Buying my first house....

Ayuntamiento

Simona1986 wrote: »

My advice to you is to keep looking at properties until you actually have contracts signed. We were sale agreed three times in the last 13 months and you will find that a lot of houses are coming back on the market after going sale agreed or are taking ages to close.

Also, when comparing prices from solicitors - ask for a breakdown of the fees. We recently completed a sale and the following were the items invoiced from the solicitor:
Solicitors Professional Fee: €1,100 (excl VAT)
Postage, telephone and photocopying: €75 (excl VAT)
Law Searches fees: €100
Land Registry Fees payable on Deed of Transfer: €700
Land Registry Fees payable on Registering Mortgage: €175
Land Registry Fees payable for obtaining up to date Folio File Plan: €40
Stamp Duty @ 1% of sale price.

I wonder about this advice about continuing to view/bid on properties when you're sale agreed. I can't see how it would practicably work. The area we're buying in is extremely high demand. Most properties are going from first viewing to sale agreed in 2wks or less.
So what would be the point of bidding on other properties (and artificially raising asking prices for other people on the market) when you won't be able to go sale agreed as you're already tied into another sale?

Also the OP was quoting the all-in fee (minus stamp duty) for his solicitor. If they strip it down to the professional fee only, it sounds about right.

beechwood55

Being sale agreed means nothing from a legal perspective. It's only when you exchange signed contracts and pay over a non-refundable deposit that you become legally obliged to complete the sale. So if you see a house you prefer (and have not paid a non-refundable deposit on another house) then put a bid in on that one.

Alkers

Ayuntamiento wrote: »

I wonder about this advice about continuing to view/bid on properties when you're sale agreed. I can't see how it would practicably work. The area we're buying in is extremely high demand. Most properties are going from first viewing to sale agreed in 2wks or less.
So what would be the point of bidding on other properties (and artificially raising asking prices for other people on the market) when you won't be able to go sale agreed as you're already tied into another sale?

Well you don't have to bid on anything in the first few weeks of being sale agreed but the point I'm making is that a lot of sales are not completing, either due to properties being in negative equity, delays from the seller, sellers or buyers being in a chain which experiences delays elsewhere etc etc etc. If you drop everything once sale agreed expect to be disappointed!

Ayuntamiento

Simona1986 wrote: »

Well you don't have to bid on anything in the first few weeks of being sale agreed but the point I'm making is that a lot of sales are not completing, either due to properties being in negative equity, delays from the seller, sellers or buyers being in a chain which experiences delays elsewhere etc etc etc. If you drop everything once sale agreed expect to be disappointed!

We only ever bid on properties that were unoccupied (owners had moved onto their new house already or ex-rental). At least in that situation it's clear to everybody that the aim is to complete the sale ASAP.
And even at that it took forever to complete our sale. I don't think I could have dealt with the added layer of complexity of a property in a chain.

Ayuntamiento

beechwood55 wrote: »

Being sale agreed means nothing from a legal perspective. It's only when you exchange signed contracts and pay over a non-refundable deposit that you become legally obliged to complete the sale. So if you see a house you prefer (and have not paid a non-refundable deposit on another house) then put a bid in on that one.

Yes, legally it means very little. However, once you're sale agreed you tend to engage a solicitor, have a survey carried out, have a valuation carried out, etc. That can easily amount to 700eur +. Losing that amount of money would not be insignificant to most people.

sullivk

Ayuntamiento wrote:

Yes, legally it means very little. However, once you're sale agreed you tend to engage a solicitor, have a survey carried out, have a valuation carried out, etc. That can easily amount to 700eur +. Losing that amount of money would not be insignificant to most people.

Not to mention that once your offer is accepted and you go sale agreed, you then usually pay a refundable booking deposit of a couple of thousand don't you? How would that work if you're going sale agreed on a couple of properties at a time??

kala85

Ironman76 wrote: »

I would suggest hiring a broker to bid on your behalf.

Best decision we ever made. Got our house for 20k under what we were prepared to offer.

How do you do this

Ayuntamiento

sullivk wrote: »

Not to mention that once your offer is accepted and you go sale agreed, you then usually pay a refundable booking deposit of a couple of thousand don't you? How would that work if you're going sale agreed on a couple of properties at a time??

I pulled out of a sale agreed before (for good reasons) and it took 3wks to get back the booking deposit (the Estate Agent was being an asshole over it).

I would take sale agreed very seriously. From being on the market for the last 2 yrs, I've noticed that the large majority of the sale agreed properties in my area sold without any obvious complication (i've been the 2nd highest bidder on multiple properties and have never been contacted regarding a sale falling through/also have checked the property price register and they sold for the next highest offer that I was informed of).

Who?!!?

On average how long does it take from going "sale agreed" to getting the keys.

I know this is dependent on how good/proactive the solicitor is.
Basing it on previous peoples experience, i'm thinking around 3 months. Is that reasonable?
I don't mind waiting though (once it doesn't get ridiculous), the longer i'm waiting the more saving i'm doing for when i move in, is how i'm looking at it.

The vendor/seller is without chain, so the EA has told me this sale can move pretty quickly.
We've sorted a solicitor and are just picking the lender we're going with (should have this sorted this week). Last thing we've to do then is get a survey done on the house.

The rest is in the hands of the solicitor i think.

listermint

How long is a length of string...

mrcheez

Who?!!? wrote: »

Side note: it’s hard to know if there actually are other bidders or if they’re just made up. I was constantly thinking/doubting if there were other bidders. There’s no real way (well not that I’ve come across so far) to find out.

Just on this point, is there any way of actually "proving" that bids were made or do you just have to take the agent's word?

When I was bidding for my house, I was told there were two bidders left and they kept increasing by 3K, so I had to keep topping up the amount, but it could just as easily have been made up by the agent.

