Selling your home or property is one of the most important decisions you can make in life and choosing the correct estate agency service is key to this process.
At Hogan Durkan, we aim to get the highest price for your property in the shortest possible time while ensuring the needs of our vendors are catered for from the pre selling stage to key handover.
We combine our extensive market knowledge and dynamic property sales approach with a fully digital online user experience that allows potential purchasers view your property 24 hrs a day via virtual property tours.
Thinking Of Selling Your Property?
At Hogan Durkan, we offer a free thinking of selling service with no obligation to engage our services.
We can also accommodate a virtual booking appointment from the comfort of your own home, so feel free to contact us as we are here to help.
Advice For Sellers
At Hogan Duran, we provide support and advice at every stage of the selling process, ensuring our clients get the best possible price for their property. From our initial free no obligation thinking of selling consultation, we review your property, introduce our marketing packages and discuss potential marketing strategies and provide advice on getting your property ready for sale.
We know that not everyone has sold a property before and we can advise you on a range of areas such as choosing a solicitor, arranging for a Building Energy Certificate (BER) to be carried out as well as Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements, Certificates of Compliance and Land Registry Maps where applicable.
-Steps to selling a house or property-
1. APPOINT A SOLICITOR
When you are planning to sell a property, you should contact a solicitor as soon as possible so that the solicitor can arrange to take up the title documents. If you have a mortgage in place over the property, the title documents will be with your bank or financial institution. By taking up the title documents, the solicitor can draft a contract for sale in anticipation of a sale, to ensure that there is no delay once you are sale agreed on the property.
If you have made any extensions or alterations to your property, you should let the solicitor know. Depending on the extension or alteration it may be necessary to get an architect or engineer to furnish a Certificate or Opinion on compliance with planning permission, unless all such developments took place before 10th October 1964 and building regulations. Any house built since the 1st of October 1964 requires planning permission. The solicitor will need to make sure that all planning documentation is in order. It is very important that the planning documents are in order before the proposed sale. By taking up the title documents which contain the planning documents at an early stage, any problems can be discovered and hopefully rectified as soon as possible. A purchaser will be advised to obtain the services of an engineer to compete a structural survey, therefore any difficulties will raise its head. A potential purchaser may decide not to proceed with the purchase on discovery of difficulties, therefore it is best to start the process of selling your property as early as possible.
2. HOW TO SELL YOUR PROPERTY
Hogan Durkan will sell your property by private treaty or by auction. We will give you advise as to the best way to sell your house.
3. OBTAINING A BER CERT
Since the 1st of January 2009, a Building Energy Rating Certificate (BER Cert.) has become compulsory for all homes and commercial properties being sold or rented regardless of the age of the building. The law sets out very clearly that both a seller and their agent must provide a BER certificate to all prospective purchasers of properties.
What is Building Energy Rating (BER) Certificate?
A BER Certificate is a rating of the overall energy efficiency of a building. The rating is on a scale of A to G, with A1 being the most energy efficient and G being the least energy efficient. It contains the following information on each certificate: the name and address of the building, the BER number, the date of issue of the BER Certificate, the date until when the BER is valid and the BER assessor number and the BER assessor company number. A BER enables a purchaser to understand the overall energy efficiency of a building that they are purchasing.
How long is a BER Certificate valid for?
A BER Certificate is valid for a period of up to 10 years from the date of issue. If there are changes to a building which will affect the energy rating of the building, then a new BER Certificate will need to be obtained.
How can I get a BER report for my house?
A BER is carried out by trained BER assessors, registered by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
What will happen if I do not obtain a BER for my dwelling as required by law?
A criminal law sanction may apply if you do not comply with the BER Certificate requirements. If you are selling or renting your property and your building is not exempt and you do not obtain a BER Certificate, you will be liable on conviction in the District Court to a maximum fine of €5,000. But from the point of view of the sale of your property, a BER Certificate is a necessary requirement so failure to obtain a BER Certificate as soon as possible will result in a delay in the completion of your sale.
Are any buildings exempt from having a BER Cert?
Yes, there are certain buildings exempt from obtaining a BER certificate. The main exemptions are: National monuments, protected structures, new dwellings (for which planning permission was applied for on, or before, the 31st of December 2006, and where substantial work has been completed by the 30th of June 2008), new buildings, (for which planning permission was applied for on, or before the 30th of June 2008, and where substantial work has been completed by the 30th of June 2010), certain buildings / dwellings developed subject to the requirements of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.
4. PREPARING THE CONTRACTS FOR SALE
Your Solicitor will draft up the Contract for Sale on your behalf once they have received your title documents. A Contract for Sale contains the following details:
The details of the parties to the contract.
The purchase price and the deposit.
The closing dates.
The contract will also list the title documents and planning documents.
The contract then continues with several standard conditions, which your solicitor will go through in detail with you.
Once a sale is agreed, Hogan Durkan will take a booking deposit from the purchaser. The amount of the booking deposit can vary and often depends on the sale price of the property. It is important that you note that a booking deposit is refundable until such time as contracts are signed by both you and the purchaser.
