Updated Office Hours

We have updated our opening hours.

We are now open Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Fridays.

Our office is closed from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. each day for lunch.

We can also be contacted by email at info@sweeneymchugh.ie if you wish to contact us outside of office hours.

We appreciate that some clients are unable to attend the office during office hours. Please contact the office and we will endeavour to make alternative arrangements. Appointments can be arrange via a Teams meeting (video call) or telephone if this is more convenient for you.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS 2022

The offices of Sweeney McHugh Solicitors will be closed from 12 p.m. on Friday the 23rd  of December 2022 until 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday the 3rd of January 2023.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients for their business during the course of 2022 and wish all a Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS 2021

The offices of Sweeney McHugh Solicitors will be closed from 12 p.m. on Thursday the 23rd  of December 2021 until 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday the 4th of January 2021.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients for their business during the course of 2021 and wish all a Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.

Speed Up Your House Sale

 

We are finding many sales of property are being unnecessarily delayed because the Vendor(s)

is not ready to sell at the point a property goes sale agreed. The following advice has been prepared

by the Law Society of Ireland as a useful guide to speed up the sale of your house (or other property).

Sweeney McHugh Solicitors can offer a title review service and advise you of any further documents or

information that will be required to allow for a sale of your property.

 

TO SPEED UP YOUR HOUSE SALE
Contact your solicitor as soon as possible. Your solicitor will need to get your title deeds
immediately in order to prepare a contract for the sale of your house and will also need to
take full instructions from you on the details of the sale. There are several pieces of
information and documentation that your solicitor will need and you should start getting them
together now.

YOU WILL NEED TO GET THE FOLLOWING
1. Details of where your title documents are (if your title deeds are with a bank, provide
the name of the bank and the account number).

2. Local Property Tax printout showing local property tax paid to current year end
(www.revenue.ie).

3. Receipt or Certificate of Discharge showing that the Household Charge has been
discharged (www.householdcharge.ie),

4. Certificate of Exemption or Discharge for NPPR (applied from 2010 to 2013)
(www.nppr.ie),

5. Details of your water and drainage supply,

6. If you have a septic tank on the property, evidence of its registration
(www.protectourwater.ie)

7. If you are or ever have been married, a copy of your state marriage or civil
partnership certificate (and copy of separation agreement or divorce, if applicable),

8. BER Certificate showing the energy rating on your home,

9. Details of any building work you have done with copies of any planning permissions
and architects’ certificates of compliance,

10. If your property is in a managed development, contact details for the management
company/managing agents, and receipts for service charges,

11. If the property is let, copy letting agreement,

12. Details of any contents included in sale,

13. PPS Number(s) – needed for proof of identity,

14. Photographic identification such as passport(s),

15. Utility bill / bank statement (within the last 3 months) to prove your address.

Updated Covid-19 Restrictions

 

OFFICE CLOSED TO PUBLIC

 

To enable us comply with HSE social distancing requirements we are presently closed to the public. Should you require advice or assistance in relation to a new or ongoing matter please make contact with our office by telephone (074 9521115) or email: info@sweeneymchugh.ie

 

We are making arrangements for consultations to occur remotely or by telephone to ensure a continuity of service in the meantime.

 

Arrangements will be made for clients who wish to make a will urgently. Please telephone for further advice in this regard.

 

 

SWEENEY MCHUGH SOLICITORS

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS 2020

The offices of Sweeney McHugh Solicitors will be closed from 1 2 p.m. on Wednesday the 23rd  of December 2020 until 9:30 a.m. on Monday the 4th of January 2021.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients for their business during the course of 2020 and wish all a Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.

Appointments Available

As Covid 19 restrictions continue to ease we continue to provide a full service.

If you would like to consult with a solicitor from our office please make contact by telephone or email and we will be more than happy to assist with your query.

 

Appointments are available in the office on a restricted basis so that we can continue to ensure the HSE’s social distancing guidelines are complied with. If you would like

an appointment with a solicitor please contact us by telephone or email.

 

For vulnerable clients or anyone who has concerns about attending the office please feel free to discuss this with the relevant solicitor to see if alternative arrangements can be made.

 

SWEENEY MCHUGH SOLICITORS

Office Restrictions for COVID-19

To avoid spread of COVID-19 we are taking the following precautions to protect our staff and clients:

CLIENT CONSULTATIONS

For the foreseable future we will be limiting the number of in office client consultations to the most urgent and necessary matters. We will see clients in the office by appointment only. Please telephone the office if you require our advice or wish to discuss an ongoing matter with us. We will attempt to deal with most queries by telephone, email or Skype.

Any appointments scheduled to take place in the office will be in a designated room which will allow us comply with the HSE guidelines for social distancing and disease prevention. We will not allow multiple appointments to be schedule for the same time to avoid congregation of people within the office.

 

To minimise the time required for appointments the relevant fee earner will contact you to discuss the matter and provide checklist and guides to ensure that the lengths of appointments are kept to the absolute minimum.

 

REMOTE WORKING AND OFFICE CLOSURE

We have provided facilities for our solicitors to work remotely therefore their availability for in office appointments will be limited

We will provide emergency contact details on our website (www.sweeneymchugh.ie ) should the need to close our office occur.  Our email addresses will remain operational at all times.

We regret any inconvenience caused in the short term.

SWEENEY MCHUGH SOLICITORS

Christmas Holidays 2019

The offices of Sweeney McHugh Solicitors will be closed from 1 2 p.m. on Monday the 23rd  of December 2019 until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday the 2nd of January 2020.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients for their business during the course of 2019 and wish all a Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.

