Property Purchases and Sales | Terry Gorry & Co. Solicitors

How to Negotiate Successfully-10 Tips for Effective Negotiations

Many people do not like to negotiate or haggle. But it is essential in our daily lives and we are regularly forced to negotiate whether we like it or not.

It may be with a loved one, with a child, with a service worker at an airline desk, with a receptionist in a hotel, with a Judge or member of an Garda Siochána, with a referee on a sports pitch, with an adjudicator at a WRC hearing, or when you are buying something like a car or a house or business.

If you accept this, you might as well learn how to do it successfully and for the best possible outcome.

I have negotiated to buy and sell property for over 30 years and I have learned, through practice and research, some useful tactics to the best results.

Let’s look at what I have learned, shall we, in the context of buying a house?

1. Listen carefully and aggressively to the other side

You need to listen very carefully to what the other side is saying because you will usually pick up some vital clue as to the other party’s real position-their real position as opposed to what the auctioneer says is the reason for sale. You may not meet the vendors themselves but if you do it is a good opportunity to pick up some vital clues about the property and the motivation for sale.

You need to practice the same aggressive listening skills when speaking with the auctioneer and the staff working in his/her office. It is amazing what you might hear in an unguarded moment when you speak with a busy receptionist or support staff.

You may not hear anything but keep in mind you have two ears and one mouth for a reason.

2. Adopt a friendly/playful voice

The tone of your voice and your general demeanour are factors in how the other side will react to you and your position. A friendly, non-threatening voice is the one I have found most helpful.

3. Tactical empathy

Showing empathy for the other party’s position is valuable and is only possible when you follow the advice in number 1 above: listen carefully to the other side.

4. Be prepared to walk away

No deal is better than a bad deal and you do need to be prepared to walk away. Splitting the difference is a lazy, misguided way of negotiating.

5. Getting to ‘no’

Forget about getting to ‘yes’ because you can very easily get to a false ‘yes’ which will not be delivered upon; you are better off getting to ‘no’ from the other side as you will have a better idea of their true position.

6. Deadlines can be an ally

You can make time your ally by recognising that even if a deadline is missed a new one can easily be introduced. Don’t rush into a bad decision, though, just to meet a deadline-let the other side worry about the deadline.

7. Stay calm

Keep your emotions in check, adopt the approach that ‘it’s just business’ and there is no need to lose the head or get carried away.

8. Most important word in negotiations

The most important word in negotiations is ‘fair’. If you tell the other side you only want what’s fair or want a fair deal you are more likely to get a deal.

9. Don’t ask ‘why’

Ask how or what questions, not ‘why’ questions. For example, ‘how am I supposed to do that?’, ‘how am I supposed to pay that much?’ Such ‘how’ questions will encourage the other party to bid against themselves and try to find a solution to your problem.

10. Arrive at a precise, specific final offer

Make whatever offer you like-something between 60% and 80% of what you are eventually prepared to pay-and increase this by reducing increments to arrive at a final specific, odd number-never an even number.

This gives the other party the impression that this is your true final offer and you have thrown everything at it to do a deal. Offer an even figure and the other party will not accept you are at your limit.

Conclusion

Negotiation is not an art that you cannot learn, or which is only something that you can do naturally and you are a born haggler. Far from it. There is a science to negotiating, too, and following the 10 tips above will help you getter better deals. Over time you will get better and better at it.

Good luck!

Vat on Property in Ireland-the Essentials

Vat on property is something that is easy to overlook if you are buying commercial property. It may also apply to residential property, depending on the circumstances, so you need to be careful and obtain expert tax advice if there is any doubt in your mind.

The current situation with regard to VAT and property is the regime in place since 2008.

Since then most property transactions are exempt but there are important exceptions where the option to tax the supply of the property is exercised in certain situations.

When we refer to ‘property’, remember, we are also referring to leasehold property in addition to freehold interests.

Commercial property, new buildings

Vat is chargeable at 13.5% on a new building. A ‘new building’ is

The first supply of a completed property within 5 years of completion
The second and subsequent supply of a property, if the supply is made within five years of completion, and the building has been occupied for less than two years.

