STEP 1: (If you need a mortgage)

Gather all the paperwork required by bank, if you are PAYE employee, you will typically need to provide:

Your most recent P60
Your last three months’ payslips
The last six months bank account statements

If you are self-employed:
Your last two years’ certified/audited accounts
The last six months business bank account statements

You will also need a deposit of 10% at least of the purchase price if you are a first-time buyer and at least 20% if you are second time buyer.

Talk to a mortgage broker or your bank. See what’s on offer in terms of mortgage lending. Mortgage brokers will go to a number of financial institutions for you, ask the questions of various lenders, come back to you with mortgage solutions and talk you through your options and advise on the mortgage they believe is best for you.
Remember that a mortgage broker or indeed the bank do not make any money until you draw down the mortgage, so it is in their interest to work hard for you.

STEP 2:

Once you know what you can comfortably afford, make a short list and take into account:

• Location and proximity to schools, work and local amenities
• Number of bedrooms you will require
• Size of house and garden you require
• Price
• New or second-hand property
• Amount of redecorating the house will require

STEP 3:

Before beginning your property hunt some First Time Buyers fail to take into account the costs associated with buying your first home. This will also determine how much you can afford.

• Legal Fees

  When purchasing your first home it is necessary to appoint a solicitor to act for you in the purchase of your property. There is no set professional fee and it would be worthwhile to consult your solicitor to get an indication of their costs.On top of legal fees for your solicitor’s time, you need to be aware of the other following costs:Your solicitor will have to register your property under your name in the Land Registry.Depending on the price of your home, this can cost from €400 to €800 and will have to be paid by you.If your home has not yet been registered in the Land Registry, your solicitor will be required by law to make a special application for “first registration” for you.There’ll also be a mortgage fee to register your bank’s interest in the property, which currently costs €175. If you are a cash buyer, then this fee won’t apply.Your solicitor will also carry out a number of searches to ensure your property is good to buy.A judgement search must also be carried out. If any previous owner had an unpaid debt that was registered as a “judgement mortgage” against the property, you’d become liable for the debt once ownership was transferred to you.Following on from this a bankruptcy search will also be carried out as if someone has been declared bankrupt then the property would no longer be theirs to sell, meaning you could end up buying a property that does not belong to you.These searches can cost up to €200 and will also need to be paid by you.

• Stamp Duty

  Stamp duty is a tax, which the Government levy on the purchase of second-hand property. The current fee is 1% of the purchase price up to 1 million euro.

• Mortgage Protection/Life Cover

  As a rule of thumb, life cover and mortgage protection cover get more expensive as you get older. It is good advice to investigate all your options.

• Home Insurance

  Insuring the large investment, you have made in your new home is essential. Your financial institution will also insist that your home is covered.

  The local property tax, this is a self-assessed tax paid annually to Revenue and is currently based on the market value of your home as of 1 May 2013.

You will also need to consider such sundry costs as:

• Removal Expenses
• Furniture
• Painting and Decorating
• Gas, Electricity, Phone & Television Fees
• Engineer’s Survey Fee

STEP 4:

Make an offer, if it is a resale home you will need to make an offer on the property. As you will be competing with other buyers, your offer may be accepted or declined. If your offer is declined, our property team can advise you what your next step should be.

STEP 5:

• Completing your mortgage application

  You have found your first home. It’s in a perfect location and suits your exact criteria. Now all that needs to be dealt with is finalising your mortgage application.

  You should contact your mortgage advisor and give the address and purchase price. Your advisor will then arrange for the house to be valued. Once the valuation is carried out, both you and your solicitor will receive a detailed mortgage offer with a list of conditions.

  You and your solicitor will review the Letter of Offer and then simply sign it and return it to your broker/mortgage advisor.

  Your lender will want to be sure that you’re paying a fair price for your new home, so they’ll also request a valuer’s report.

  Your lender will usually have their own list of valuers who they’ll use for this purpose, but you’ll still have to pay for the report yourself. You can expect to pay around €150.

STEP 6:

• Exchanging of Contracts

  Once the seller has accepted your offer it is necessary for both your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor to exchange contracts. When the contracts have been agreed you should sign it with your solicitor. Your solicitor in turn returns the signed document to the vendor’s solicitor and informs you of the timeframe involved.

  Remember: You must have your mortgage approval in place before you can sign contract.

STEP 7:

Some people have described moving home as one of the most stressful things you will ever do. However, with a small amount of planning and preparation you can reduce any potential stress.

Some tips to make the move easier:

• Notify the ESB to arrange final meter reading to close your account and to open a new account at your new address. (ESB 1850 372 372)
• Contact your telephone provider to request a line in your new home.
• To ensure your receive your post it is advisable to contact An Post, to arrange for your post to be redirected.
• If you are renting give your landlord, the appropriate level of notice.
• Collect some large boxes, label the contents and purchase some bubble wrap to protect fragile items.

STEP 8:

• You are now a Homeowner

  The final step is for your solicitor to arrange completion; this is where your solicitor arranges the balance of the money owed to the seller to be paid from your mortgage cheque.

  Once this is done you simply have to arrange time to collect your keys from the estate agent.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

You are now a New Homeowner.