Top Tips for Buying
How much can you afford
The first thing you need to do is decide how much you can afford to pay for a house. You will need to look at how much money you have available yourself and how much you can borrow. A consultation with your banker or broker will help you to estimate your budget.
Start your Search!
There are a number of ways in which you could find a property to buy:
- Contact local estate agents and ask what properties they have in your price bracket
- Search on the internet – on websites such as www.daft.ie or www.michael-lavelle.com
- Do some local research. If you are interested in moving to a specific area, visit it to look for For Sale signs
- Check the property pages in local newspapers
Deciding on a property
When you find a property you want to take a closer look at, contact the estate agent and arrange a viewing.
Making an offer
When you decide you would like to buy a particular property, you put an offer to the Agent, who will in turn refer it to the Vendor. It is important to discuss with the Agent what price s/he believes the Vendor will consider. It is also important to explain your circumstances to the Agent – do you have a house that you need to sell in order to buy this house? Have you already sold your house? Are you a first time buyer?
If the Vendors do not accept the first offer put to them by you, you can decide to make an increased offer. There is no limit on the number of times you can make offers on a property.
When the offer has been accepted
When your offer for the property has been accepted, you will need to pay a booking deposit for the property. This effectively holds the property for you until contracts have been signed. This interim period allows you to finalise your financial and living arrangements. During this interim period before you sign contracts, the booking deposit is fully refundable.
Arranging a mortgage
If you have not already begun to arrange a mortgage, you should start to do this now. It should take about three weeks from the application for the mortgage to the formal offer being made by the lender. However, this time-scale may vary.
Whoever agrees to lend the money will want to have the property valued. This is to make sure that the lender could get the loan back if for any reason you stopped paying your mortgage and the house had to be sold again. The valuation will be done by a Valuer on behalf of the lender but you will have to pay for this valuation. Your bank / building society / mortgage broker will guide you through this.
Arranging a survey
A survey is different to a valuation and is appropriate in some cases. A survey is a structural report instructed by you and conducted by a qualified Engineer. It will examine the structure of the property and should identify any existing or potential problems, as well as advise you on the possibility of carrying out any refurbishment work that you are considering undertaking.
Choosing a Solicitor
The legal process of transferring the ownership of the property from the present owner to the buyer is known as conveyancing, and it requires the services of a qualified Solicitor. There are numerous solicitors available to carry out conveyancy work. You can get recommendations from the Agent, the bank or your broker. The cost of a solicitor’s service will vary from solicitor to solicitor.
Steps in the legal work of buying a property
Although it is impossible to give a precise idea of how long the legal work involved in buying a property takes, it is possible to offer guidelines. From having an offer accepted to exchange of contracts can take from three weeks onwards, with a further few weeks from exchange of contracts to completion. However, each sale transaction varies.
Closing the Sale
On the day that the sale closes, you will receive the keys to your new home. Your lender will issue a cheque for the property, and deeds of the property will be sent to your Solicitor. Congratulations!