If you wish to purchase a property at an upcoming Auction you should note that on the day, if your bid is successful, you will be requested to sign contracts immediately and pay a 10% deposit. Once you sign the contract, it is binding and therefore it is essential that your solicitor has properly investigated title beforehand to ensure all is in order. If you are considering making a bid on a property at auction, we strongly recommend you follow these steps:
- It is vital that your Solicitor checks the title to the property to ensure that there are no title problems and that the property has a good and marketable title. If problems arise after you have signed contracts at auction, it is too late to pull out of the purchase and you are obliged to complete notwithstanding that the title may be flawed.
- We strongly recommend that you have the property surveyed before the auction. The principle of caveat emptor (buyer beware) applies and so if there is any structure problem with the property , again you have no recourse to the vendor after signing contracts and so it is essential you have a survey conducted beforehand.
- Research the area in which you are intending to buy if you are not already familiar with it.
- Consult a number of local auctioneers to try and gauge the true value of the property.
- Most buyers at auction are cash buyers however there are some that will buy with bank finance. If you are doing so it is strongly recommended that you have your loan approval in place beforehand. Again as mentioned earlier, once you sign contracts, the purchase is binding and so you would not like to then find out that the mortgage approval is not forthcoming as you would be bound to complete nonetheless.
- Decide on a maximum amount you are willing to pay for the property. You should bear in mind your legal costs and outlay which include Solicitor fees, stamp duty (currently 1% of the purchase of the property for residential property) and registration fees.
We are offering a special rate to anyone purchasing at Auction for us to check the title and ensure everything is in order. We are also offering an excellent rate to complete the purchase if successful at auction. Please contact Susan Cosgrove of Cosgrove Gaynard Solicitors on 01-234 0044 or email scosgrove@cgsolicitors.ie for further information and assistance.