Commercial property, second hand buildings

Properties developed after 1st July, 2008 are exempt but the vendor and purchaser can jointly opt to tax.

If this option is not exercised the vendor/developer will face a clawback of a proportion of the vat which he has already reclaimed from Revenue on the acquisition or redevelopment of the property. This clawback will be calculated on the vat life of the property.

Leasehold property

After 1st July, 2008 all lettings are exempt from vat.

The landlord can, however, elect to tax and charge vat on the rent at 21%. If he does not opt to tax he will face a clawback based on the vat he has already claimed on the development and/or acquisition of the property.

This option to tax does not arise if the landlord himself or a person connected to him occupies the building.

Assignments of leases

The assignment of surrender of a long lease will be chargeable to vat if the tenant who is the assignor was entitled to reclaim vat on acquiring the original lease or the development of the property.

Residential property

The first supply of new residential property is liable to vat.

Valuable resource

This page from the Revenue Commissioners is worth reading closely if you are concerned about vat on property. You are strongly advised to obtain tax advice from an accountant or tax consultant if you suspect that the vat position is not clear in either your supply or purchase of property.

The Formation of the Contract in Purchase or Sale of a Property

In order for any contract to be enforceable you need 5 things:

The parties must have the legal capacity to enter into a contract
They must intend creating legal relations
The contractual terms must be certain
There must be offer and acceptance
There must be consideration.

For the sale of land or real property it was the case that a written note or memorandum was made which was signed by the person to be charged with the contract. Although this requirement was relaxed by reason of the equitable doctrine of part performance.

Doctrine of part performance

This doctrine held that an oral contract for the sale of land, where no note or memorandum existed, could be enforced by the party seeking to enforce the contract has partly performed his actions under the contract and the other party has acquiesced in those acts of part performance.

Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009

This Act changed the law by repealing the old Statute of Frauds (Ireland) Act, 1695 as follows:

Section 51.— (1) Subject to subsection (2), no action shall be brought to enforce any contract for the sale or other disposition of land unless the agreement on which such action is brought, or some memorandum or note of it, is in writing and signed by the person against whom the action is brought or that person’s authorised agent.

[SF 1695, s. 2]

(2) Subsection (1) does not affect the law relating to part performance or other equitable doctrines.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, but subject to an express provision in the contract to the contrary, payment of a deposit in money or money’s worth is not necessary for an enforceable contract.

Memorandum/Note of Agreement

The following matters should be included in the memorandum

The parties
The property
The consideration
Any other provisions agreed between the parties

Where the conditions of common law and the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 are satisfied an enforceable contract for the sale of land (real property) comes into being. This type of contract is known as an ‘open contract’ because all the terms of the contract are not set out in the memorandum.

Closed contract

A closed contract, by contrast, is one in which the parties set out all the terms of the agreement in a formal agreement. It is the practice in Ireland that the standard form Contract for Sale produced by the Law Society of Ireland is used.

You can learn more about the standard form contract for sale here. This is the contract that will be used in property transactions in Ireland.

Buying Property? Why You Need to Know About Certificate of Title

Are you thinking about buying a residential property? Or a commercial property?

If you are you should know about the Certificate of Title system in conveyancing in Ireland.

Let’s take a look at how it works, shall we, and what it might mean for you as a purchaser?

Good marketable title

If you are not a cash buyer and you are borrowing from a bank your solicitor will have to give the bank a ‘solicitor’s undertaking’. This is an undertaking to obtain good marketable title to the property.

Once good marketable title is obtained the sale will complete and the solicitor will send in the title documents to the lender. The solicitor will then give a Certificate of Title and the bank will rely on this rather than the solicitor’s undertaking and the lender will hold onto the documents of title.

Once the bank’s mortgage is secured on the property and good marketable title has been obtained then the bank will be able to move on the property if there is a default on the loan.

It is a rare enough occurrence in Ireland, quite frankly, but when the bank does repossess a property they want to know they can sell it without any major title problems.

And they will already have the solicitor’s certificate, which certifies title, and on which they will rely.

