Currently buying/selling a house? How is it going? READ MOD NOTE POST #1

AH92

Sale agreed since Jan and looking like it will fall through due to their solicitor incompetence and title issues. Went back on the market this week to have a look in Dublin and after viewing some houses i've been told they're gone up 60-70k in less than a week. Completely demoralized as I thought we were past this stage.

VW 1

We were similar, our deposit was effectively tied up in our equity. Our solicitor requested it be put in as a clause that that was the case and the requirement for a 10% deposit was waived. Our vendor agreed to this without any issue.

Cork2021

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779402#Comment_120779402

Ah okay, that’s something I’ll keep an eye on so. Bank has no issue as they know we won’t be able to buy and pay a deposit unless our house is sold first.

VW 1

If you already have a solicitor, let them know this early on so it can be requested to inserted in a contract if needs be. We've found small issue after small issue keeps pushing and delaying finalising a couple days here and there and the weeks without signing inevitably add up.

DownByTheGarden

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779261#Comment_120779261

Thats a totally normal situation. Solicitors and EAs will have it all in hand as they deal with trader uppers every day. Pay your booking deposit. They know if you have to sell, the difference will come out of the sale price.

Galwayhurl

Hi folls.

We're buying a new build and we are going into the solicitors office today to sign contracts.

Are the contracts bulky documents? Will we have to spend a long tine there reading through them?

Any tips on what to ask our solicitor? Is there anything we should look out for in the contracts?

randomguy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120785763#Comment_120785763

The contracts might be bulky, but you are paying your solicitor to read them for you, to explain the meaning of them to you, and to point out any noteworthy or unusual clauses. So you don't have to do this yourself.

When people say "never sign anything you haven't read" they are right - you should read every word of a contract the other side of a transaction puts in front of you. Or even better, get a professional to read it for you and advise you. In conveyancing, that is literally what you are doing - paying a solicitor to review the contract and advise you. That said, talk to the solicitor and make sure that you are clear on closing dates, whether the contract is subject to your financing (whether you can pull out if you can't get a mortgage), whether it is subject to anything on the builder side such as potential cost increases, potential changes in house design, garden shape etc.

SortingYouOut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120786099#Comment_120786099

You should have gotten a soft copy beforhand as well to review before you went in to sign in person.

MrsBean

Sigh, on to the next hurdle in this godawful process. After some issues raised in survey results and getting structural engineer in for second opinion we renegotiated sales prices to take into account necessary remedial works.

Our solicitor has just come back to us today to say that the vendor's solicitor is refusing to provide exemption/compliance certs for additional works done to property many years ago. Our lender will not grant mortgage unless all documentation in place. Vendor's solicitor says it is up to us to apply for them.

To put it very lightly, this is rubbing me up the wrong way. It just seems wrong that a buyer would have to seek documentation to certify works undertaken by the seller. It also adds significant delays to the process as I understand it will likely be a couple of months for that process with authorities, regardless of who applies.

I simply can't get my head around why a vendor would not sort this prior to putting house on market, and expect a FTB to take on that extra burden. Especially where probate already done, so ample time was there to sort this.

Am I overreacting? Have others gone through anything similar? Feel free to message me if you have any insights or advice. We are now back to seriously considering walking away, except now down the cost of legal fees as well as structural engineer report, lost time which could have been spent on another property, and a sour taste in our mouth.

Galwayhurl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120786099#Comment_120786099

Hey. Thanks for the reply.

We ended up postponing the appointmemt as we hadnt received soft copies ahead of the meeting. Have teied to go through them this afternoon. A lot of gobbledeegook but did my best to take out the main points. And have done up a list of questions for the solicitor invluding your suggestions.

Thanks again.

Galwayhurl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120786239#Comment_120786239

Yeah we didn't so we postponed the meeting. Have got them since and have gone through them today and will meet next week.

Cheers.

RedXIV

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120787398#Comment_120787398

I feel your frustration, after years of trying to purchase a house, I was hoping to get everything needed to sign contracts early this week, but then the bank put the documents in the wrong queue, so had to wait till thursday for additional review, and then today we found out they wanted something else, it's just a week of being on tenderhooks after 7 weeks of no traction. I'm exhausted with it at this point, cannot get over how ridiculous it is trying to buy a house in this country.

