Offaly Solicitors and Notary Public, Thomas W Enright Solicitors: Expert Legal Advice
Offaly Solicitors and Notary Public, Thomas W Enright Solicitors: Expert Legal Advice
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TIPS TO SPEED UP THE SALE OF YOUR HOUSE

7/4/2021

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If you have gone "sale agreed" on your house, you will want to progress the sale as quickly as possible.

The first thing you should do is contact your solicitor. Your solicitor will need to review your title deeds
immediately in order to prepare a contract for the sale of your house and take full instructions from you on the details.  You should also ensure that your auctioneer or estate agent send what is called the "sales advice note" to your solicitor as well as the solicitor for the purchaser. The sales advice note includes details about you and the purchasers, your respective solicitors, the price, the proposed closing date, whether contents are included, and other relevant matters. 

There are several pieces of
information and documentation that your solicitor will need and you should start getting them together now so that they will be ready even before a sale is agreed, in case any issues arise that need to be resolved.

YOU WILL NEED TO GET THE FOLLOWING:

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PURCHASING A NEW BUILD HOUSE

3/4/2021

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From a legal and a practical point of view, the purchase of a new house - or the purchase of a house in the course of construction, or the purchase of a house "off the plans" - is very different from the purchase of a second-hand house.

The contract will involve the purchase of a site together with an agreement between the purchaser and the development company to build the house according to certain plans and specifications. Timelines, stamp duty issues, loan offers, payment arrangements and legal documentation usually tend to be a bit more complicated with new houses than those involved in the purchase of second-hand houses.

This blog post sets out some of the issues involved. It tells you some of the things you, as a purchaser, need to be aware of and about which your solicitor should be able to advise you. 

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UNAUTHORISED DEVELOPMENTS: THE 7-YEAR RULE

1/3/2021

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We are often asked about the so-called "7 year rule" in connection with planning permission.

Some people believe that the 7 year rule amounts to a kind of amnesty from the consequences of having carried out an unauthorised development. This belief is incorrect.  While the 7 year rule does provide a certain amount of comfort to a property owner or potential purchaser, an unauthorised development remains an unauthorised development unless and until retention permission is sought and granted. This unauthorised status carries with it certain difficulties which this article will explain.

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The Transfer of a Site from a Parent to a Child - Taxation and Other Issues

30/1/2018

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How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paree?

1. Capital Gains Tax (CGT)

 Application of CGT, chargeable persons and rates 

CGT applies in relation to any life time transfer of property including the transfer of a site

CGT is charged on the person who sells or transfers the property.

A charge is applied even if the person who transfers the property is not receiving any consideration or payment in return for it. In such a case the property is deemed to be disposed of at market value and CGT is charged on that value. 

Tax is payable on the difference between the value of the site at the date it was acquired by the transferor and the value it has on the date of the gift to the transferee, at a rate of 33%. 

However, in the case of a transfer of a site from a parent to a child, a CGT exemption is available.
 
 CGT exemption on the transfer of a site from parent to a child
 
If a person transfers land to their child to build a house which is to be the child’s only or main residence, the transferor will not have to pay CGT on the transfer.  
 
In order to qualify for this exemption, the site must be:
  • an area of no more than one acre
  • with a value of no more than €500,000

​ In addition, the child is required to build a house on the land and occupy that house as their only or main residence for a period of three years.  
 
Clawback of the relief
 
The exemption will be clawed back in circumstances where the child does not comply with the requirements.
 
So, if the child disposes of the site either
  • without having built a house on the site
            or
  • having built a house on the land, but without having occupied that house as their only or main residence for the full period of at least three years,
then, in such circumstances, the CGT that the transferor parent would have been liable to pay on the transfer to the child if the exemption had not been availed of becomes payable by the child.
 
This clawback does not apply in a situation where the child disposes of the land to a spouse or civil partner.

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Applying for the New Local Authority Mortgage Scheme? What You Need to Know

22/1/2018

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The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan Scheme

The government has just launched another initiative to help people  – who, up to now, had been excluded from the housing market  – purchase their first home.
 
The scheme, called the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, is due to commence on 1 February 2018 and is aimed at first time buyers with annual salaries of less than €50,000 for a single applicant or less than €75,000 for joint applicants.
 
The main benefits of the scheme will be, firstly, the relatively cheap lending rates –  starting at 2% over 25 years – and, secondly, the fact that it will offer potential buyers a way around the Central Bank’s income multiple rule which limits mortgage borrowings to 3.5 times the borrower(s)' salary.
 
The scheme will apply to first time buyers of new and second-hand (and self-build) homes.

