Are you thinking of buying or selling assets in 2021?

The Irish Farmers Journal speaks to Gorey auctioneer Jim Kinsella of Sherry Fitzgerald O’Leary Kinsella about the property market going into 2021.

Tips for rural house buyers

“The first thing people need to do is to sort out their funding. There is no point in people wanting to look at properties and book viewings if they haven’t got mortgage approval and proof of funds.

“Another important thing you need to do is to decide on the location.

“You can buy a house that may not 100% suit you, but you can change it over time - what you can’t do is change the location of a property.”

Pick a location and search within your budget

“I would advise potential buyers to pinpoint their search. Don't be looking in Longford, Mayo, Wexford and Kerry; you need to decide where they are looking for a property and what suits them.

“Then hone in on an area, check out the broadband, it is an issue for life now so it’s an important thing.

“Then obviously to be looking within their budget, sort out where their budget is and concentrate their search within that bracket.”

Conduct a virtual viewing

“If a potential buyer likes a property, I would advise them to do a virtual viewing first and then conduct a physical viewing.

“Obviously, if they like a property and want to offer on it, they can buy a property subject to a survey, and that is standard enough, sellers will expect them to get a survey done as well, in most cases their mortgage approval will require a survey to be done.”

Help to Buy Scheme

“The Help to Buy Scheme is a Government scheme.

“You need to be, or have been, a tax payer. It is like getting some tax back that you have paid in the last four years.

“People can avail of that up to €30,000 and it has also increased, which is really good.

“Potential buyers can apply through Revenue and getting the approval from Revenue is really clean, simple and straightforward, and it’s all done online.

“If they are interested in a new property, they just need to check that the builder of the new property is also registered for the scheme - not all builders are registered.”

Selling a property

“The first thing sellers need to do, and now is a great time to do it actually, is to research their paper work.

“They need to contact their solicitor, ask them what they need in order for them to sell their property.

“Too many times, people put their property on the market, secure a buyer and realise there is an issue - for example, something could be wrong in the land registry.

“It could take a couple of months sometimes to get an issue resolved, and you could lose your buyer in the meantime.

“So now is a great time to check out your title and paperwork; sellers want to be able to put forward a marketable contract to a buyer.

“Presentation of a property is paramount. It doesn’t matter what you are selling, presentation is most important.

“There is no doubt that a property that is well presented will bring a better price on the market."

Buying a site and building

“The most of Wexford, along with other areas across the country, has been designated as an area under high urban influence.

“Basically, planners don’t want once-off properties to be built in the countryside anymore, so they have what you call local need restrictions, which apply to most part of the country.”

Local needs restrictions

“What that means is two things - ‘local’, so you need to be from the area and within a few kilometres of the site which you are interested in.

“If you have no connection to the area, or no address in the area, you will not be granted planning permission.

“The other thing is the ‘need’. If you already live in a property that you own, as far as the planners are concerned your housing needs have been met, and you don’t need a house.

“So you have to demonstrate to them you need to live on that site, and if you cannot demonstrate that, then you will not get planning permission in a designated area.

“If you are within a village setting or if you can buy an older property that needs refurbishment, local needs doesn’t apply.

“In general, if you buy a semi-derelict property, the planners will like to see that property brought back into the use it was built for.

“It will also exempt you from the local need criteria. That is the only alternative to local need criteria.”

Tips for selling agricultural land

“First thing again, get the legal work in order. Contact your solicitor and make sure the title is saleable.

“In a lot of cases, particularly with land and farms, there may be issues with paperwork.

“Presentation is everything. If the gates can be hanging and the ditches trimmed, if there is a field that needs reseeding or a drain needing to be cleaned out, get it done.

“Land prices are very strong in Wexford at the moment and anything that has been sold in the last few months has been met by huge demand.

“A lot of farm buyers will like to have the property in their name in time for the single farm payment, so the beginning or end of the year is a good time to be selling.”

Who is buying the land?

“Wexford land has been bringing upward of €15,000/ac. Good-quality grassland or tillage is getting €15,000/ac-plus.

“If you have strong contenders, the sale will go well. We have seen lately there is additional demand for land from non-farming interests, which is frustrating from a farming point of view, but from a seller’s point of view, it is very positive.

“We are finding that some of the financial institutions are indicating that they are going to apply charges to people for holding their money.

“Wealthy individuals who have money in the bank, it is perceived that banks are going to charge them for holding their money, rather than giving them interest.

“I think that is the ticking point with a lot of people and they are looking at land for being a store of wealth of value. I think this is a factor we will see more and more.”

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