Buying a property in Ireland is one of the most significant legal transactions most people will ever make. The conveyancing process is complex, with multiple stages where things can go wrong. Understanding what should happen — and when — protects you and your investment.
The Irish conveyancing process involves several distinct legal stages. After your offer is accepted and you pay a booking deposit, your solicitor receives the contracts from the vendor's solicitor. Do not sign contracts until your solicitor has carried out all searches and reviewed the title fully.
Key checks include: title verification, planning permission compliance, boundary searches, local authority charges, environmental searches, and the state of the property's Management Company if it is an apartment. Your solicitor will raise queries with the vendor's solicitor on any issues found.
Once satisfied, contracts are exchanged and you pay the balance of your 10% deposit. The balance of the purchase price is paid on closing. Once contracts are signed, withdrawing from the sale typically means losing your deposit.
Estate agents sometimes pressure buyers to sign quickly. Do not sign the contract for sale until your solicitor has reviewed it in full, conducted all necessary searches, and confirmed you are in a position to proceed. A signed contract is legally binding — it is not simply an expression of interest.
The O'Briens had been searching for a home in Kildare for over a year. When they finally found a house that suited them, the estate agent told them there were two other interested parties and they needed to sign contracts within the week to secure it.
Their solicitor raised concerns and asked for time to complete the full title investigation. The estate agent was not pleased. But the solicitor's searches revealed that an extension built on the property in 2009 did not have full planning compliance — the planning permission had conditions attached that had never been signed off by the council.
This would have been the O'Briens' problem after they closed. Regularising planning retention can take months and costs money. The vendor had been unaware of the issue.
The solicitor negotiated a retention sum to be held in escrow pending resolution of the planning issue before closing. The O'Briens bought the house — but on safe terms.
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