Buying or Selling Your Home?

Appoint your solicitor as soon as you start seriously viewing properties - ideally before you're sale agreed. This way, they can review the title documents and get your mortgage conditions checked without delay.

A booking deposit (typically €5,000–€10,000) is paid to the estate agent when your offer is accepted. It's fully refundable if the sale doesn't proceed before contracts are signed.

Residential stamp duty in Ireland is 1% on the first €1 million of the purchase price and 2% on the balance above €1m. First-time buyers purchasing a new home may be eligible for the Help to Buy scheme.

Your solicitor reviews the title to make sure the vendor legally owns the property, raises queries on any issues, orders property searches, reviews your mortgage conditions, and handles the transfer of funds on closing day.

The Property Registration Authority (PRA) is the state body responsible for registering land ownership in Ireland. After closing, your solicitor registers the title in your name with the PRA (or the Registry of Deeds for older unregistered land).