Hi everybody,

does anybody know the rules regarding which solicitor you can use when buying a property in Ireland (south).
I’ve been told that if you buy a property in Ireland and you are a UK resident, then you need to hire an Irish solicitor to handle all the legal stuff.. Does any1 know if this is true?

Basically yes you need an Irish solicitor to handle purchase in republic of Ireland.

We sold up in UK <uk solicitor> then Eire solicitor for our purchase here.

Any thing else just ask .

Hello mountain man,

is this just your opinion or actual fact. Can you supply solid proof of this. What is the reason ‘why’ a buyer needs to use an Irish solicitor. Why can’t a UK solicitor be used to purchase a property in Ireland.

WE purchased here and our uk solicitor who did our uk sale stated that he could not do an irish purchase as irish law is different to uk as far as house purchase goes .
This is fact ,but i don’t have to disclose personal info to a stranger on the net .

Ask your uk solicitor if you need more clarification .

is this just your opinion or actual fact. Can you supply solid proof of this

That seems a bit strong.

We have the same situation on the Isle Of Man where a UK lawyer can’t practice over here as the law is different.

A quick look on Google would suggest that they would have to sit the Final Examination 1 (FE1) which is the entrance examination for the Law Society of Ireland in order to practice.

We sometimes to get UK lawyers involved in high level court cases, however they are only allowed to advise the legal team.

Hello MM,

I never said anything about you supplying your personal information, what I said was give me some more info.
For example, if I told you that in Poland on Xmas day, 75% of households always leave a ‘spare seat’ at their dinner table just in case a stranger knocks on the door and asks for something to eat.
Now, you would then say to me, ‘oi teddybear, give me some more facts bcos this tale sounds rather far fetched’.
And I would then proceed to tell you that it is ‘fact’ bcos I’ve lived in Poland for a few years and I know this 2B true. This is the ‘facts’ to which I am referring, not your DOB or shoe size. 🙂

What an odd thread 😕

OK apologies, but did come across a bit strong .

Yes there are diffferences in UK and Irish law.

Otherwise purchase is straight forward process unless there are complications with land title etc.

But certainly a good time to buy over here, lots of property been on market a long time so don’t be afraid to offer low .

I’m Irish.

But I can’t help you as I’ve never bought property there. When I lived there (until I was 22) everyone who bought houses there used an Irish solicitor so yeah, maybe it’s the law.

I can’t supply any proof of this though, sorry. It’s purely anecdotal.

What you said was “give me some more info”. What you should have said was “please give me some more info, any free advice would be appreciated”. Didn’t your parents teach you nuffink? Tsk.

Ok thanx for the advice MM,

Its a jurisdictional issue, the same reason I
can’t act for clients who purchase properties in Scotland – not qualified to practice in that jurisdiction. You may be able to find an Irish qualified lawyer who practices from the UK (dual qualification)so you could have one firm do both transactions – check the Law Soc’s web site.

Ok thanx again, I’ve now located a brief in Dublin and they come highly recommended so fingers crossed.

Hi all,

I have a follow on question from the last. Does one need to have an Irish tax (pps) to buy property in Ireland?

I would think so unless you are paying cash and not renting it out.

you would be better to go on boards.ie for more detailed info or pay your quality brief a bit more to tell you.

Thanx, I just stumbled across a really good link which gives plenty of info about this.

Why would it be a surprise that a foreign lawyer wouldn’t be able to practice in another country?

FFS you can’t use an English lawyer to buy a house in Scotland and it is a legal requirement to use a lawyer in Scotland but not in England.

Ireland has different law and is a different Nation State from the UK.