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What does a solicitor do when you sell a house?
When you sell a property in Ireland, your solicitor takes up the title deeds from your lender, drafts the contract for sale, replies to the pre-contract enquiries raised by the buyer's solicitor, completes the sale, redeems your mortgage from the sale proceeds and accounts to you for the balance. The seller is responsible for producing a complete set of documents proving good title and compliance. A missing certificate is the most common reason an Irish house sale runs late. Tormeys Solicitors act for sellers across Athlone and Co. Westmeath and prepare contracts as soon as a sale is agreed. We have been doing this for almost a century.
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The location of your title deeds. If your title deeds are with a bank, we will have you sign a form of authority allowing us to take up the title deeds on accountable trust receipt; - We will work with you in completing our client questionnaire to secure the necessary details to fully protect your interests when preparing your contracts for sale
- We will require a local property tax printout showing local property tax paid to the current year end. Upon closing, we will prepare a LPT apportionment account;
- We will require a certificate of exemption or discharge from NPPR for the years 2012 and 2013;
- We will require details of your water supply and confirmation of whether your property has a septic tank or is serviced by the mains system. If you have a septic tank, we will require a certificate of registration of your septic tank with Protect our Water;
- We will require a copy of your state marriage or civil partnership certificate (and a copy of a Separation Agreement or Divorce Order if applicable);
- We will require a BER certificate and advisory report;
- We will require details of any work completed to the property together with copies of any relevant planning permissions, architect’s certificates of compliance and/or architect’s certificates of exemption from planning;
- If the property is in a managed development, we will require contact details for the management company;
- We will require you to sign various documents throughout the process to include the contract for sale, Family Home Declaration, Section 72 Declaration. The legal ramifications of all of these documents will be explained to you when you meet with us;
- Prior to closing, we will write to your mortgage bank and seek a redemption figure for your mortgage;
- Once we are in receipt of funds and have confirmation of completion of the transaction, we will pay the required amount to your bank and will then furnish you with a closing statement of account and transfer the balance of the proceeds of sale to an account nominated by you.
The documents that most often delay a sale
The building energy rating certificate. A BER Building Energy Rating certificate and advisory report must be available before a property is advertised for sale. Sellers frequently reach the contract stage without one.
Certificates of compliance with planning permission. Any extension, attic conversion, garage or change of use requires either planning permission and a certificate of compliance from an architect or engineer or evidence that the works were exempt. Unauthorised works discovered late will stop a sale. Rear extensions on the older terraces around Irishtown and Connaught Street are a recurring example.
Septic tank registration. Properties not connected to mains drainage require a certificate of registration from Protect Our Water. A seller must furnish this to the purchaser on completion. This affects a significant number of homes in the townlands at Baylin, Clonown and along the Lough Ree shore.
Local Property Tax and NPPR. The buyer's solicitor will require evidence that Local Property Tax is discharged and, for properties that were not the seller's principal residence in the relevant years, a certificate of exemption or discharge from the Non-Principal Private Residence charge. Former student lets near the town centre and former rental properties at Retreat and Garrycastle regularly fall into this category.
Unregistered title. Compulsory first registration applied in Co. Westmeath from April 2006. Where an older Athlone property has never been registered, a first registration application to Tailte Éireann may be required, which adds time. We identify this on day one, not in the week of closing.
The practical point is simple. Gathering these documents before a sale is agreed, rather than after, is the single most effective thing a seller can do to protect the closing date.
What happens on the day your sale closes
Before closing, we write to your lender and request a redemption figure, being the exact amount required to clear your mortgage on the closing date. We prepare the deed of transfer and the completion documentation and agree the apportionment of Local Property Tax and any service charges with the buyer's solicitor.
On the closing date, we receive the balance of the purchase price from the buyer's solicitor and hand over the title deeds and the keys. From the proceeds we redeem your mortgage, discharge the estate agent's fee if we are instructed to do so and pay our own fee and any outlays.
We then furnish you with a closing statement of account, setting out every sum received and every sum paid, and transfer the balance of the net proceeds to your nominated bank account. The bank account details must be confirmed with us in advance for anti-fraud reasons. Job done!
Our house sale fee calculator gives you an indicative figure for the legal costs before you contact us.