Once Hogan Durkan receives the booking deposit, we will issue a Sales Advice notice to all parties involved, which includes you, the purchaser, your solicitor, and the purchaser’s solicitor. When you receive a copy of the Sales Advice notice you should contact your solicitor also to ensure that they have received a copy.
The Sale Advice Notice contains the details of the parties involved in the transaction, the sale price of the property, closing date, conditions of sale e.g. certain contents included in the sale price, or certain conditions that the purchaser must comply with e.g. obtain loan approval or it may contain conditions that you must comply with e.g. fix window etc.
Your solicitor will issue a contract for sale and forward title documents to the purchaser’s solicitors. It is common for the purchaser’s solicitors to raise certain queries on receipt of contracts and title documents. Your solicitor will deal with the queries on your behalf. Included with the contracts are planning documents. Houses built after the 1st of October 1964 require planning permission. If you are aware of any problem with planning permission let your solicitor know as soon as possible.
5.EXCHANGE CONTRACTS
After the purchaser and the purchaser’s solicitor are satisfied with the contracts, the contract and deposit are then returned to your solicitor. It will be necessary for you to attend your solicitor’s office to sign the contract in duplicate. One part is then returned to the purchaser’s solicitor who will then raise requisitions on the title, which must be responded to by the vendor’s solicitor.
This creates a binding agreement between you and the purchaser to complete the sale.
6. REQUISITIONS ON TITLE
The purchaser’s solicitors will draft the deed (which transfers the property into the purchaser’s name) and raises various questions on the title of the property, ownership of the property and other questions in relation to the property. Your solicitor will reply in writing to the purchaser’s solicitors to these series of questions, these are known as requisitions on title.
7. CLOSING
Once all queries raised and the requisitions have been satisfied and all matters are dealt with, a closing date and time is finalised to both parties. If you have a mortgage over your property your solicitor will request up to date figures on the amount required to redeem your mortgage. If the amount you owe on the mortgage is more than the sale price you will need to contact your solicitor before you sign contracts and the bank, to see what arrangements can be reached in relation to the balance due. You should be in contact with your bank.
Your solicitor will prepare a statement setting out a detail statement of accounts on completion of the sale of the property. This is sent to you in advance of the completion in order that you can deliver the balance of funds to your Solicitor.
Your solicitor will get all the documents for closing and if there is a mortgage, they will obtain redemption figures from the lending institution. It will also be necessary for you to attend the office prior to the closing to sign various closing documents that will be required.
8. CLOSING THE SALE AND HANDING OVER THE KEYS
The completion of your sale takes place in your solicitor’s offices. It is not necessary for you or the purchaser to attend at the closing. Your solicitor will finalise matters in relation to your sale on your behalf. At this stage, you will have to ensure that the property has been cleared of any contents, not including any contents which have been agreed to be left as part of the sale and included in the contract for sale. Once the purchaser’s solicitor is happy with all title documents, the purchaser’s solicitor will furnish the balance of the purchase price and Hogan Durkan on instruction, will release the keys of the property to the new owners.
What Our Clients Say
We are Pat & Cynthia Ryan and we've had the pleasure of both selling and buying a house through Hogan Durkan. As a couple who hasn't been involved in selling or buying a house in over twenty years, Pat made the whole experience a professional and positive one. They broke down the red tape, informed us of all aspects of the purchase and sale which enabled us to make the right decisions as we went through the process. I would personally like to thank Pat for having our best interests at heart and I would highly recommend Pat and his team at Hogan Durkan.
Pat went well above the call of duty during the difficult days of Covid lockdown to sell our property.
Honest, clear, straightforward and professional advice at all stages of the sale.
Many thanks for an excellent service.
- Pat & Cynthia RyanOur experience with Hogan Durkan was seamless. We wanted a reliable auctioneer who was capable of making an efficient sale. We needed someone with extensive experience — and that was Pat. Selling your house can seem daunting, but we were reassured by Pat’s comprehensive industry knowledge. He made us aware of the process every step of the way. He was professional yet empathetic, and completely understood our needs as sellers. The sale of our home was as stress-free as possible — Hogan Durkan handled every detail.
- MaresaI found Pat Durkan extremely professional, efficient, helpful and friendly, regarding the sale of my Uncle's house. He kept me informed every step of the way regarding potential buyers. Pat did an excellent job marketing the property and gave me very helpful advice re presentation of the house and garden prior to putting it on the market. His attention to detail on all aspects of the house sale was flawless.The house sold quickly and for more than the asking price which I firmly believe was in no small part due to the effort and hard work that Pat put in. I cannot speak highly enough of the service we received and have no hesitation in recommending Pat.
- Ethna LeonardI recently contacted Eoin to rent my property in Limerick City on a 'Let Only' basis. I was very happy with Eoin's attention to detail throughout the letting process. His professionalism was evident from our initial phone call to when the tenants moved in with clear lines of communication from start to finish. I am more than happy to recommend Eoin as a letting agent and look forward to working with him in the future.
- Patrick Jones, LandlordEoin Hogan rented a property for me in Crecora, Co Limerick. I found him very efficient and professional. I would recommend Hogan Durkan as an estate agent if you are looking to rent.
- Pat O'Neill, Landlord
