New home sale in Belmont, Stepaside, Dublin 18

The Bishop Basher

Shedzafew wrote: »

Family member of mine signed contracts in phase1 after advise from his solicitor that he is happy to give an undertaking. Used a very reputible firm who had a large number of initial queries which were all satisfied over time. It most certainly wasn't a quick and easy process for them.

Do you mean they signed on the basis that the solicitor said he'd work it all out in time ? If I read that right, that's incredibly risky unless there's a clause in there that you can hand the property back, receive a full refund for everything including legal fees, home setup costs, etc etc. and walk away if it doesn't all iron out.

I don't care how reputable the firm is and how many queries they've dealt with. Ultimately it's the buyers ass on the line, not theirs.

trveller72

Jared20130204 wrote: »

Hi All,

Anyone else being put under serious pressure to send their contracts back even without this title deed issue resolved? It's getting like gun to head type situation. Seems like some solicitors are letting their clients sign with all these Nama acquisitions and AIB charges attached to their properties. I am baffled as to how anyone could buy a house without clean title deeds, but there you have it...it's happening.

Anyhoo, I shall keep all informed but I have pretty much lost hope the land registry will expedite this. The registration of the new owners has been "expedited" since last October. THe problem I'm thinking now is that, if this can't be expedited with so many people waiting to buy, there may well be some serious issues on the title.
I suspect the agent and developer think they'll get more for the properties in phase three and are prepared to take the chance that enough solicitors will also sign off on the title deeds as they stand.

I hope it works out for all those that have signed but I couldn't take that risk.

We are in same situation at the moment.
My solicitor requested clarifications in relation with the Land registration at start of Dec and did not received any answer yet.
He highlighted to me also, that the developer requested the registration to be "expedited" in Aug. and that is very unusual to take this long.
He strongly recommended not to sign until the registration is completed.
Also, in the contract I received, there was no Home Bond Guarantee.
Did you received this?

Jolisa94

We didn't receive the home bond with our contract either

Baileys4

trveller72 wrote: »

We are in same situation at the moment.
My solicitor requested clarifications in relation with the Land registration at start of Dec and did not received any answer yet.
He highlighted to me also, that the developer requested the registration to be "expedited" in Aug. and that is very unusual to take this long.
He strongly recommended not to sign until the registration is completed.
Also, in the contract I received, there was no Home Bond Guarantee.
Did you received this?

Hi,

Just to confirm that we did receive clean title deeds as did at least 2 other owners in phase 1 with the Home Bond Guarantee included. We had to send back contracts at least 4 times to get everything ironed out & pushed the developer & developers solicitor to get these resolved and although it took several weeks, there was no way we were going to sign without these changes made. I can't speak for the other owners but I have discussed it with 2 other owners who had similar difficulties & they were resolved prior to signing. I find it very difficult to believe that any solicitor and/or bank would allow a transaction to go through with issues of title. We had our own solicitor & family solicitor comb through ours as we were concerned with the contracts from the outset.

I would encourage you all to push your solicitor to resolve the issues if you want to continue with the purchase and not to get caught up in some of the hearsay in this thread about numerous issues

M2014

Shedzafew wrote: »

Family member of mine signed contracts in phase1 after advise from his solicitor that he is happy to give an undertaking. Used a very reputible firm who had a large number of initial queries which were all satisfied over time. It most certainly wasn't a quick and easy process for them.

Swanner wrote: »

Do you mean they signed on the basis that the solicitor said he'd work it all out in time ? If I read that right, that's incredibly risky unless there's a clause in there that you can hand the property back, receive a full refund for everything including legal fees, home setup costs, etc etc. and walk away if it doesn't all iron out.

I don't care how reputable the firm is and how many queries they've dealt with. Ultimately it's the buyers ass on the line, not theirs.

Shedzafew,
I'm interested to know what 'undertaking' your family member received?

trveller72

Baileys4 wrote: »

Hi,

Just to confirm that we did receive clean title deeds as did at least 2 other owners in phase 1 with the Home Bond Guarantee included. We had to send back contracts at least 4 times to get everything ironed out & pushed the developer & developers solicitor to get these resolved and although it took several weeks, there was no way we were going to sign without these changes made. I can't speak for the other owners but I have discussed it with 2 other owners who had similar difficulties & they were resolved prior to signing. I find it very difficult to believe that any solicitor and/or bank would allow a transaction to go through with issues of title. We had our own solicitor & family solicitor comb through ours as we were concerned with the contracts from the outset.

I would encourage you all to push your solicitor to resolve the issues if you want to continue with the purchase and not to get caught up in some of the hearsay in this thread about numerous issues

Thank you very much for the update and advice.
This is exactly what we intend to do.

