If you want things to go smoothly when you sell, now is the time to sort out any possible legal issues with your property

Given that the property market is still eerily quiet, this is a good time for people with houses and apartments they may wish to sell in the future to plan ahead and have any legal problems that could be concealed in the undergrowth checked and sorted.

What are these hidden problems that can and do cause huge delays when it comes to selling? And what can people do about them now?

Purchaser delays in signing contracts, and then further delays in completing the sale, can cause serious problems for vendors. They can cause untold stress. Surprisingly, many of the issues which delay, and even jeopardise, sales are the vendors’ own fault. So how do you avoid them and plan for a straightforward sale?

The first unnecessary delay is when the vendor only informs a solicitor of his or her intention to sell after the property has gone “sale agreed”. Most properties have mortgage loans so the deeds of title are with the banks. It can take banks three weeks and more to retrieve them from their archives. Inform your solicitor immediately when the property is put on the market.

Secondly, instruct your solicitor to immediately carefully check all aspects of the title and to have draft contracts on file awaiting the appearance of a buyer. All titles will be carefully examined by the purchaser’s solicitor anyway so better to ensure now that there are no stumbling blocks that will cause delays later.

Like hip operations, conveyancing has entered the public mind as simple and mechanical. And like hip replacements, it is anything but simple when done properly. Purchasers’ banks do not pay any fees whatsoever to the purchasers’ solicitors but they still make huge legal demands. A wise vendor will engage a good solicitor who will ensure that demands of banks that are legitimate can be answered immediately.

So what are the “legal problems” that people so often say are causing delays in closing and can they not be sorted in good time? There are countless causes of delays. The vast majority can be avoided.

When selling, always give your solicitor the full truth. If there is a dispute with a neighbour on any aspect of the property, do not conceal it. It must be declared. In common sense, it should also be disclosed to the estate agent and addressed prior to any agreement to buy.

Also, remember that searches in public records against sellers are always ordered by the buyer’s solicitor on completion day. These are searches against both the vendors and the property itself to identify anything that might compromise the purchaser’s clear title. Any undisclosed issues, such as debts owing by the vendors, will surface and will delay the closing, often with serious embarrassment. If there are any issues, tell your solicitor at the beginning.

Uncertainties about boundaries with neighbours’ properties are another cause of unnecessary delays that are best sorted at the outset. Vendors often do not want to risk clarity and prefer to leave possible uncertainties with the neighbours well enough alone.

But fudge is just not an option when you are selling.

Incredibly, sometimes vendors seem to be unaware of rights of way over their property. This usually applies to non-urban properties or houses on large tracts of land. So, clarify at the outset whether there is any right of way, how it was established and when it was last used.

Also, the neighbour might have an old septic tank at the bottom of your garden where the purchaser plans to build a shed or maybe a right to enter onto your grounds to paint the side of their house. Have the answers ready before the questions are asked.

Finally, there are the many apartment developments that have sprung up over the past 10 years and which can have their own, additional problems. Some management companies have been struck-off. The annual management charges and sinking funds must be regularised, especially after April 1st, when new apartment legislation comes into effect. Otherwise, no sale. Why wait to put them in order?

Acting early reduces the risks of unnecessary delays and urgent last-minute phone calls to the removal vans to put off the move.

Pat Igoe is a solicitor in Blackrock, Co Dublin