First time seller (apartment)

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Craig_David

Registered User
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Good morning,
I'm considering selling my primary residence (for a number of reasons) and I have a rental option available to me that I could move into when the sale goes through.
To avoid the subject, I've no interest in holding onto my apartment and renting it out.

I'm looking for some advice/considerations that I may be overlooking with regard to the sale of my apartment.
So far I've thought about the following :

Mortgage - I have roughly 4 years left on a fixed rate mortgage at 2.7% so there may be breakage fees for settling the mortgage early on the back of the sale. Are there any other fees that I need to be conscious of?
Estate Agent - Any pointers on how to pick a good one? I see two in particular that has sold some units in the block in the past so thinking of going with them.
Solicitor - I imagine the EA I go with can provide some recommendations.. What would be a guideline price?

Thanks
 
Craig_David said:
Mortgage - I have roughly 4 years left on a fixed rate mortgage at 2.7% so there may be breakage fees for settling the mortgage early on the back of the sale. Are there any other fees that I need to be conscious of?
Click to expand...
There shouldn't be a break fee, unless interbank rates drop lower than when you fixed.

Selling an apartment, you will need lots of information from the OMC (MUD act documentatuon). These can run to a few hundred euro.
If it's a first time land registry registration, you might need plans of your specific apartment drawn up.
You'll need a BER cert if yours is out of date.

Craig_David said:
Estate Agent - Any pointers on how to pick a good one? I see two in particular that has sold some units in the block in the past so thinking of going with them.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'd start with the ones wuth recent sales. They should already have a list of underbidders.
Give them a call, they'll arrange for someone to come view the apartment and give you an idea of guide price. They'll give you ideas of how to present apartment better, etc.
This meeting is important in my opinion - you'll get a really good feel for the agency. However, the person you meet will be more senior and might not be the person handling your sale.
Then it'll come down to fees.
 
Here's what I suggest - your bank will have the deeds and presumably you have or can talk to the same solicitor you bought via, so there may be some information with that.

Here's what you definitively are going to need:
- BER cert (its the law)
- title deeds (with bank)
- lease agreement, terms and annual charges
- detail of any other fees
- fire cert (I think this is usually done per block so OMC will know)
- details of the OMC

If there were any changes made to your apartment requiring planning permission you need to verify that was done in proper legal order. There are particular difficulties in selling apartments with noncompliance to their original granted plans or retention. (Its not like a house where you can knock the change or look for retention afterwards). Get original plans from council planning desk or online.

I know some solicitors are pedantic about getting the fire certs (presume this is related to fire stopping defects in tiger era apartments) so make enquiry via OMC. Also block insurance.
If there was defects and remediation detail would have been shared with OMC and appropriate sign offs made.

Get an independent valuation done. Not just the EA who will sell it at the most expensive price either - if the asking price is too high you might struggle to get viewers and bids in. Whereas putting the asking price lower will get a lot more views and ignite bidding wars.
Have a solicitor ready and assembling all the docs before you put it on market.
Remove, sell or move furniture and personal belongings that don't look good & get the apartment professionally cleaned.

I saw quite a few apartments that had been throughly refurbished before sale & they definitely got a slightly better price, but honestly, they were still only going for maybe 10-15k more than neighbouring units that were maintained well in the same development. But they were definitely getting 25k more than the scruffy unkempt one I looked at that took a year to sell and went for 15k under the asking price & about 25k less than similar properties around it. There's a balance - start by getting it thoroughly cleaned, and get obvious problems fixed, like broken windows, mouldly ceilings, leaks & sockets hanging out of the walls.
Needless to say a home that smells of rodent droppings won't appeal to all but the hardiest of buyers.
 
thanks for the input all.
Regarding the documentation needed from the OMC, is that something my solicitor would request from the OMC directly as part of the process or would I need to do that?

Thanks
 
RedOnion said:
There shouldn't be a break fee, unless interbank rates drop lower than when you fixed.

Selling an apartment, you will need lots of information from the OMC (MUD act documentatuon). These can run to a few hundred euro.
If it's a first time land registry registration, you might need plans of your specific apartment drawn up.
You'll need a BER cert if yours is out of date.


Yes, I'd start with the ones wuth recent sales. They should already have a list of underbidders.
Give them a call, they'll arrange for someone to come view the apartment and give you an idea of guide price. They'll give you ideas of how to present apartment better, etc.
This meeting is important in my opinion - you'll get a really good feel for the agency. However, the person you meet will be more senior and might not be the person handling your sale.
Then it'll come down to fees.
Click to expand...

So I phoned my bank who advised as of this moment, there wouldn't be any breakage fee.
Is it safe to assume this will be the case 6 months from now if rates stay where they are at currently?
I of course don't want to end up in a situation where I go sale agreed and then the bank tells me when I go to clear the loan that there is a massive breakage fee.. Can anyone explain the calculation in simple terms so I can figure out the potential financial impact were rates to move down?

thanks
 
It is very unlikely that you will face a fee. ECB rates would need to fall substantially and before you repay the mortgage. That is unlikely to happen.

Even if it does happen, it will be small.

Don't let the fear of this fee impact the decision.

Which lender are you with? If you have some fear of a fee, you could break out of the fixed rate now and go variable. But it would be much higher than the great value fixed rate you are on. So don't do it.

Brendan
 
Craig_David said:
Can anyone explain the calculation in simple terms so I can figure out the potential financial impact were rates to move down?
Click to expand...
Have a look here, but in simple terms, interest rates would need to drop a lot for you to have a break fee. If you clarify which lender you're with, when you fixed and for how long I'll explain a bit clearer for you.

Key Post - Understanding Fixed Rates breakage costs

Moderator's note: for anybody who is thinking of switching their mortgage (or re-fixing with their current lender), consider posting your mortgage details in the switcher thread (in the format shown in the first post). Someone will calculate an estimate of the break fee (if any) and of the...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
thanks for the responses. I'm with BOI and fixed for 5 years at 2.7% last year.
I will review the link posted above, tnx again
 
Why don't you use the same solicitor you purchased with. About 2K for a sale, the solicitor should give you a letter with their costs on it and potential legal costs. Do not hire someone on an hourly rate.

There is unlikely to be a break fee for the mortgage, if there were it would be so minor as to not matter, especially since the bank has confirmed it. Very odd to fix since you are selling.

Estate agents who have sold in your building is your best bet. Just make sure you know the fee percentage and any other charges (advertising).

Clear out the apartment and make it look clean/tidy and presentable. Be flexible with viewings. I'd be getting my skates on if I were you in relation to selling.
 
Might be worth having a conversation with an EA who has property in the block as sold/sale agreed. Quite possibly there may be underbidders that they could market the property to

Fees wise, assuming it is straightforward enough, I'd budget for around 2.5% -3% of the sale price to cover the EA, Solicitor and any other prep and tidy up costs. Might be worth considering getting a professional cleaning company in for a deep clean and it always helps to have a massive declutter, it creates the illusion of space (and don't just jam stuff into a cupboard- get rid of or store elsewhere)
 
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