# can I buy house without solicitor



## johneym (17 Nov 2013)

hello Folks,

it was an auction and now the deed is done. I have signed the contract. Had a legal person look at the contract and do the queries etc before signing and all was in order. I paid separately for this.
Now, its just the straightforward stuff. The property is for cash and cheap. Its an old shack.

Can I do the transfer myself or indeed have a local planner do it?

Thanks


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## Brendan Burgess (17 Nov 2013)

I suppose that in theory, you could.

But you may well regret it later when you try to sell it. A solicitor is more likely to spot something than you would be.  If you use a solicitor, you will not have to ever worry about the title. 

Brendan


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## Bronte (18 Nov 2013)

Brendan Burgess said:


> But you may well regret it later when you try to sell it. A solicitor is more likely to spot something than you would be. If you use a solicitor, you will not have to ever worry about the title.


 
Well it's a bit late for a solicitor now that he's signed contracts. Maybe he'll be lucky and the title will be fine. 

OP have you paid the full amount yet?


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## Brendan Burgess (18 Nov 2013)

Hi Bronte

I think you should still use a solicitor for the closing.  



> Had a legal person look at the contract


Presumably the same legal person would do the closing for a much reduced price now that they have seen the contract. 

I don't think it can be that expensive and when he goes to sell, he would be much surer that everything is in order. 

But you may well be right that if something is not in order, it may be already too late  to do much about it. 

Brendan


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## Bronte (18 Nov 2013)

Brendan Burgess said:


> .
> 
> Presumably the same legal person would do the closing for a much reduced price now that they have seen the contract.


 
I wouldn't think a solicitor would look at it this way at all. Anyone who has gone ahead and bought without a solicitor would look like trouble. But you never know, maybe its a good clean marketable title.  As my own solicitor said to me the other day, about a property matter, sure if all else fails we can go the auction route !


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## Setanta12 (18 Nov 2013)

It would be like a fresh accountant taking over a 1/2 finished job or even a 90% finished job, he would  need to satusfy himself on the work already done, before doing the rest.

Cheapest option is to get original solicitor back on the case, al things being equal.


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## Brendan Burgess (18 Nov 2013)

Kildavin said:


> Cheapest option is to get original solicitor back on the case, al things being equal.



Agreed, but I am not sure that the " Had a legal person look at the contract" means it was a solicitor.  But I suppose that if they were good enough to look at the contract, they would be good enough to do the closing. 

Brendan


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## johneym (18 Nov 2013)

thanks folks for the advice.

It was indeed a sol who looked at it for €200 but wants much too much money to close. What are the steps involved if I were to complete myself? Its 1 100 year old property bought and sold many times.


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## Bronte (19 Nov 2013)

What kind of title is it, land registry or title of deeds? You have to transfer the property from the vendor to you and then register it. Pay stamp duty maybe. Make sure that the vendor has paid things like NPPR/household charge/rates/LPT etc. 

How much is the solicitor quoting you?  And how much did you purchase the shack for?


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## Leo (19 Nov 2013)

You'll also need to make sure there are no liens registered against the property or the current owner.


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## johneym (20 Nov 2013)

thanks lads,

the shack was 29,000 (its the site I need really and I may demolish the shack)
The sol wants another 700 plus vat to close. As I said, the contract is already signed and closing officially is early December. The sol for the vendor is a local whom I know. I am quite satisfied that the title is straightforward and that all is paid up to date. The vendor is also not unknown to me and I have met him twice regarding this.
Bronte, how do I find out which it is, land registry or registry of deeds? And then go about registering it?
And Leo, how do I check if there are liens on it?

Thanks again lads for the help.


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## Bronte (20 Nov 2013)

I cannot believe you are going to go it alone for the sake of 700 Euro plus VAT.  

The solicitor for the vendor will tell you what the title is.  Only he knows this.  You have to do searches to find out if there are any 'liens' on the property, not sure how this is done nowadays, but there are firms in Dublin that used to do this.  Maybe if you phone the Land Registry they can help you.  Or the vendor's solicitor could direct you but that would be very unorthodox.  Did he not find it odd that you signed the contract without a solicitor?  Who witnessed your signature? 

I most sincerely advice you to hire the solicitor.


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## bullbars (20 Nov 2013)

Bronte said:


> I cannot believe you are going to go it alone for the sake of 700 Euro plus VAT.


 
I agree. It's penny wise and pound foolish.


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## johneym (20 Nov 2013)

900 plus vat is 1107 in fees alone. He does not want to bargain. For a contract already signed. Many of the things we do are based on fear and thats why we all run to a solicitor. I successfully completed probate late year even though I was told endlessly how foolish it was. If you investigate, take your time and make sure you learn and know what you are doing, then it shouldn't be an issue. I bought our family home 4 years ago and the solicitor messed up by not making sure all bills were paid. I was stuck with a 1300 euro bill plus some development at the back of my house 1 month after purchase(before I even moved in) The solicitor has still not sorted the problem and never will. In fact, he no longer corresponds. My water was cut off and I paid the previous owners bill! All I am saying is, getting a solicitor does not mean everything will be perfect. I have come to believe in myself more than others. 

Anyway I appreciate the replies lads and I will let ye know how I get on. I am not in a hurry.

Thanks


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## Leo (20 Nov 2013)

johneym said:


> And Leo, how do I check if there are liens on it?



I believe you can get this via PRAI.


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## mf1 (20 Nov 2013)

Leo said:


> I believe you can get this via PRAI.



Won't help if its unregistered title. 

And once you start trying to explain that, you realise that there is no point in trying to steer the OP. Its too big and too complex a subject. 

Yes, of course, he can buy the property  without a solicitor. The chances of him actually managing to do it properly are remote and he is likely going to need to go and deal with another solicitor if he ever wants to sell it. 

mf1


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## johneym (20 Nov 2013)

thats a great word mf1 "chances" A word our government uses a lot. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact. The property is registered. 

Thank you Leo and all who gave some useful information.


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## PaddyBloggit (20 Nov 2013)

*johneym* ... don't be too fast in dismissing *mf1*'s post .... As a solicitor, he has given great advice here on AAM.


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## Bronte (21 Nov 2013)

johneym said:


> Anyway I appreciate the replies lads and I will let ye know how I get on. I am not in a hurry.


 
What are you going to do first?  Write a letter to the vendor's solicitor and do a search on any liens/debts etc?  Let us know how you proceed, it might be interesting. As least you have been warned it's not easy but you're confident you can do it.  

Maybe with the new simplified Land Registry it's easier to transfer property.


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## Setanta12 (21 Nov 2013)

Paraphrasing ... 'a man who acts for himself has a fool for a client'.


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## Leo (21 Nov 2013)

johneym said:


> Thank you Leo and all who gave some useful information.



No problem Johneym, but a word of caution also, I'd also advise using a solicitor. When I bought my place, my solicitor found that revenue were after the vendor, and they had been granted an order barring them from disposing of assets. If they hadn't discovered and sorted that out, it could have resulted in a lot of trouble/expense for me.


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