Buying a Home Checklist

Buying a Home Checklist- Dublin City Centre Solicitors

How much can I afford to spend?

Once you have established the amount of monies you have in saving, what you can afford to borrow and what repayments your can afford on your mortgage, you should then consider the other costs associated with purchasing a property, for example: stamp duty, legal fees, engineer's fees, valuation fees and insurance.

It's important that you get a mortgage that suits you. Ensure that you get as much advice and information as you can from your broker and/ or potential mortgage lender. Remember that there are a lot of different mortgage products and providers in the market; and getting the right mortgage could save you a lot of money. Remember you're the Customer so don't be afraid to ask questions about the various mortgages being offered to you.

Mortgage" Approval in Principle"

After making a successful mortgage application the bank will give you what's known as “approval in Principle", this affectively tells you how much the bank is willing to lend to you and puts you in a better position to know exactly what your budget is.

Finding a property

Obviously this is the best part of the process and once you know what your budget is you can really start looking for the property that is right for you.

Making an offer and paying a deposit

Most properties are sold through an auctioneer and once you have agreed a price you will need to pay a booking deposit; this is usually refundable up until the time that contracts are signed, however, you should ensure that your booking deposit is paid “Subject to Contract and Title", this will protect your position and allow you to seek the return of these monies, if you decide not to proceed with the purchase of the property, prior to contracts being signed.

At the time of paying the booking deposit the auctioneer will seek the name and contact details of your Solicitor. The auctioneer will then arrange for the solicitor acting on behalf of the person selling the property to forward draft contracts and copies of the title documents of the property to your solicitor.

You should also contact your bank and provide them with your solicitors contact details so that they can arrange to forward your solicitor the loan offer.

An Engineers will be required to carry out a structural survey of the property and prior to engaging an engineer to carry out this work you should talk to your solicitors in case he or she requires certain information from the engineer aside from the structural survey.

A valuation of the property will need to be obtained for your Bank.

House insurance and life assurance will also need to be arranged.

Legal Process

Once your Solicitors has received the loan offer from your bank and the contracts from the Solicitors acting on behalf of the person selling the property, they will then guide you through the process by ensuring that you have a full understanding of your obligations to your bank and what you are agreeing to under the contract. Your Solicitor will then carry out a full investigation of the title of the property and request your mortgage monies. Your solicitors will then endeavor to complete the purchase of the property. Once the purchase of the property has been completed your solicitors will register your ownership of the property and your banks interest over same with the Property Registration Authority; and return all the documentation relating to the property to your Bank. Your bank will hold the title documents to the property until your mortgage has been fully repaid.