Conveyancing in Ireland

Conveyancing is the legal process of buying, selling or transferring property. It involves the preparation, exchange and completion of documentation linked to the property (contracts) and covers all matter of transactions relating to the property in question.

Yes, conveyancing searches are absolutely and always necessary. Even in instances where a property is being voluntarily transferred or gifted, it is always recommended that relevant searches are carried out in order to ensure there is nothing adversely affecting the property that you’re taking legal ownership of.

Yes, a solicitor is necessary for conveyancing as there are a number of things that only a solicitor can do in that respect, such as:

• taking up of title deeds
• giving undertakings for payment of money
• holding money on trust
• ensuring there is nothing adversely affecting the property that you may be unaware of

It is vital to have a solicitor working on your behalf in order to manage these elements, as well as to ensure the right advice is being given and obtained every step of the way. The conveyancing process is quite complex, and it is very important to be adequately advised in relation to it.

Yes, conveyancing applies to both the buying and selling of property and in relation to other matters too, such as the registration of easements.

There are a number of steps involved in the conveyancing process when you are buying a property.

Step 1: Your solicitor should ideally become involved early in the process, ahead of the property going ‘sale agreed’ and before you have paid your deposit to the auctioneer.

Step 2: Once the sale has been agreed and all or part of the deposit paid, the auctioneer will send what’s known as a sales advice note to the solicitor for the buyer and to the seller to inform them of the terms of purchase and what the deal will essentially look like.

Step 3: The solicitor for the seller will send contracts for sale and a copy of the title documents to the buyer’s solicitor. These documents will then be reviewed by the solicitor for the buyer, who should provide a comprehensive set of advice to the purchaser at that stage, and should also raise pre-contract enquiries with the seller’s solicitor.

Step 4: Once Step 3 has been completed, and all queries have been answered to the satisfaction of the buyer’s solicitor, the buyer will then come in to review the contract and title with their solicitor. At this point, they will proceed to sign their contract if they are happy to do so. It is important to note that the buyer’s deposit will generally be non-refundable at this stage.

Step 5: Once the contracts are signed, they’re sent to the solicitor for the seller, who will then arrange to have their client sign their contracts. When both parties have signed the contracts, they are then exchanged and one part is returned to the buyer’s solicitor. This is when a binding deal is in place and the closing of the sale can commence.

Step 6: The final phase involves the preparation of closing documentation and the closing day searches, which are then sent to the solicitor for explanation and return. Once everything is in order on the day of closing, the keys will be released.

Because the sale process starts quite early, we would always recommend to clients that they start to instruct their solicitor quite early in relation to selling a property. So when you’re thinking of putting a property on the market with your auctioneer, you should also be thinking of contacting your solicitor to make sure there are no legal issues that need to be dealt with, which could potentially cause any delays in your sale.

Once a sale is agreed, the auctioneer will send a sales advice note to your solicitor and to the solicitor for the buyer. Following this, it is your solicitor’s job to draft the contracts for sale and issue them to the buyer’s solicitor, who will then review them and raise pre-contract enquiries, which we would need to answer to a satisfactory level.

When the buyer’s solicitor is satisfied with the responses, they will then arrange to have their client sign the contract and send it to the seller’s solicitor along with payment for the outstanding balance of the ten-percent deposit.

At this point, the seller’s solicitor will gather the contract for sale, the closing documentation and any other relevant documentation that needs to be signed, so that the seller can sign all documents at the same time. It is then time to sit back and wait for the deal to close and this will be triggered by either a specific date or time period in the contract.

On the day of closing, searches are carried out by the buyer’s solicitor and sent to the seller’s solicitor for explanation. Once they have been returned and explained, the buyer’s solicitor will authorise the release of funds to the seller and keys will be released to the buyer’s solicitor or the buyer themselves.

You should always appoint a solicitor early – don’t wait until the property has gone sale agreed.

If you’re selling a property, come to your solicitor in the early stages and make sure to have all documentation organised and ready to ensure there are no delays in getting the contracts issued to the buyer.

If you’re the buyer, your solicitor will also have to assist you with various preparatory steps in advance of the purchasing process.

Seeking a solicitor’s advice in the early stages is also particularly crucial if you are applying for a mortgage, as there may be additional information needed.

Essentially, it is important to appoint a solicitor at the beginning of the home-buying or selling journey to ensure a seamless process; don’t wait until a deal is in place.

The duration of the conveyancing process is dependent on the type and nature of the property that you’re buying or selling. Generally, we would estimate that the process takes approximately eight to 10 weeks from the date that a deposit is paid and a sales advice notice issued from the auctioneer to the lister. However, while this is the standard advice we would give a client, it can vary significantly depending on any issues that might be involved.

There are a number of common issues that could potentially delay the conveyancing process. This is why we would always advise buyers – and particularly sellers – to recruit the help of a solicitor early on.

Delays in the conveyancing process could involve:

• issues in relation to planning, perhaps where there is a development on the property that does not have planning permission
• issues in relation to boundaries, where there might be a discrepancy in boundaries between your property and a neighbouring property
• delay of mortgage drawdown
• issues beyond the purchaser’s control in relation to the release of mortgage funds.

For all of these reasons and more, it is very important to have your solicitor involved from the get go to ensure that any issues encountered along the way are dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The cost of conveyancing varies depending on the type of property you’re buying or selling and whether you are the buyer or the seller.

Generally, the fees are broken down into two sections: outlays due to third parties and professional fees charged by the solicitor.

From the buyer’s point of view, outlays include elements such as stamp duty, registration fees, registration of mortgage searches and so on. Seller’s outlays would revolve around services like mapping, engineers fees for planning, compliance certificates, search fees and more.

Solicitor’s fees will vary depending on the nature of the property itself and what work would be involved.

The simplest and most effective way to speed up the conveyancing process is to appoint a solicitor very early on and maintain regular contact with them to ensure that (a) all queries they may have are answered and (b) the property is ready to be sold, in terms of having all the documentation ready. The key in all aspects of conveyancing is to be well prepared so that any queries that could possibly be raised can be easily answered if the relevant documentation is at hand.

In terms of registration and dealing with conveyancing from the point of view of your solicitor, there is no online process. Essentially, however, the process for you as a client can be done at a distance, so you don’t necessarily need to be in the same room as your solicitor to deal with some of the aspects of the conveyancing process.

If, for instance, you are abroad and you’re selling a property in Ireland, we can deal with all of the matters for you online and assist you with having documentation witnessed in the country that you are residing in. The same applies across Ireland; you don’t necessarily need to be located in the same area as your solicitor as matters can be taken care of at a distance thanks to modern technology.

When you’re buying a property, we would usually advise that conveyancing fees would need to be paid approximately five working days before completion of purchase. The reason for this is that there are a number of items we’re required to pay for immediately on the closing of your purchase.

In terms of the sale of a property, the conveyancing fees would need to be paid after the property is sold.