Irish Property Purchase - An Overview

Dublin being Irelands capital is obviously popular and more expensive than the countryside for real estate. Southern and western coasts of Cork, Waterford and Kerry are popular for foreign buyers with convenience to the airports. Language is mostly English speaking with Gaelic still one of two official languages. Ireland is also popular for holiday homes.

Living Costs in Ireland

The cost of living is high in Ireland, particularly in relation to salaries, which can be relatively low in rural communities. Luxury goods are also at a premium. However, the standard of living is high. It is becoming increasingly popular for Britons to retire to Ireland and take advantage of high pensioner benefits like travel and free television licenses.

A deposit, usually 10%, is paid to the vendors solicitor at the time of exchanging contracts which binds you to completing the purchase. Property is mostly freehold with some leasehold for apartments. You will ordinarily make an offer to buy subject to survey and contracts.

Solicitor / Lawyer

You will need to hire a solicitor/lawyer or conveyancer to handle the sale agreements and contracts with the fee normally agreed in advance, discounted sometimes for sale and buying contracts.

Fees

The fees for buying a property in Ireland will normally total between 6-10% of the buying price. Your legal fees should not be more than about 2% of the purchase price which will include VAT (Value Added Tax) at 21%, with small fees for the land registry which are around two hundred Irish pounds. New properties will also incur VAT. Stamp duty is charged for buyers who have bought before or buy a previously owned property. This will be scaled against the purchase price, at the most 9%.

Property Tax

Annual tax of around IR£50 for use of local services.

Mortgages

Mortgages are available from Irish banks. The maximum loan is usually up to 90% of the property value, payable over 15-30 years. A small stamp duty of 0.1% is charged on mortgages above IR£20,000.