estate agent failed to mention stamp duty on site after deposit paid!

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kieran160

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three weeks ago myself and my partner fell in love with a 3/4 acre site for sale with full planning for a bungalow. so happy were we that we placed a €2500 deposit on the site the following day. price of the site being 135k.

i busied myself over the last few weeks getting organisied with solicitors, mortgages and quotes for tradesmen and materials.

i have just received a solicitors letter regarding the purchase of the site which goes on to mention stamp duty on the site which totals €10800. this came as a big suprise to say the least.

at no point was stamp duty mentioned to me by the estate agent they took the deposit and that was it. since paying the deposit i was in the office on a few occasions getting copies of the site and house plans.

i called the estate agent yesterday and told him of the small matter of the solicitors letter and the €€€€. he said he wasnt aware that there is stamp duty on the site and for me to double check with my solicitor and that he was off the opinion that MAYBE stamp duty comes into effect on a site when the price goes above €125k.

i have checked, and in fact their is stamp duty on all sites charged at differrent percentages depending on cost. 8% on this particular site.

i had no idea that their is stamp duty on sites, my fault maybe. i find it hard to believe an estate agent does not know when and how much stamp duty is when selling a site.

€10800 is a lot of €€€ to come up with when your not expecting it. i should have been told exactly the full costs involved when paying the deposit.

has this happened before, people being misinformed by estate agents. what should my next move be with the estate agent?
 
has this happened before, people being misinformed by estate agents.
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How did the estate agent misinform you?

I don't think that it's their job to educate you on stamp duty, solicitors' costs, the costs of building a house etc.

I don't know if stamp duty is payable on a site. If I was buying a site, I would ask my solicitor rather than the auctioneer.

I don't think that he has done anything wrong, unless he deliberately misled you at the outset, which from your account, he has not done so.

Brendan
 
Hi kieran

I agree with Brendan, its not his position to advise you on stanp duty. Its terrible when you find out something like that after getting in feet first
 
The estate agent informed you of the total amount of money that they want to be paid for the site. They have no role in the calculation or payment of stamp duty.

From your perspective, it may be worth going back and offering a reduced amount for the site, the worst that can happen is that they do not agree to a price reduction, so nothing lost.
 
OP - if you've only paid a booking deposit then you can still withdraw from the purchase. It is your responsiblity to know all the associated costs (especially tax) before purchasing, an estate agent or a solicitor even may not know this. An estate agents job is to sell, a solicitor is to do the legal work and tax is up to you or an accountant. In general estate agents have a fair idea on stamp duty but cannot know all as it also depends on the category of purchaser. Solicitors know more as you will be paying them the stamp duty to pay to revenue but don't expect them to be tax experts in all cases.
 
Same thing happened me, EA told me it was €8k for stamp duty, but when I looked into it, it was 9% on the whole vaule of site €22k. He said it was his mistake. And he has gone back to the owner to see if we can work something out!
 
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