Moving House - Step by Step

Once you have made the decision to sell your home there are a few pointers that should be noted:

Step 1 - Applying online with The Mortgage Advice Store

Calculate the mortgage amount you require remembering to budget for any stamp duty, legal and estate agent fees.
Call us directly for any guidance you need or make an online mortgage enquiry with The Mortgage Advice Store.

When we receive your contact details we will call you to get more information and arrange to meet. We believe that good communication is the corner stone to identifying and addressing your mortgage needs.
In preparation we will ask you to assemble certain information and provide a detailed checklist to you.
We will outline the various mortgage options and suitable package available. We can deal with any queries you may have on your house purchase. In preparation we will ask you to assemble certain information and provide a detailed checklist to you.

Following our meeting we will present your application to the chosen lenders in order to obtain formal mortgage approval.
Once formally underwritten by the lender a Mortgage approval in principal issues usually takes about 13 working days (assuming all documentation is submitted).
A formal full loan offer letter issues when you identify a suitable property and after the mortgage valuation is carried out.

Speak with estate agents.
Ensure your chosen estate agent advertises your property online to reach the widest audience.
Negotiate a fee to sell - the normal fee is 1% to 1.5% plus vat and any outlays such as advertising, brochure printing and signage. Get a complete fee breakdown before agreeing the sale.
Agree a selling price with the estate agent. Your mortgage advisor should be completely independent of your estate agent.

The estate agent will begin preparing for the sale by printing brochures (you may want to proof read the text for this).
Pictures of the house will be taken so ‘stage your house’ to ensure your house appeals to the widest range of buyers.
When selling your home try to kept it in or as close to ‘show house’ condition. Viewing may come at short notice.
Your estate agent will receive any offers on your home and aims to achieve the best price possible.

When buying your new home have a look in your selected areas for a property you may wish to purchase, you can ask all local estate agents to put you on their property mailing list which are normally distributed monthly.
Keep in constant contact with the local estate agents to ensure they will have your contact details should an appropriate property come on the market or if a sale falls through.
Estate agents websites' are a good up-to-date source for homes in your chosen area. A useful nationwide site is both www.myhome.ie & www.daft.ie.

Select a solicitor - fees may vary. Recommended fees are 1% of the purchase price plus 23 % VAT ( April 2023).Outlays may vary and these include law searches, land registry fees & miscellaneous.
Mortgage Advice Store can provide you with a number of solicitors offering an excellent service a competitive rates for your house purchase conveyance.

Once the sale has been agreed your solicitor will receive a copy of the deposit confirmation and can then prepare a contract of sale - contracts are normally signed 4 weeks after the booking fee has been paid to your selling agent. You need to take your solicitor’s advice before signing a contract of sale on your own home. Have you found a suitable property to move to, have you secured prior mortgage approval and have you signed a contract on the sale of your existing home? What is the closing date? Does it suit you?
Once your solicitor can confirm that the ‘title deeds’ of the new property have no restrictive issues that may affect you in the future if you were to resell …(meaning that the title deeds are unencumbered and have unrestricted legal ownership that is free from doubt as to its validity); then contracts may be signed and 10% of the purchase price minus the amount paid for the booking fee is paid to your solicitor.

Here is a helpful count down to moving...

On the closing day ensure that your house is empty, clean and ready for the new owner.
Your solicitor will receive the balance of the purchase price from the purchaser’s solicitor. Keys are handed over to new owner. Your house is sold.
It’s time to move into your new home. The timing of this can be stressful and to ease the move it is best to organise professional movers. You can start packing and labelling boxes in advance leaving only the minimum for the moving date.
If you have children arrange for someone to mind them, this is not a job that can be controlled without your full attention.

Back to Moving House