The commonest complaint in conveyancing is that nothing seems to be moving. The explanation is that the substantive work is entirely invisible from outside — it produces no viewings, no phone calls and no visible milestones until suddenly contracts are ready to exchange.
The Four Things Happening
Investigating title. Establishing that the seller owns what they are purporting to sell, on what terms, and whether anything is registered against it — a mortgage, a judgment, a right of way, a right of residence. On unregistered title this means tracing a chain of deeds rather than reading a folio, and it is considerably more forensic. Raising requisitions. A standard set of formal questions the seller must answer, covering ownership, boundaries, planning, services, taxes, disputes and occupancy — and the answers become part of the contractual position. This is where an unprepared seller loses weeks. Searches, made against the property and the parties to confirm nothing has been registered that would affect what you are buying, and updated on the day of closing. Planning compliance, checking that anything built or altered was permitted or exempt and complies with building regulations — which is the commonest cause of delay in the country.
And, in Parallel, the Lender
Where there is a mortgage, your solicitor is also acting for your lender — standard practice in Ireland rather than a conflict — satisfying its conditions and preparing to give it a personal undertaking about the title and its security. That undertaking is enforceable against the solicitor personally, which is the real answer to why certain documents cannot simply be waived when everyone is anxious to close. Much of all this depends on other people: the solicitor on the other side, a lender, a local authority, a managing agent, an engineer who did work fifteen years ago and may no longer be practising. That is genuinely why it takes weeks. What is not acceptable is being told nothing. Silence is not the same as progress, and a reasonable expectation at any point is to know what is outstanding and who is being waited on — a question any solicitor should answer in a sentence. If that answer is not forthcoming, that itself is information.
What you can do: answer your own solicitor quickly. A question sitting unanswered in your inbox for five days is five days of the transaction gone, and it is the one delay entirely within your control.
Not sure what stage you are at? The stage check, or 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.