Conveyancing is the process where title to property and land is passed from Vendor to Purchaser.
There are two forms of title to land in Ireland.
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Title registered in the Registry of Deeds is the older form of title and generally relates to urban properties only, with a few notable exceptions - particularly school and church properties in rural areas. The title comprises a bundle of deeds showing the history of the occupation of the property of at least a forty year period, ending with the Vendor. It is necessary to trace the history of the ownership of the property and this requires a far more detailed and time consuming investigation than is the case when one is dealing with registered title. The Registry of Deeds system determines priorities of estates and interests in the land but it does not guarantee ownership which can only be proven by a detailed title investigation.
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Title registered in the Land Registry is relatively "recent" having been created by Gladstone in 1870 with the passing of the first Irish Land Acts. It originally related to rural properties only as only lands acquired by tenant farmers under the Land Acts, were registered. With the massive expansion of urban areas into the countryside, more and more urban property is registered in the Land Registry. It comprises a Register, maintained in Dublin by a Government agency, giving a description of the property, showing the current owner of property and any mortgages or burdens affecting the property and most importantly, providing an accurate map.
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However, the title of the property frequently is the least difficult part of a transaction. Having greatly simplified title to property by creating the Land Registry, successive legislation on areas like Planning, Building Regulations, Stamp Duty, exemption from Stamp Duty, Grants, Capital Gains Tax, Residential Property Tax (which, although abolished is still relevant), Family Law Acts, Licencing, Bank and Building Society requirements has made purchases vastly more complicated.
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Depending on whether you are a seller or purchaser of property, difference cost considerations apply.
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Seller
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| As a seller, once a decision to sell the property is made, a number of practical steps need to be taken.
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The first should be to decide whether or not to retain an Auctioneer. It is generally to be recommended that an Auctioneer be retained if the highest price is to be obtained. It is not to say that a property can not be sold privately by the individual, but it will require a considerable amount of time and effort by the seller, without having any real way of knowing whether the best price has in fact been obtained.
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In appointing an Auctioneer, consideration need first be given to whether or not one Agent should be appointed or many. Possibly the best solution is to grant the property to an Auctioneer on a sole agency basis for a specified limited period of time and thereafter, if unsold, to be distributed to other Auctioneers.
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Having appointed an Auctioneer, one must also decide whether to sell by public auction or by private treaty. Generally this decision is entirely dependent on the type of property for sale and the climate at the time the property is put on the market. Most Auctioneers opt for a sale by private treaty initially with an option to review that decision, depending on circumstances.
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Auctioneers' fees are traditionally 3½ % plus V.A.T. and advertising expenses in the rural areas and 2½ % plus V.A.T. and advertising expenses in urban areas. With the huge upsurge in property prices and increased competition, Auctioneers' fees are now open to negotiation and should be agreed before a retainer is granted to an Auctioneer. It is difficult, if not impossible, to negotiate a fee downwards after a property has been sold.
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