Frequently asked questions about selling a property
When should I instruct a solicitor to sell my house?
Instruct a solicitor before you put the property on the market, not after a sale is agreed. Doing so allows us to take up your title deeds from your lender on accountable trust receipt, review the title and identify any issue, for example an unregistered title, a boundary discrepancy or a missing certificate of compliance, while there is time to resolve it. Sellers in Athlone who instruct us early are able to issue contracts within days of agreeing a sale rather than weeks.
What documents do I need to sell my property?
You will need the title deeds, a BER certificate and advisory report, evidence that Local Property Tax has been paid and certificates of compliance with planning permission for any works carried out. If the property is served by a septic tank, a certificate of registration is required. If the property was not your principal residence in the relevant years, a certificate of exemption or discharge from the NPPR charge is needed. We provide a written list at the outset and chase what is outstanding.
When do I receive the money from my sale?
Good question. The net proceeds are transferred to you after the sale completes and after your mortgage has been redeemed. We first receive the purchase money, then discharge the redemption figure to your lender, then pay any agreed outlays and fees. We prepare a closing statement of account showing every sum in and out and transfer the balance to the bank account you have confirmed with us. In most straightforward transactions the funds reach you within a small number of working days of completion.
Can I sell a property that is not registered?
Yes, but additional work is required. Where title is proved by a chain of historic deeds recorded in the Registry of Deeds rather than by a folio, the buyer’s solicitor will require an application for first registration. Compulsory first registration was extended to Co. Westmeath in April 2006, so this arises regularly on older properties in the streets around Athlone Castle and out through Irishtown. Identifying an unregistered title before the property goes on the market avoids a late and avoidable delay.
What is a redemption figure?
A redemption figure is the exact sum required to clear the mortgage secured on the property as at a specified date, including interest accrued and any breakage cost on a fixed rate. We request it from your lender in advance of closing. Because it changes daily, it is calculated to the intended completion date. If the sale price does not cover the redemption figure, the shortfall must be addressed with the lender before contracts are signed. We will tell you if that situation arises.
People Also Ask
What is a BER certificate and do I need one before selling?
A Building Energy Rating certificate and advisory report rates a property’s energy efficiency and must be in place before the property is advertised for sale. It is arranged and paid for by the seller, separately from the solicitor’s fee, which you can estimate using our house sale calculator.
What is a Family Home Declaration?
A Family Home Declaration is a sworn statement confirming whether a property is or is not a family home for the purposes of the Family Home Protection Act. It is a standard document signed as part of most residential sales and we explain the wider process on our conveyancing and property law page.
How long does it typically take to find a buyer once a property is listed?
This varies with local demand and the asking price, so no timeframe can be promised. Once a sale is agreed, the legal process itself typically takes a further two to three months and instructing a solicitor as the property goes to market lets the contract be ready to issue as soon as a buyer is found, a step we cover on our purchasing a property page.
Can I sell a property that has a tenant living in it?
This varies with local demand and the asking price, so no timeframe can be promised. Once a sale is agreed, the legal process itself typically takes a further two to three months and instructing a solicitor as the property goes to market lets the contract be ready to issue as soon as a buyer is found, a step we cover on our purchasing a property page.What happens if I still owe money on my mortgage when I sell?
Your solicitor writes to your lender before closing to obtain a redemption figure, which is paid from the sale proceeds to clear the mortgage and release the charge. You then receive the balance and we explain how this fits into the wider process on our mortgages page.
Buying property in Athlone and across Westmeath
Tormeys Solicitors act for sellers throughout Athlone, from period houses on Connaught Street and Irishtown to family homes at Retreat, Summerhill, Coosan and Garrycastle, and across the bridge at Monksland and Bellanamullia. We also act on sales of cottages and smallholdings in the townlands at Baylin and Clonown, where septic tank certification and unregistered title are common features rather than exceptions.
Beyond the town we act for sellers in Glasson, at Hodson Bay, and in Moate, Kilbeggan, Ballymore and Mullingar. Our office is on Castle Street, beside Athlone Castle.
Business name: Tormeys Solicitors LLP
Address: Castle Street, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, N37 D960
Phone: +353 (0) 90 6493456
Email: info@tormeys.ie
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