Searches are among the least visible parts of a conveyance and among the most important. They exist to confirm one thing: that nothing has been registered which would affect what you are about to buy — as at the moment you actually take title.
What Is Searched, and Against Whom
Searches run in two directions. Against the property — establishing what is registered on the folio or in the Registry of Deeds, including any charge, burden, right of way or dealing that has been lodged, and confirming that the position matches what the contract and the title documents represent. Against the parties — because a judgment registered against a seller, or a bankruptcy, can affect their ability to give good title, and a buyer taking a property subject to something registered against a previous owner has a genuine problem. Planning searches deal with the position at the local authority. The results are read against everything else on the file: the contract, the requisition replies, the folio and the planning documentation. A search revealing something unexpected is exactly what the exercise is for.
Why They Are Updated on the Day
Because their entire value lies in being current. A search carried out three weeks before closing tells you the position three weeks before closing, and things can be lodged in the meantime — which is why searches are brought up to date on the day of completion itself. This is one of several reasons a closing date cannot be treated as absolutely fixed until everything has actually been checked, and why closings sometimes happen later in the day than everyone hoped. If a search discloses something adverse, the transaction stops until it is explained or cleared. Common outcomes: a charge that was supposed to have been redeemed and released but never was; a judgment against a party; a dealing lodged by somebody else on the folio; or a discrepancy between the folio and what the contract describes. Most are resolvable, some quickly and some not, but none can simply be ignored — and where there is a mortgage, your solicitor’s undertaking to the lender makes ignoring it impossible in any event.
For sellers: if you have ever had a judgment registered against you, or a mortgage you believe was redeemed years ago, say so at the outset. It is far better dealt with in week one than discovered on the morning of closing with a removal van outside.
Something turned up on a search? 01 5827148.
Richard O’Shea — Solicitor & TEP
Solicitor at Mary Molloy Solicitors, established 1981, with an office at 2 Rose Inn Street in Kilkenny city centre and a second office in Dublin. The firm handles residential and rural conveyancing across Kilkenny and the south-east — buying, selling, sites and farmland, family transfers, remortgages and transfers of equity. Richard is a TEP of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, which matters more in conveyancing than people expect: a great many property transactions in Kilkenny arise out of an estate, a family transfer or a succession plan, and those need both sides handled together. Nothing here is tax advice — stamp duty and any gift or inheritance tax questions belong with your accountant and Revenue. 01 5827148 · richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · LinkedIn
General information, not legal advice. This website contains general information about conveyancing and property law in Ireland. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor—client relationship. Every transaction turns on its own facts — the title, the planning position, the lender’s requirements and the contract — and advice on yours requires a consultation.
Nothing here is tax advice. Stamp duty, Local Property Tax, capital gains on a sale, and any gift or inheritance tax arising on a family transfer are matters for your accountant or tax adviser and for Revenue’s own guidance. This firm does not advise on tax and states no rate, threshold, relief or condition anywhere on this site. Where a scheme such as Help to Buy or the First Home Scheme is mentioned, the eligibility rules and limits are set by Revenue and the scheme administrators and change from time to time — confirm the current position directly with them.
No valuation, survey or financial advice. This firm does not value property, does not advise on price, and is not a surveyor, engineer or mortgage adviser. A solicitor’s investigation of title is not a structural survey and is not a substitute for one, and no legal work will tell you whether a property is sound or whether the price is right.
Never both sides of the same transaction. The firm acts for buyers and, in separate transactions, for sellers — but not for both parties to the same sale. Conflicts are checked before any substantive discussion, which is why the first contact should identify the property and every party involved.
No timeline is promised. Nothing on this site states or implies that a transaction will close by any particular date. Closing depends on matters outside any solicitor’s control, including the other side, the lender, the chain, and third parties such as local authorities and Tailte Éireann.
Fees. Fees and outlays are agreed in writing with the client at the outset, in accordance with the Legal Services Regulation Act. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.