If any problems then arise in relation to the sale of the secured property the solicitor who certified titled will have a major problem as the bank will be able to pursue him/her for professional negligence if he failed to notice a major title defect with the property.

How does this affect you?

You may be happy to proceed with the purchase of a property but your solicitor may not if there is a problem which will affect his ability to give an undertaking to obtain good marketable title and to certify title later on.

Problems which would concern a solicitor would be issues such as easements, rights of way, planning permission issues, building regulation problems, septic tanks on someone else’s property, no certificate of compliance from an architect/engineer, and so forth.

Minor issues which might be flagged up in a structural survey may not cause much concern, but the issues would need to be genuinely minor.

Qualification on title

If any of these serious issues arise the solicitor will write to the lender and state that he proposes qualifying his undertaking and certificate of title due to the problem he has encountered and he will ask the bank to accept this qualification and confirm its approval.

The lender may approve or may not agree. If the lender does not agree then the purchase cannot proceed.

The key point to understand is that if you are buying property and there is a lender involved and there is a problem with the title documents to the property the decision to proceed is not yours alone.

Because the solicitor will also be putting his professional indemnity insurance on the line and will naturally wish to have a say.

Without your solicitor giving an undertaking to the lender in the first place and later providing a certificate of title the lender will not advance your loan for completion.

Buying Property in Ireland from Abroad-What You Need to Know

Thinking about buying property in Ireland? You are living outside Ireland? Or you are not an Irish citizen?

Firstly, the good news is that there is no restrictions on non Irish citizens buying property in Ireland; and this applies whether you are an EU national or a non-EU national.

The bad news, however, is that ownership of property does not entitle you to reside in Ireland. The whole area of visas, residency, immigration, work permits, asylum is a complex one and you will find more information about these topics on the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service website.

If you intend letting the property, and there is a very healthy residential letting market in Ireland in 2018, the tenant is obliged to withhold 20% of the annual rent and pay it over to the Irish tax authorities, the Revenue Commissioners, unless you have appointed a collection agent. The collection agent-someone like an accountant, solicitor, or estate agent-will be liable for making the tax returns on the rental income but you will have been obliged to register with the Revenue Commissioners for tax purposes prior to purchase anyway.

Property taxes

On purchasing a residential or commercial property in Ireland you will have to pay stamp duty. This is currently 1% on residential properties and 6% on commercial properties and for your solicitor to do your stamp duty return he will need a PPS or tax number for you. If you are non resident and have never had a PPS or tax number you will need to apply for one from the Department of Social Protection. You can learn more about applying for a PPS number here.

Once you buy your property you will have Local Property Tax (LPT) to pay; the amount will depend on the value of the property. You can learn more about local property tax here.

If you buy a commercial property you pay commercial rates to the local authority instead of LPT.

Buying a property in Ireland-some practical steps

One of the first things you will need to consider is instructing a solicitor to act on your behalf. Your solicitor will be able to explain how the conveyancing process works in Ireland, the various steps in a conveyance, the legal difference between a booking deposit and contract deposit, and the legal costs and outlays you will encounter.

You will also be advised to engage the services of a structural surveyor to check the structural integrity of the property, check for signs of pyrite, and check the boundaries on the ground as compared to the Property Registration Authority folio map/filed plan.

You should be aware, too, of the differences between buying a house as opposed to an apartment; the most important one will be that a management company will need to be in place to manage the common areas in a multi unit development such as an apartment development.

Property purchase costs and outlays

When budgeting for your purchase you need to account for:

Professional legal fee
Value added tax on the legal fee
Property registration authority registration fees
Structural survey
Legal searches to be carried out on closing day to ensure there are no judgments or other unexpected burdens registered on the folio
Commissioner for Oaths fees
Stamp duty on purchase price

Conclusion

There is no difficulty buying property in Ireland but you will need to obtain a PPS/tax number from the Revenue Commissioners and engage the services of a solicitor early in your search.

Make sure you are dealing with a registered auctioneer/estate agent and that he/she is registered with one of the accredited auctioneering bodies in Ireland and he/she is registered with the Property Services Regulatory Authority.

Good luck!