The irish Times answers your property questions
How much tax owed on multiple units?
Q I live in a large house which some years ago I divided into four apartments. I live in one apartment and rent out the other three. What is my position regarding the €200 tax?
AMultiple units do seem to be causing some confusion when it comes to the new non-principal private residence (NPPR) tax if our postbox is anything to go by. We got onto the Department of the Environment for a definitive answer. Its response was that yes, you do have to pay for each of the apartments that are rented out. You can pay the €600 you owe by logging onto the nppr.ie site. You don't obviously pay for the fourth apartment as it is your permanent principal private residence and as such is exempt. Old-style landlords who own period houses divided into many, many bedsits are feeling particularly aggrieved – and out of pocket. The official deadline for payment was yesterday, but don't worry, the heavy fines for late payment (€20 per month) don't kick in until October 31st.
Who will snag if I buy house from receiver?
Q As first-time buyers, we know the rise in receivership sales at knockdown prices is good news for us and we have been keeping a keen eye out for new ones coming on the market. But let’s say we buy a new house from the receiver – who does the snag list? Presumably the builder is out of the picture, so are we taking a chance that we will end up with an unfinished house? Also, if (as was the case in one place we looked at) only the first phase was complete, what’s going to happen to the piece of land/building site where the second phase was going to be?
AReceivership sales on this scale are a whole new area for estate agents and all will agree it is new territory with no clear "rules". We have come across one sale of several houses where the receiver has a list of tradesmen who worked on the development and who will come back and snag the property. That's part of the deal and it's pretty much an ideal scenario. In other cases, the properties are being bought "as seen" so if you buy, you will have to sort out finishing the houses for yourselves. It depends on what you have the stomach for, but you must hammer out the details in writing – i.e., what is included in the sale and what isn't – with the agent/receiver before you buy so that you are very clear what you are getting yourself into.
As for a development where only one phase is complete leaving a large adjacent building site – there, you are taking your chances. It’s most likely that the receiver will seek to sell off the unbuilt-on land, but you have no guarantee what will be built and just as crucially, when, as a new owner will most likely have his own idea what to build on the site. For example, we have come across one development where phase two will most likely not now be an apartment block to match the apartments in phase one but will, in all likelihood, be a small development of two-storey houses.
Your questions
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. This column is a readers’ service and is not intended to replace professional advice.