Shedzafew

M2014 wrote: »

Shedzafew,
I'm interested to know what 'undertaking' your family member received?[/QUOTE

Apologies for the confusion I am not good on the legal jargon. Essentially the solicitor was satisfied to sign off on the contract after all the queries had been answered. The "undertaking" I meant was what the solicitor gave to the bank prior to mortgage drawdown.

Lillian123

Hi Everyone,

I don't understand how some people have managed to sign and purchase the property without a clear title on the deeds. Will the bank approve this to go ahead? I don't see how they have any power to be putting people under pressure to sign without this issue being resolved, but I can totally see that they would as they need the money to build the next phase.

Jared20130204

HI Lillian,

I'm baffled too. My bank won't let me draw down the mortgage until it's sorted, let alone my solicitor! Maybe some banks aren't doing their homework....
I called the Land registry yesterday and the lady on the phone told me that a letter requesting the registration be expedited was only sent last WEDNESDAY!!! Now, maybe it was the latest letter in a string of letters, but I wouldn't be surprised if these guys are only requesting it be sped up now, because lots of us won't sign.
The land registry woman seemed to think it could be sorted in a couple of weeks...I was told same by agent last October though.

Lillian123

Hey Jared,

That is crazy! They have been totally dragging all of this out by not having all these issues ironed out. Surely they knew this was going to be an issue - people want to buy a house that they will fully own and the bank can resell if necessary.

I hope we are not asked to sign for another while raising issues on the contract and then this Land Registry issues will be sorted.

Why do they make everything so difficult in this estate?!!

Bells 1978

Hi Lilian,

I thought you pulled out of your contract from your previous posts on this forum.

Have you guys bought and sold houses previously? Is it not the case that pre contract enquiries are numerous????

I don't think that there would be lights on in phase one if the title issues were not resolved.

Thoughts?

Wallander

Our solicitor says that title registration is at the final stage, mapping. We are told that generally this means the title has been approved and it is rare for any issues to be raised at this stage. We won't know for sure until it is fully registered though, so we are trying to wait for this.

Jolisa94

That's what we're doing too - you getting any pressure?

Jared20130204

It's the waiting that's tough because they are giving everyone very little choice. Sign or walk away....
That said, it's positive that the whole thing has actually been expedited now. The vendors solicitors should have started that process a long time ago.
They possibly thought people would sign anyway.... but they have realised that they're up against some tough solicitors and banks that won;t allow mortgages be drawn down.... If that wasn't on our side, I would say We'd have our contracts returned and the houses would go to the next in queue. Problem for the developer and agent is that, those next in the queue will encounter the same stumbling blocks to getting contracts signed unless everything is in order....
I might try the land registry again in a few days to see where it's at. If anyone hears anything keep us posted.

Enduro

Has anyone got a deposit down for one of the new design 3-bed Laraghs in Phase 2 or 3? There are some "interesting" things happening on site at the moment.

I can see that some of the Laragh's being built for phase 2 appear to be the old design rather than the new design. I can also see that they have demolished the extended living-room in on the completed "new" Laragh at 1 Belmont Drive and have replaced it with what appears to be the smaller rear extension of the original Laraghs. There is scaffolding up at the back of the remaining completed Laraghs on Belmont Drive, which leads me to suspect that the same will happen with all of those (including the phase 2/3 showhouse Laragh).

All this leads me to suspect that they may have run into planning permission issues with the redesigned Laraghs.

Does anyone here know anything about this?

nakom

Enduro wrote: »

Has anyone got a deposit down for one of the new design 3-bed Laraghs in Phase 2 or 3? There are some "interesting" things happening on site at the moment.

All this leads me to suspect that they may have run into planning permission issues with the redesigned Laraghs.

Does anyone here know anything about this?

Hi Enduro,

I do. I'm still at the contract issues stage so I haven't heard anything about this yet.
I wonder how are they going to explain it if it's going to be true.

BTW, do you practice enduro?

Jolisa94

We have a deposit on a Laragh in phase 2. From what I understand they initially got planning permission for the 'old' Laragh in phase 1, realized it was not selling well and changed the floor plans without amending the planning permission.

What the foreman said to us was that they are building them in accordance with the old planning permission and will demolish the extension and replace with the larger one, as per the show house, at a later date since no planning permission is necessary for extensions of up to 40 Square meters at ground floor level.

Seems a crazy approach to take, but if they want to go to the extra expense rather than resubmit the planning application, that’s up to them - as long as in the end we get what we booked!

Be sure that the contract contains the correct floor plans though, the first version we got had the original Laragh plan. The solicitor told me he is aware of the situation, has recently closed on some of these houses, and will make sure everything is in order on the legal side.

