2%) of the purchase price. It is advisable to also request this amount if selling yourself. THIS DEPOSIT MUST BE FULLY REFUNDABLE up until the point where contracts are signed.

Step 8: Exchange of contracts
After accepting an offer, your solicitor has to be informed and they will then exchange contracts with the buyer’s solicitor. The buyer will then pay another deposit, typically 10% of the purchase price to your solicitor. Once the contracts are exchanged, the sale becomes legally binding.

Step 9: Completion of the sale
Once the contracts have been signed and the outstanding balance of the purchase price (less initil (1-2%) deposit paid to you/estate agent minus the 10% exchage deposit) has been paid by the buyer, the sale is completed. The deeds of the property are then transferred to the buyer’s solicitor. The whole process of selling a house in Ireland can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on various factors like the housing market conditions, the property’s condition, and the price.

Step 10: Vacate the property and hand over the keys
After the sale is complete, it’s time to vacate the property. You will need to do various administrative tasks such as cancelling any utilities or services tied to the property, including electricity, gas, water, and internet services. Once these tidying tasks are done, you can then hand over the keys to the new owner. This can be done personally or through your estate agent or solicitor. ALWAYS TAKE METER READINGS OF ALL SERVICES WHILST BUYER/BUYERS AGENT IS ACCOMPANING YOU IF POSSIBLE. SIGNING AND AGREEING TO THESE HANDOVER READINGS COULD SAVE TIME AND MONEY LATER ON!

Additional considerations

Energy Efficiency – You’re required to have a Building Energy Rating (BER) for your property when selling it. The BER rates the overall energy efficiency of your property. If you don’t have a BER, you can hire a BER assessor to evaluate your property.

Mortgage – If you have an existing mortgage on the property, you will need to repay it from the proceeds of the sale. The balance of the sale proceeds, after paying off the mortgage and any fees (like solicitor’s fees and estate agent’s fees), is your equity from the sale. (Your solicitor will more than likely do this if quoted in his initial breakdown quote).

Property Tax and Charges – you will need details of your LPT Property History for the purposes of any sale along with a Certificate of Exemption or Discharge which is available from the Local Authority in which the property is located. In most cases the seller is refunded (pro-rata) for any days ceeded before the year end.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) – If the property you’re selling is not your primary residence, or if its value has increased since you bought it, you may be liable to pay Capital Gains Tax. You may wish to consult with a tax expert on this, although our conveyancing team will be happy to provide you with guidance.

Property Price Register – Once your house is sold, the selling price will be recorded in the Property Price Register. This register provides transparency to the public about the residential property market in Ireland.