Have deposit on house since Christmas and having some problems. We have two small children and are cash buyers. It,s become a bit tricky to sort out our purchase. The vendor,s solicitor is hopeless, and to make matters worse, we have found out there are LPT payments outstanding. The vendor has some money problems and our solicitor is suggesting some agreement to go ahead with the purchase with a clause that the vendor will sort out the LPT after the sale, I called LPT helpline to check that I would not be responsible for the LPT for the time the vendor lived there. They could not answer the question. It's over 6 months now since the deposit was paid and I have kids enrolled for school in September,so I want to move in soon. My question is will revenue be coming to me for monies owed previously if a buy the house, or will they chase the vendor who owed them money?
Buying problems - have deposit on house since Christmas and having some problems
- Thread starter horse7
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Hmm.. my understanding was that solicitor wont allow sale to go through unless LPT paid.
When i sold, i had to get NOPR exemption and show evidence that LPT was paid. Purchaser then refunded portion of that.
Ifyou buy before its sorted, how can you show evidence to revenue? You wont have access to bills to confirm it was primary residence.
Ask your solicitor to get exact numbers of whats due and why seller wont pay.
It seems odd that solicitor is advising this but maybe others have been in this situation.
When i sold, i had to get NOPR exemption and show evidence that LPT was paid. Purchaser then refunded portion of that.
Ifyou buy before its sorted, how can you show evidence to revenue? You wont have access to bills to confirm it was primary residence.
Ask your solicitor to get exact numbers of whats due and why seller wont pay.
It seems odd that solicitor is advising this but maybe others have been in this situation.
Surely I could prove the date of my purchase? Here is my solicitor,s advice to me. 4. LPT – solicitor has furnished us with a printout that shows property in the incorrect bandwidth and amount of LPT to be paid should be more. We have asked them to remedy this. There is a special condition in the contract that states that vendor will keep proceeds of sale to pay outstanding LPT as it has not been paid for two years. We generally do not like to accept such an undertaking as there will be additional interest charges for LPT. We have asked for a draft declaration from other side in relation to discharging LPT post-completion so if we are happy with the wording of this and it affords you all possible cover we could accept this.
I think the issue would be if you go to sell this propert, and this hasnt been paid then you will have an issue.
Normally LPT should be paid in advance of sale. In this case they want money to be released to vendor who says they will pay it later. Why cant vendors solicitor give undertaking to withhold that amount from proceeds of sale and ensure payment
From sellers point.. are there any repercussions for them if they dont pay it? I doubt revenue will chase them for it, but it will become your problem.
Ask your solicitor for details of amounts as it now stands.
Honestly the LPT is a huge headache and its unfair to put onus on purchasers, but that seems to be how its handled.
Normally LPT should be paid in advance of sale. In this case they want money to be released to vendor who says they will pay it later. Why cant vendors solicitor give undertaking to withhold that amount from proceeds of sale and ensure payment
From sellers point.. are there any repercussions for them if they dont pay it? I doubt revenue will chase them for it, but it will become your problem.
Ask your solicitor for details of amounts as it now stands.
Honestly the LPT is a huge headache and its unfair to put onus on purchasers, but that seems to be how its handled.
Ps, vendors appear to have very limited financial resources, even the electric is PAYG.
Good point.
Is it possible to simply calculate the outstanding LPT plus interest and penalities and then reduce the asking price by that agreed amount?
Not ideal as you are taking on their liability. Need a solicitor to chat about it as generally debts attached to a property need to be discharged on or before sale?
Not ideal as you are taking on their liability. Need a solicitor to chat about it as generally debts attached to a property need to be discharged on or before sale?
Have a look at this
www.revenue.ie
The sellers cant sell the house without Revenue clearance that all LPT has been paid,
You are buying a property
This page describes your Local Property Tax obligations when buying a property
www.revenue.ie
The sellers cant sell the house without Revenue clearance that all LPT has been paid,
Brendan Burgess
Founder
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There are two stages in the process
1) Sale agreed - which is not legally binding even though you have paid a deposit
2) Exchanged contracts - where both of you have signed the contracts and you solicitor has a copy of the signed contracts. It's legally binding at that stage.
Which stage are you at?
If you have exchanged contracts, withhold the LPT + interest for 5 years with your solicitor giving an undertaking to pay it and refund the difference.
It sounds like a real mess with a vendor who can't organise themselves. Their solicitor could be a messer but it's hard to know. A good solicitor can't really do anything if their client is hopeless.
Brendan
1) Sale agreed - which is not legally binding even though you have paid a deposit
2) Exchanged contracts - where both of you have signed the contracts and you solicitor has a copy of the signed contracts. It's legally binding at that stage.
Which stage are you at?
If you have exchanged contracts, withhold the LPT + interest for 5 years with your solicitor giving an undertaking to pay it and refund the difference.
It sounds like a real mess with a vendor who can't organise themselves. Their solicitor could be a messer but it's hard to know. A good solicitor can't really do anything if their client is hopeless.
Brendan
Apparently they can, please read previous post with solicitor,s comments. Have just read your post, and I know it makes sense, but why is the sellers solicitor not sorting out the LPT issue. Also the NPPR letter has not been issued .Have a look at this
You are buying a property
This page describes your Local Property Tax obligations when buying a property
The sellers cant sell the house without Revenue clearance that all LPT has been paid,
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It's sale agreed since Christmas, no contract has been issued by the sellers solicitor, it would be easy to pull out of the deal, but there is no choice of housing stock similar for sale. Could we find out exactly how much LPT including penalties are due on the house and deduct it from the cost of the house.
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Brendan Burgess
Founder
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By all means, try to complete the sale but it sounds as if you are dealing with messers who might well pull out of the deal for a higher price.
You should look at other properties just in case.
Brendan
Paul O Mahoney
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Buying houses is a fairly stressful exercise but having the issues you are experiencing indicates to me that these problems that you know about might just be the tip of the iceberg.
Lpt not paid , as you say the sellers appear to be in some financial stress and if it was me I'd be thinking what else is unpaid? Are there extensions or other works done that aren't with proper planning? Other loans secured on the property?
I appreciate this house satisfies your family needs but sometimes its wise to walk away....or at least give them a definite date that you expect the transaction to be finalised.
I wish you the best.
Lpt not paid , as you say the sellers appear to be in some financial stress and if it was me I'd be thinking what else is unpaid? Are there extensions or other works done that aren't with proper planning? Other loans secured on the property?
I appreciate this house satisfies your family needs but sometimes its wise to walk away....or at least give them a definite date that you expect the transaction to be finalised.
I wish you the best.
Paul O Mahoney
Registered User
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- 1,844
Another mess which will completely destroy any type of pragmatism on either side.
Might be time for you to look up " Sunk cost fallacy " and think about what it means and how to avoid it.
Is it the sellers that are divorced/separated? Can you check land registry to check who has ownership, or if papers lodged?
Theres no issue buying from someone that is divorced as long as everything is in place.