I have had to walk away from some properties already and one for similar reasons as yourself. Honestly it kills me knowing I'm surely coming up on about 20k worth of expenses into housing that never panned out (admittedly, most went on an architect before self building became crazy expensive) but all you can really do is walk away, it's the only bit of control you really have. You could be a bit petty I suppose and look elsewhere while not pulled out of this place. As long as they have your booking deposit, they can't really find alternatives. And they seem content to wait. You could too in theory?

Cork2021

Offer in on house we love! This is the house!! We’ve offered slightly under asking as the offer before was €23k less.. it’s a big jump… hopefully she accepts

Aph2016

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120787398#Comment_120787398

Hopefully it works out for you, our solicitor has just sent a list of about 20 queries back to our vendor and also looking for certs for additional works, hoping its not a long drawn out process. Sellers should have things in order before going to market, should be a requirement, otherwise wastes everyone's time.

theboringfox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120789152#Comment_120789152

That is a massive hurdle to over come. Just simply both loving a house and it being within budget can be hard to find so great to hear. Best of luck

theboringfox

Are house surveys generally fairly basic documents? Got one and had no material call outs but for basically everything it just says we recommend you get plumber survey, electrics survey, roof survey etc. To be fair its structural survey and largely done off visual but just feels like was it even worth doing. Bank didnt require it either.

Cork2021

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120790492#Comment_120790492

Thanks. Hoping it all goes well

VW 1

We had a surveyor come out to do a survey on our house for our purchasers and after seeing him in action we decided not to get one for the house we are buying. Basically measured and looked around, took some pics and was gone within 15 mins.

FionnK86

What are potential blockers with converting attic to bedroom? Apart from budget, what sort of planning permission is needed?

Reason being, we're looking at 3 beds, but neighbours in some houses we're viewing have attic conversions with windows.

This is it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120791623#Comment_120791623

Ours was about 2 hours or more. I'm sure some are better than others

LunaLoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120791623#Comment_120791623

That sounds more like a bank valuation survey to make sure the house is worth what the mortgage will be.

Thargor

Sorry for the stupid question but I bought mine 2 months ago but I don't really have anything in my hands to say it's mine yet, are you supposed to receive deeds or something like that?

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120792476#Comment_120792476

If you have a mortgage the bank will have the deeds.

In a few months, suss out buying out your ground rent if none of the previous owners did so.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120792509#Comment_120792509

No it was a cash purchase and yes I do need to sort out the ground rents thing alright, there's only a few years of lease left...

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120792529#Comment_120792529

Well congrats. Id be giving your solicitor a call or email to see what the process / timeline is.

VW 1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120792046#Comment_120792046

I had both here within a week of each other and both seemed very similar, maybe the surveyor wasn't as thorough as they should have been.

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120792529#Comment_120792529

You should definitely been handed the deeds of the house as you paid in full. Then solicitor will ask you if you want for them to store them. Ask your solicitor please pronto

suvigirl

Was bidding on a house a few months ago that went 80K over asking, ridiculous money.

Buyer has dropped out/doesn't have the cash, 2nd bidder is sale agreed somewhere else, so estate agent has come back to me. My last bid was 60k over asking, thing is having seen other properties, I don't think it's worth that money anymore. I am going back for another look, but I'm not happy at my last bid. What would ye do, offer less now?

I don't believe it's worth what I bid previously, but the way houses are going where I'm looking, someone else will bid more if it goes back to market.......I just don't know.....

theboringfox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120793896#Comment_120793896

As someone looking a few years and passed on houses for 'not being worth that'...Ive learned hard way. Basically forget about value. Just ask yourself if someone else got the house tomorrow how would you feel. You get to decide two of three 1. where you want to live, 2. What size house you want and 3 how much willing to pay. Its hard to get all 3...usually have to compromise on one. Im finally realizing as an expensive lesson that once fing house ya like like, can afford it and would stay in it long term then just go ahead. Have to hold the nose when it comes to price unfortunately in current market

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120792602#Comment_120792602

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120793243#Comment_120793243

Well that's disturbing! I'll get on it first thing in the morning thanks.