Applicants will be able to borrow up to 90% of the purchase price up to a maximum purchase price of €320,000 in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, and €250,000 in the rest of the country. The effect of this is that the maximum loan (90% of the purchase price) will be €288,000 in the seven above mentioned counties and €225,000 everywhere else.
 
The loan term will extend over a maximum term of 30 years. 

The Basic Terms and Conditions

  1. The scheme applies only to first time buyers. In other words, an applicant cannot be the current owner of a property. There may be some exceptions to this rule, for example, in the case of legally separated or divorced applicants, although this is not explicitly provided for in the details published to date.
  2. A single applicant's income must be less than €50,000 (gross).
  3. Joint applicants’ combined income must be less than €75,000 (gross).
  4. The primary earner must be in continuous employment for at least two years; the second applicant must have at least one year's continuous employment. A  self-employed applicant must submit two years certified accounts.
  5. The applicant(s) must be aged between 18 and 70 years and the loan term must end on or before a borrower reaches 70 years of age.
  6. The applicant(s) will have to prove that they have sought a mortgage from two lenders (banks or building societies) and have received inadequate offers or refusals from each before making an application for a House Purchase Loan to the local authority.
  7. If the applicant(s) are renting, they must have a clear rent account for 6 months prior to the application.
  8. The applicant(s) must be buying or building a house whose market value does not exceed the limits for the county in which it is located.
  9. The applicant(s) must occupy the house as their normal place of residence.
  10. The property must have a gross internal floor area of 175 square metres or less, be in good condition (on completion) and have good marketable title.
  11. The applicant(s) must be of good credit standing with a satisfactory credit record. The local authority will run credit checks with the Irish Credit Bureau.

Interest Rates

The scheme offers three different rates, as follows: 
  • 2%* fixed for up to 25 years (APR 2.02%*).
  • 2.25%* fixed for up to 30 years (APR 2.27%*).
  • 2.30%* variable (subject to fluctuation) for up to 30 years (APR 2.32%*).
* These are current rates and are subject to change.
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Switching Your Mortgage?

1/11/2017

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Even a small monthly saving can pay big dividends over the term of a mortgage

​What are the legal fees on switching your mortgage?

The good news is that the new mortgage provider will be eager for you to make the switch so many banks are offering cashback deals to cover the legal and other fees associated with the switch. These costs would include your solicitor's professional fee (plus VAT at 23%) together with any outlay that would need to be paid on your behalf, details of which are set out in the table below. 

If you have decided to switch mortgage providers in order to save money, Thomas W Enright Solicitors can carry out the legal work on your behalf.


The new bank will also require a valuation of your property to be carried out by a surveyor. Again, depending on the terms and conditions, surveying fees will often also be covered by the new lender.
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Weighing up your options? The good news is that, with cashback offers, the new lender will usually pay the costs of switching.
Type of charge
Cost
Land Registry fee on discharge of previous mortgage
€40
Land Registry fee on registration of new mortgage
€175
Search fee payable to legal search company
€67
Total outlay
€282

​Switching your mortgage - the legal work we do on your behalf

  • Usually, the first thing we do is arrange for you to sign the necessary authorities for us to take up your deeds from your old bank. 
  • When we receive the loan pack from the new lender and the title deeds from your previous lender, we will arrange to meet you to go through all the paperwork
  • We will examine the title to the property to make sure that it is in order and can provide sufficient security to your new lender. Just because your property has been used as security for a previous loan, it does not mean that it will be adequate to cover a new loan. If it turns out that there are problems with your title, issues in regard to incomplete documentation, inadequate proof of compliance with planning permission or building regulations, boundary or access difficulties, issues in regard to roads and services, and so on, then the new lender will require us to carry out additional work so that we can resolve all the issues and "certify title". 
  • At the same time, we will go through the new loan documentation with you and answer any questions you may have. If everything is in order, you can sign the new loan documentation.
  • We will then provide the necessary undertakings and certificates required by the bank.  You will need to ensure at this stage that you have satisfied the new bank in regard to any non-legal requirements they might have, matters such as home insurance, life assurance, the setting up of direct debit mandates (to pay the instalments on the new mortgage) and so on.
  • We will then liaise between the old bank and the new one and make arrangements to draw down the new loan. 
  • The new bank will require us to give an undertaking - a binding professional promise made by a solicitor - that we will use the new loan to pay off the old one. We will also be required to make arrangements for a formal discharge of the old loan to be lodged in the Land Registry and the new loan to be registered in its place.​​​​
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    Ken Enright

    Alison Enright BL

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