Guide to selling a property

Property Solicitors
Guide to selling a property

What We Do

Conveyancing Solicitor: Guide to Selling a Property

The transaction is the same as the one explained in our “guide to purchasing a property”.

However you are the Vendor in the transaction.

If you are thinking of selling a property, there are a number of important issues that need to be addressed by you straight away.

Conveyancing Solicitor: Guide to Buying Property in Ireland

Buying Your Home – The Legal Process Explained

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As with purchasers, each sale is individual in nature and will raise its own particular matters to be dealt with however below are the broad steps involved in any sale. We will keep you informed at each step of the process and will explain everything in an accessible and understandable manner.

WHAT THE SOLICITOR DOES	WHAT YOU DO
	You instruct us and provide us with title documents if there is no mortgage. Where there is a mortgage you will sign a document called an ATR (which we will give you) and provide us with the fees required by your bank to release the title deeds to us. This amount varies from bank to bank. You should instruct your solicitor even before you have a purchaser as it can take a number of weeks to obtain the title documents from the bank.
We will request the title documents from your bank. We will then write to you setting out our fees and enclosing a questionnaire for you to complete which provides us with background information and helps us deal with any queries raised by the purchasers’ solicitors. We will also send you a declaration for you to sign where you have lived in the property as your principal private residence (this allows us to furnish a certificate confirming that no Non-Principal Private Residence tax is payable). At this point we will also request redemption figures from your bank to ensure that we will be in a position to discharge the mortgage from the property on closing.	You complete the questionnaire and return to us with your marriage certificate, your PPS numbers, copy passport/drivers licence and utility bill evidencing your home address. You will also need to provide us with the Local Property Tax Property ID number, PIN number and PPS number the LPT account is registered under. If the property was not your principal private residence you will need to furnish receipts for payment of the NPPR tax. You will need to provide us with the BER certificate and advisory report. A BER Certificate is an energy efficient label for your home. You will need to instruct a certified BER Assessor in order to prepare this for you. If there is a septic tank on the property you will need to provide us with evidence of registration of the tank with Protect Our Water (please see our article in relation to septic tanks for further information please read)
When we receive the title documents from the bank we will review them to ensure all is in order. We will then draft the contracts and forward to the purchasers’ solicitor with the relevant copy documents to prove you are the owner and that the planning is in order.	If there have been any extensions or alterations carried out by you (whether they required planning permission or were exempt from planning) you should inform us. It will be necessary to instruct an engineer/architect to furnish certificates confirming compliance with Planning and Building Regulations if you do not already have them. We can assist you with this. If you have obtained planning permission we will require a copy of it.
We will respond to any queries raised by the purchasers’ solicitors once they have reviewed the contracts and title documents. Once all queries have been dealt with the purchaser will sign the contract and return to us together with the balance deposit (the auctioneer retains the booking deposit). We will then return one part contract to the purchaser.	You will attend the office for a detailed meeting to go through the contracts and sign the closing documents.
The contracts are now binding. Should you not go ahead with the sale after this point you may be sued by the Purchaser.	You should keep the property insured until keys are handed over. You should now begin emptying the property of all contents.
We will forward closing documentation to be held on trust by the purchasers’ solicitor once they have confirmed that they are in receipt of the purchase monies. We will request updated redemption figures from your bank in relation to your mortgage.
On the day of closing we will respond to any queries raised by the purchaser and explain any searches (for example should a judgement/bankruptcy show up on the searches). Once the purchaser has authorised the release of monies to us we will contact the auctioneer authorising them to release the keys to the purchaser.	Before closing you should take a note of any meter readings, ensure that there has been no damage to the property since the contracts were signed and leave the keys, alarm codes and MPRN (electricity), WPRN (Water) and GRPN (Gas) numbers with the auctioneer.
We will then discharge any mortgage you owe on the property and ensure that the mortgage is removed from the property. At this stage we will deduct our fees and outlay from the sale proceeds. You will be given a detailed invoice in advance of this setting out the figures.	Our fees will have been set out in our initial letter to you. There will usually be outlay as follows: Letter from Local Authority regarding roads and services; Commissioner for Oaths fees: Land Registry fees – up to date Folio and Filed Plan, Instrument on Title; There may be additional fees that will become apparent once we have reviewed the title documents and you will be informed of these as the sale progresses.
We will then transfer balance sale monies directly to your current account.

“I would like to thank you, Elaine, for your continued, prompt and courteous response to all my queries – in person, on the phone and in your written correspondences – thus making the sale of my property run so smoothly for me. Keep up the great work.”

Conveyancing Client

Service was excellent. Sinéad was very quick to respond to queries and return calls.

A.B., Conveyancing Client

Taking the Leap to Buy a House? Let Our Expert Solicitors Guide You.

At PJF.ie, we know that buying a house is one of the most significant decisions you’ll make in your lifetime. With a legacy built by Patrick J. Farrell and upheld by our dedicated team, we’ve provided expert conveyancing services for over four decades. Our commitment to safeguarding our clients’ interests, combined with our vast legal knowledge, ensures that your property transaction is seamless and stress-free.

From the initial consultation to the final exchange of keys, you’ll be treated with the utmost courtesy, respect, and understanding. Choose PJF.ie – where your property dreams become our mission. Get in touch today and let our experienced solicitors handle the intricacies of your home purchase.