Bells 1978

Jolisa94 wrote: »

We have a deposit on a Laragh in phase 2. From what I understand they initially got planning permission for the 'old' Laragh in phase 1, realized it was not selling well and changed the floor plans without amending the planning permission.

What the foreman said to us was that they are building them in accordance with the old planning permission and will demolish the extension and replace with the larger one, as per the show house, at a later date since no planning permission is necessary for extensions of up to 40 Square meters at ground floor level.

Seems a crazy approach to take, but if they want to go to the extra expense rather than resubmit the planning application, that’s up to them - as long as in the end we get what we booked!

Be sure that the contract contains the correct floor plans though, the first version we got had the original Laragh plan. The solicitor told me he is aware of the situation, has recently closed on some of these houses, and will make sure everything is in order on the legal side.

Does that mean if you extend your house at the rear u will need planning permission as you will have used the exemption !

Bells 1978

Baileys4 wrote: »

Hi,

Just to confirm that we did receive clean title deeds as did at least 2 other owners in phase 1 with the Home Bond Guarantee included. We had to send back contracts at least 4 times to get everything ironed out & pushed the developer & developers solicitor to get these resolved and although it took several weeks, there was no way we were going to sign without these changes made. I can't speak for the other owners but I have discussed it with 2 other owners who had similar difficulties & they were resolved prior to signing. I find it very difficult to believe that any solicitor and/or bank would allow a transaction to go through with issues of title. We had our own solicitor & family solicitor comb through ours as we were concerned with the contracts from the outset.

I would encourage you all to push your solicitor to resolve the issues if you want to continue with the purchase and not to get caught up in some of the hearsay in this thread about numerous issues

I agree with the above

Have you moved in? Are you happy with your purchase ?!?!?

Enduro

Jolisa94 wrote: »

Be sure that the contract contains the correct floor plans though, the first version we got had the original Laragh plan. The solicitor told me he is aware of the situation, has recently closed on some of these houses, and will make sure everything is in order on the legal side.

It was the contract plans that made me sit up and take note in the first place. It has been queried and no doubt they will respond soon. I'll definitely be ensuring the correct plans are in the contract.

Enduro

nakom wrote: »

BTW, do you practice enduro?

No, not of the motorised kind anyway. But do lots of long distance cycling and running.

Enduro

Bells 1978 wrote: »

Does that mean if you extend your house at the rear u will need planning permission as you will have used the exemption !

That's what I immediately wondered as well. I await with interest their solicitor's reply!

Shedzafew

Article in the Times today on new builds- http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/new-to-market/new-homes-who-is-building-what-in-2014-1.1664214?page=2

Page 2 looks at Belmont.

Belmont, Stepaside
Builder New Generation
Selling agent Sherry FitzGerald
What’s on offer Launched in 2013, this development will total 300 houses. The first phase has recorded 70 sales, and another phase of three- and four-bed houses is due to launch in February.
How much? Prices to date were €335,000-€350,000 for three-beds and about €400,000 for four beds; a slight increase is expected

Jolisa94

That's certainly true. Then again, 40 square meters is one very large extension. I don't have the exact measurements of what the correct extension should be, but beleive it's around 18, which leaves plenty or room for more. Although, if we were to extend to the full size permitted, we'd have no garden left!

I have not pursued this particular issue with the solicitor, but will bring it up now, so thanks for pointing that out.

ArraMusha

might be posted already...may be relevant to this thread..http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/ireland/rebound-in-property-prices-will-weaken-next-year-s-p-1.1664398

M2014

trveller72 wrote: »

Thank you very much for the update and advice.
This is exactly what we intend to do.

Has anybody signed contracts in phase2? We are nearing this stage and wondering how many if any have signed yet?

Baileys4

Bells 1978 wrote: »

I agree with the above

Have you moved in? Are you happy with your purchase ?!?!?

Yes we moved in about 6 weeks ago & couldn't be happier!

Bells 1978

Great stuff delighted your are enjoying your new home - are the bathrooms fully tiled??? Tks

Baileys4

Bells 1978 wrote: »

Great stuff delighted your are enjoying your new home - are the bathrooms fully tiled??? Tks

The downstairs bathroom was tiled on the floor only. The main bathroom and ensuite are fully tiled.

Lillian123

We are still unsure whether we are going to proceed with this Bells1978. There seems to be so many issues with the site and problems now with planning permission.

I checked the latest planning application and there is no decision made on it to date, unless they have received a letter telling them they won't be granted retention permission. I also rang DLRcoco and they said that a decision on the planning is due next Friday 31st of January.