From For Sale to Sold: Steps in Selling a House in Ireland

Selling a house in Ireland can seem rather complex, especially if it’s your first time doing so. How long does it take to sell a house? The timeline for selling a house is often a big consideration, and as a seller you probably want to close on a good deal with minimal delay, but there are many other important things to consider. What kind of documents will you need to obtain? How can you find the right buyer and close the transaction?

Of course, your property’s location, current market conditions, and your level of preparedness will all be quite important factors in the house sale process. The good news is that the home selling process in Ireland does have quite a few considerations one must make, but rest assured that the process for a private sale generally follows the same few steps and a qualified estate agent can make the entire process simple and stress-free.

This blog will give you clear and concise information on how to sell your property in Ireland, step by step.

Step 1: Preparing to Sell

First and foremost, make sure all your ducks are in a row before selling your home. Are your finances in order? That is to say, do you have an outstanding mortgage left to repay and does your lender have early repayment penalties? Also, make sure that all of your utilities and bills have been paid up to date.

Moreover, make sure that you have a general idea of what makes for a fair selling price given your expected timeline and local market conditions. Gauge how willing you are to sell at a discount and by how much (if at all). A local estate agent in Galway such as Long & Co can provide invaluable insight into market conditions as well as assist with pricing strategies for your particular home.

Step 2: Legal & Documentation Checklist

A crucial part of the property selling process is making sure that you’ve got all of the relevant documentation and legal matters sorted out and ready. Here’s what you will need:

• Proof of property ownership: your title deed (or in some cases, a folio) acts as proof of ownership of your home. If your home was purchased with a mortgage, the bank will typically have it.

• BER certificate: all homes in Ireland must have a BER certificate, and they are valid for up to 10 years unless you’ve made changes to the property, in which case a new certificate is required. You can check to see if your home is already registered through the SEAI National BER Register, or have an SEAI-approved surveyor assess your property and provide you with a new one.

• Planning compliance: if you’ve had work done on your home, you may require certificates of compliance. If you didn’t apply for one, you can do so retroactively to demonstrate that your home is compliant with building regulations.

• Property taxes: you will need a printed statement showing that you’ve fully paid your Local Property Tax (LPT) up to the end of the year.

• Personal identification: a passport or government-recognised photographic ID to demonstrate that you are indeed the legal property owner.

A trustworthy estate agent can help you figure out which documents are required and how to obtain them so that you can proceed with selling your home with minimal delay.

Step 3: Preparing & Presenting the Property

In the process of selling a house, it’s important to keep the property tidy and presentable. De-clutter and tidy up as best you can and arrange for professional rubbish removal and cleaning services if necessary. Make a great first impression on prospective buyers but make sure that you’ve also got plenty of professional photographs for online listings.

Properties in Ireland are commonly listed on platforms such as Daft.ie, MyHome.ie and various estate agency websites, so for many prospective buyers, the online photographs are what make that key first impression.

Step 4: Viewings & Offers

Alongside making your property presentable, one of the most important steps in selling a home is to arrange for viewings and to receive formal offers. Viewings are increasingly being done online in recent years, however it’s essential to provide in-person viewings and this requires planning and scheduling either on your own part or with the assistance of an estate agent such as Long & Co.

Prospective buyers may make offers throughout this stage of the property sale process, and it’s important to keep a record of any offers and to ensure that they are formal, i.e., the buyer is approved for a mortgage loan or has proof of funds.

Offers can vary quite a bit, and the negotiation process can be challenging without the assistance of an estate agent. Typically, the most flexible arrangement for the seller (you) is “no sealed bids”, which means that buyers can adjust offers and raise them in response to the offers that others make. You (or your agent) can then renegotiate offers with various parties to get a fair price for your home.

Step 5: Sale Agreed —What It Really Means

Once you’ve negotiated a suitable offer with a buyer, you may both want to move to the “sale agreed” phase. This means that both you and the buyer are committed, but it’s important to keep in mind that this alone is not legally binding. Only after signing the contracts through solicitors is the final sale legally binding and official.

For you, the seller, an accepted offer often means that, on average, your home will be officially sold and finalised within around 8-16 weeks.

For the buyer, there is often a booking fee paid to the estate agent as a deposit, with the remainder due once the sale has been finalised.

