Private treaty, open viewings? We are putting our house in Dublin up for sale by private treaty this month. The agent, whom we chose back in June (and who, incidentally, originally recommended auction) now says that the best thing to do is have open viewings on Saturdays.
We are not in favour of open viewings and in fact chose to sell by private treaty to avoid open viewings. We are very disappointed with this new turn of events and want your opinion on it.
Open viewings for private treaty sales are a relatively new thing and agents usually only recommend them at a particularly busy time of year. Without knowing the exact details, this column's guess is that your agent has looked around at what is currently on the market. The thinking is that buyers in your price category in your area have so much choice, they're likely to be trawling around in your general area on a Saturday with a lot of viewings to squeeze in. For some buyers, the amount of choice out there means that actually making an appointment with an agent for a first viewing is simply too much hassle.
You say you chose private treaty - did you get advice from three agents as is recommended, and did each of them recommend auction? If so, you really should re-consider your option of private treaty. At some point you have to accept that the agents are professionals who know the market and that you are paying them rather a lot of money to sell your house so you really should take their advice.
What is it about open viewings that put you off? Do you have a lot of valuables that you are worried about? This is a justifiable fear but anyone selling their home would be advised to remove anything that's valuable and handbag-sized before any viewing - everything from small silver picture frames to full bottles of Jo Malone perfume. Are you famous? A house visited last year by this column was owned by a high profile film producer who simply didn't want all and sundry poking around his home. Or do you simply not want a whole crowd of rubberneckers wandering through your home? If it's as simple as that then you need to get over it. Once that "For Sale" sign goes up you have to begin the emotional process of distancing yourself from your house - to no longer see it as a much-loved family home instead, to see it as just another house on the market, one that you are prepared to do all that you can to get the best price for.
Stamp duty and family home
My parents are downsizing and selling the family home to me. I am not a first-time buyer but I understand that there is some leeway as regards stamp duty when the sale is between parents and their children?
You don't say what the value of the house is so we can't tell you exaclty how much stamp duty you will have to pay, but the rule is that stamp duty is payable at half the normal rate applicable if there is a transfer of property (other than shares) to certain relatives (eg, a parent, grandparent, step-parent, child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew). This relief is not available on leases or on transactions involving cousins and/or in-laws. The Government's information website www.oasis.gov.ie has an exellent section on all aspects of Stamp Duty and is well worth a look.
Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail 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.