Financial Supports for Building a Home

Financial supports for building a home

 

There has been a notable increase in the numbers of people who have started the journey towards building their own home. Those have started down this road have many things to consider and organise. There are still quite a few who are unaware of two important schemes which could give them substantial money back at a time when resources are likely to be stretched. At Sweeney McHugh Solicitors we have been assisting many clients in relation to their stage payment mortgages which are traditionally used when carrying out a self-build. As part of this process we have been advising and assisting clients in relation to both the Help To Buy Scheme and the Stamp Duty Refund Scheme.

 

HELP TO BUY INCENTIVE

This applies both to the purchase of new properties or a new self-build property. If you are hoping to rely upon the incentive for the purchase of a new property you should ensure that the property qualifies before committing to the purchase.

When you are building a new property there are a number of criteria that you must meet to qualify for the relief:

To claim HTB, you must:

  • be a first-time buyer
  • buy or build a new property between 19 July 2016 and 31 December 2021
  • live in the property as your main home for five years after you buy or build it
  • be tax compliant, if you are self assessed you must also have tax clearance.

 

To qualify for HTB, the property that you build or buy must be:

 

Purchase value

The purchase value of a new build means the price that you bought it for. For self-built property, the purchase value is the approved valuation by the lender at the time that you took out the mortgage.

If you bought the property between 19 July 2016 and 31 December 2016, the purchase price must be €600,000 or less. If you bought it after 1 January 2017, it must be €500,000 or less.

Mortgage

You must take out your mortgage on the property with a qualifying lender. This loan must be used only for buying or building the property. The loan must be at least 70% of the purchase value of the property. This is known as the loan to value ratio.

You are allowed to have a guarantor on the loan.

How much can you claim?

The amount that you can claim is the lesser of:

  • €20,000
  • 5% of the purchase price of a new home. For self-builds this is 5% of the completion value of the property
  • the amount of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) you have paid in the four years before your purchase or self-build.

The maximum payment is €20,000 per property. This cap applies regardless of how many people enter into a contract to buy a house.

Universal Social Charge (USC) or Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) are not taken into account when calculating how much you can claim.

How will the refund be paid?

If you bought or built the property between 19 July 2016 and 31 December 2016, the refund will be paid directly to you.

If you buy a new build after 1 January 2017, the refund will be paid to the contractor.

If you self-build the property after 1 January 2017, the refund will be paid to a bank account you hold with your loan provider.

How do you apply for Help to Buy (HTB)?

Use myAccount or Revenue Online Service (ROS) to apply for HTB online.

There are two stages to the online process:

  • the application stage
  • the claim stage.

 

Application stage

You can apply as an individual, or part of a group that is buying or building a property. You must complete a declaration and select the years you want to use for a refund. If you are tax compliant, your application will be approved. You will be provided with an application number and a summary of the maximum amount you can claim. You will also be given a 6 digit access code separately through MyEnquiries.

Keep a safe note of both of these codes as you will need to provide them to your lender. If you are buying your home you will also need these codes for your qualifying contractor. If you are self-building you will need these codes for your solicitor. Your contractor or solicitor will require this information to verify what you have submitted.

If you make a HTB application but have not yet made a claim, your application will expire on 31 December. You can then re-apply and make a new HTB application.

Claim stage

You can make your claim once you have either:

  • signed the contract for your home
  • drawn down the first part of the mortgage if you are self building.

Login to HTB through myAccount or Revenue Online Service (ROS) and complete the following steps below.

Step 1

Upload evidence of your mortgage and the following information about your application:

  • if you are buying a home: a copy of the signed contract
  • if you are building a home:
    • proof of the drawdown of the first part of the mortgage
    • a copy of the valuation report from your lender.

Step 2

You will be asked to confirm details about the:

  • property
  • purchase price
  • date of completion
  • mortgage
  • amount of deposit already paid.

If you are applying with other people you will also need to confirm the portion of the refund to be refunded to each person. If you are self-building, you will need to provide the BIC and IBAN of the loan bank account.

Once you have submitted your claim you will be provided with a claim reference.

Please ensure that you have carefully checked all the information you input before you sign and submit the claim.

If any of the information you have provided is incorrect, you must:

  • cancel your claim
  • submit a new claim with the correct information

This must be done before you continue to step 3.

Step 3

Once you have submitted your claim you should advise your developer or contractor (or solicitor if you are self-building).

Provide them with your claim reference (issued to you after step 2) and access code (issued to you when you submitted your application). Before you receive any refund, the information you have provided will need to be verified by the:

  • developer or contractor, in the case of a new build
  • solicitor acting on your behalf, in the case of a self-build.

The refund that you finally receive is limited to 5% of the purchase price of the house. This may mean that it is different to the maximum relief amount that you were given at application stage.

STAMP DUTY REFUND SCHEME

When you build a residential property on previously non-residential land you may qualify for a refund of some of the Stamp Duty paid when the land was purchased or transferred to you.

To qualify you would need to have paid stamp duty at the non-residential rate, currently 7.5% (6% pre 9th of October 2019).  For single property developments the maximum area of your site that you can claim for is 0.4047 hectares (1 acre) therefore if your site was larger than this the relief available will be reduced.

 

The further requirements to make a claim are:

  • You must submit a commencement notice for the building of the house and commence development in accordance with this. (NB It is important to keep a copy of the acknowledgement from the Council when you submit your commencement notice)
  • You must start building within 30 months of the property being purchased or transferred to you.
  • You must complete the property within 2 years after you commence.