Step 6: Conveyancing & Solicitors

With an accepted offer (sale agreed), you can then contact solicitors to prepare all necessary legal paperwork and conveyancing of the property (transferring it legally from the seller to the buyer). Your solicitor will need your title deed, BER certificate, planning permissions, and information about the property in order to prepare the sale contract.

The buyer’s solicitor will review the contract, and if satisfied, both parties can sign and finalise the sale. What often leads to delays in this phase is when the buyer (or their solicitor) has doubts or enquiries regarding specific terms in the contract, needs more information about boundary lines or planning permissions, or if they want to renegotiate prices, for example.

Step 7: Exchange & Completion

When both the buyer’s and seller’s solicitors have come to an agreement on the terms of the contract and both are satisfied, contracts are then exchanged, and the buyer and seller can both sign on the dotted line. This is now legally binding.

When signing the contract, the buyer must pay a 10% deposit. Recall that a part of this deposit had already been paid during the “sale agreed” stage; it is paid to the estate agent. At this point, the final closing typically takes place around 3-4 weeks after signing the contracts, at which point the seller’s solicitor will hand over the keys to the buyer.

As the seller during these last few weeks, you are only left with preparing the closing documents (your solicitor will do this), ensuring your Local Property Tax (LPT) is fully paid up to date, and sorting out the remaining mortgage due and paying it off with the proceeds of the sale.

Visual Timeline Section

The house sale timeline is approximately 3-6 months from beginning to end on average. The timeline can be broken down into three general parts:

1. Marketing (4-12 weeks): listing the property, attracting buyers to viewings, and entertaining initial offers. A “sale agreed” usually takes around 1 month following an offer.
2. Conveyancing (8-12 weeks): retaining a solicitor, preparing the sale contract, gathering the title deed and other relevant documents, negotiating the contract with the buyer, and signing the contract formally.
3. Finalising the transaction (3-4 weeks): ensuring LPT is up-to-date and paid, managing outstanding mortgage balance, and finalising all closing documents, to handover of the keys and property to the buyer.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Many of the steps to selling a house in Ireland are quite standard and don’t vary too much, but every step of the way introduces some risks that could lead to delays or getting a poor deal for your property. Some of the common pitfalls in the house sale timeline include:

• Overpricing (or underpricing!): setting your asking price unrealistically high can greatly reduce the number of prospective buyers and leave your property sitting listed for far longer than anticipated. Asking for too little may sell the property much faster, but you could be getting a poor deal.
• Missing paperwork: being unprepared and not having the necessary documents on hand, like a BER certificate or title deed, can slow down the home-selling process, and the time it takes to obtain these (if they aren’t readily available) can likewise slow down the process.

• Poor communication: you should be keen on entertaining offers and recording them, communicating with prospective buyers in a timely fashion. Late responses and infrequent communication will slow down the entire process.

• Having unrealistic expectations: selling a home, even in times of high demand, can take several weeks or months, but hardly ever in a matter of days. Establish realistic expectations when selling your home.

Tips to Speed Up Your Sale

Speeding up the home sale timeline is possible, to an extent. Closing the sale sooner is more convenient for both you and the buyer, and it can give you peace of mind and save you quite a bit of money also. Here are some tips to speed up the sale of your home in Ireland:

• Have all relevant documents readily available.

• Ensure your home is presentable to buyers and is tidy and looking professional.

• Be flexible with your asking price, as well as with offers and be willing to negotiate with buyers.

• Work closely with a trusted estate agent and solicitor.

How Long Does it Take to Sell a Home in Ireland?

From start to closing the final sale, it tends to take around 3-6 months to sell a home in Ireland, on average. Of course, this can take longer due to market conditions (which are beyond your control), but it can take longer if you’re unprepared.

Being prepared means having your documents ready, having the property looking tidy and presentable, and negotiating offers with buyers. All of these things can be time-consuming and laborious, but with proper guidance you can sell your home relatively quickly and smoothly. An estate agent such as Long & Co can lend professional insights, local knowledge in Galway, Tuam, and beyond, and assist sellers throughout the entire process.

Sell Your Home Confidently with Long & Co

Thinking of selling your property in Galway or Tuam & beyond? Reach out to our professional team at Long & Co for a professional property valuation and expert guidance, every step of the way.