Coming from the perspective of a Bantry Estate Agent, and with the UK market in mind, it is an important factor in the home-purchasing mechanism to get yourself a good solicitor.

Unlike in the UK and certain other countries, you must carry out any buying or selling of property through the intermediary of a solicitor. There is quite a range of firms out there and it might seem initially daunting as to which one to choose.

Above all, one wants someone with good reputation, but one also wants someone who will act quickly and efficiently. From a purchaser or a buyer’s point of view, there can be few things more irritating than waiting for a sale to complete. The whole procedure can sometimes seem interminable and, from the layman’s point of view (and even, occasion, from the estate agent’s point of view), it is difficult to understand how the procedure takes so long; it all seems to be so simple and straightforward – why does it take a minimum of 5-6 weeks?

Well, it is a very important transaction, so everything has to checked and double-checked; this means that all significant communication must be made in writing so that there is always a paper trail and, of course, any questions must be responded to in writing.

So, who does one choose? First of all, I would say that it’s important that you get on well with your solicitor. You don’t have to go down to the pub for a few Guinnesses with him/ her (although that might not be a bad idea), but you do want to be in a position to be able to talk straight with them and get the same in return.

Efficiency is very important. You don’t someone who will leave a letter lying in the in-tray for several days without dealing with it. You want someone who is thorough and who is on top of his brief.

If you’re coming from the Uk, then you will find that, in general, Irish solicitors are slower and much better paid than their unfortunate British counterparts. As long as you’re prepared for this, then it shouldn’t be much of an annoyance and everything should run nice and smoothly and with the minimum of blood pressure.

Harringtons – Estate Agents Bantry – 027 51553
Specialising in West Cork Property in Bantry, Glengarriff, Beara, Sheeps Head and surrounding areas

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 22nd, 2006 at 3:31 pm and is filed under News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.