Yor property questions answered

Yor property questions answered

We sold house - why should agent get fee?

Our house has been on the market for nearly a year with, we feel, little input from our estate agent. We think we may have found a buyer ourselves. If the sale goes through, do we have to pay the auctioneer his fee? He did not after all make us a sale.

There is no straight answer to this - and it's a subject that frustrates both agent and seller. How did you find your buyer? Did they see the (agent's) sign outside your house, and make contact? Or was it on the agent's website? Are they impressed by the new paint job you did on your house (on the advice of your agent?). We asked John Craddock, an agent working on Dublin's northside, who advises you to look at the written agreement between you and your agent to see if this particular eventuality is covered.

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Some agreements, he says, give the agent sole and exclusive selling rights for a limited or unlimited period. This has been interpreted by the courts to mean that the owner pays even if they sell it themselves. Ultimately, he cautions, the agent may decide to sue if he feels he is being unfairly treated. He suggests that you take the very sensible route of explaining to your agent how you got your buyer and how it did not involve him in any way and ask for a bill for expenses to date. If he did play a part, however small, then you should offer him a percentage of his fees and his costs in full and final settlement.

First-time buyer - the second time around

Is it possible for someone to become a first-time buyer again? For example, my accountant tells me that for tax purposes I need to keep seven years' records - so is there the same time-frame for the first-time buyer tax? In my situation, I co-owned a house here 10 years ago, moved abroad and am now back. Surely a financial transaction 10 years ago should have no bearing on my current status. I hope to buy an apartment when the first-time buyer rules are relaxed in the autumn.

Now that first-time buyers won't have to pay stamp duty, no matter what price the property has gotten, a lot of readers are exercised about the possibility of becoming "born again first-time buyers".

When you think about the money you could save, it's a tantalising prospect. Another case that landed in our mailbox this week was of a young woman who bought an apartment in Poland three years ago - just, as she says, to be a property owner - but now hopes to buy here with her new partner.

The Revenue's rules are very clear on this. You cannot be considered a first-time buyer if you have owned, either individually or jointly - including purchased or built - a residential property either here or abroad.

So in the autumn if that pre-election promise holds up, you will not be a first-time buyer, despite the 10-year gap, nor will the Polish landlady.

There is some provision for divorced people to revert to first-time buyer status but that's another day's work.

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or email propertyquestions@irish-times.ie. Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.