Who?!!?

As far as I know... there's no way of proving it. I think it should be public record what the current offer is, people should be able to go on the EA's website and see. They don't have to disclose any info regarding the bidder just the amount.

We were afraid of that when bidding but in the end it went to someone else so the EA must have been telling the truth.

jennyhayes123

We went Sale agreed the begining of September 2015 & got keys end of October 2015, solicitor is a friend so rushed it on. Good Luck with your new home. I hope it goes smoothly. It's worth the stress when you get in

listermint

Any genuine bids have to be recorded by the EA you could got to the PRSA who could check the records if you had a genuine suspension.

mrcheez

listermint wrote: »

Any genuine bids have to be recorded by the EA you could got to the PRSA who could check the records if you had a genuine suspension.

So my purchase was back in 2012, could I enquire for a record of the bids or is it too late?

It's not essential, more a curiosity, but it would be interesting if they said they "didn't record the bids" etc.

Thestones

Who?!!? wrote: »

On average how long does it take from going "sale agreed" to getting the keys.

I know this is dependent on how good/proactive the solicitor is.
Basing it on previous peoples experience, i'm thinking around 3 months. Is that reasonable?
I don't mind waiting though (once it doesn't get ridiculous), the longer i'm waiting the more saving i'm doing for when i move in, is how i'm looking at it.

The vendor/seller is without chain, so the EA has told me this sale can move pretty quickly.
We've sorted a solicitor and are just picking the lender we're going with (should have this sorted this week). Last thing we've to do then is get a survey done on the house.

The rest is in the hands of the solicitor i think.

When we sold our house it was about 8 weeks, both us and the buyers wanted it done quickly so it helps if both parties keep onto their solicitors. When buying another house it took about 4 months which seemed sooo long! But it was a nama sale so there wasn't a seller pushing it to get closed in that case.

listermint

mrcheez wrote: »

So my purchase was back in 2012, could I enquire for a record of the bids or is it too late?

It's not essential, more a curiosity, but it would be interesting if they said they "didn't record the bids" etc.

It would have to be a genuine concern, I'm not sure how open they are to random requests but yes there should be records for that period.

mrcheez

listermint wrote: »

It would have to be a genuine concern, I'm not sure how open they are to random requests but yes there should be records for that period.

and it's PRSA right?

Not getting much back from Google on that...

https://www.google.ie/search?q=PRSA&oq=PRSA&aqs=chrome..69i57.589j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

listermint

mrcheez wrote: »

and it's PRSA right?

Not getting much back from Google on that...

https://www.google.ie/search?q=PRSA&oq=PRSA&aqs=chrome..69i57.589j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

http://www.psr.ie/website/npsra/npsraweb.nsf/page/index-en

Mumha

jennyhayes123 wrote: »

We went Sale agreed the begining of September 2015 & got keys end of October 2015, solicitor is a friend so rushed it on. Good Luck with your new home. I hope it goes smoothly. It's worth the stress when you get in

You were lucky ! We had the money ready to go last August and are only closing this week (hopefully). We're buying from my mother in law's estate and unfortunately their family solicitor is brutally incompetent, having screwed numerous things up since she died in 2015.

inchiuvatu

Took about 8 months for us sale agree to keys when buying our house..

previous sale of house wasn't conveyed properly and took 6 months to get contracts.

everything eventually went through but was a bit dodgey at some points.

Parchment

We went sale agreed late November 2016 and hope to close in the next 1.5 weeks. It would have been quicker only for Xmas.

thierry14

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Any work you can carry out yourself will automatically save in costs.

Also worth checking the kitchen unit carcasses while you're there you'd be amazed the difference a fresh lick of paint a new work top and doors will make.

As you say though get a structurally sound house first that suits your needs then worry about the changes you'd like to make but no harm keeping them in mind for 2nd/3rd viewings.

Agree

I would try and get as close to your ideal home as possible.

Fix uppers are a bit of a fools game for first time buyer's, unless you know what you are doing and can do the work yourself

Extensions, new Kitchen's, tiling, electrical work isn't cheap.

Don't be afraid to open kitchen presses, wardrobes, move couches to see floor, move furniture around, checking shower's, toilets, oven's, check doors whatever you need to see when viewing.

See what needs to be replaced and what doesn't.

First time buyers are normally very quiet and estate agents move them on quickly from room to room, you don't get to see the proper state of the property and renewing can be big bucks.

You don't say what part of Dublin your looking to buy, but North Dublin they are selling brand new A3 homes with decent finishes for 300k ( Clonee, Hollystown, Blanch area etc )

Worth looking at.

mrcheez

If it's a semi or terraced house, check for soundproofing. Put your ear to the walls and see if you can hear the neighbours (maybe you can even do a viewing when the neighbours are home).

It was the bane of my life until I got my terraced house soundproofed (which isn't cheap, but worth it).

Who?!!?

Mumha wrote: »

You were lucky ! We had the money ready to go last August and are only closing this week (hopefully). We're buying from my mother in law's estate and unfortunately their family solicitor is brutally incompetent, having screwed numerous things up since she died in 2015.

That's a very long wait. If I got my keys by June I'd be happy!

Alkers

Who?!!? wrote:

Last thing we've to do then is get a survey done on the house.

You will need to have a valuation done on the house for the bank so they can process your actual mortgage offer. This is valid for two months, if two months passes before you complete the sale you need to get a valuation update which is about half the price again. You will also need to organise mortgage protection insurance and house insurance which will need be live before your sale closes.

Who?!!?

If you are getting a 'gift' of money from your parents, with whom does that need to be sorted with?
You solicitor on your lender (bank).

I know you've to get a form declaring they don't want it back, I.e. It's not a loan.