Starting the Process (Conveyancing Solicitor Armagh)
We hope you will come and see us as soon as you have made a decision to buy or sell. If you are selling, even if you have not yet found a buyer, we can save time by making an early start on the paper work. Our first interview is free and we will give you an estimate of our own fees and also of outlays. (Stamp duty, if payable – registration, search, and other fees and VAT) with a full explanation of them.
When you are buying we can make sure the seller is actually entitled to sell the house, and that nobody else has claims to it. We make sure there are no outstanding mortgages. We find out as much as possible about the house – whether and buildings have been erected without planning or building control permission, whether there are any plans for compulsory purchase and so forth. We get this information by making enquiries for the seller’s Solicitors and from the District Council and other Authorities.
Our skills cover a broad range of matters, including:
We can also assist you in obtaining a Mortgage. As you may or may not be aware the majority of Estate Agents and Building Societies no longer offer independent financial advice as they have become tied to one particular life Insurance Company. It is also not often appreciated that commissions are earned by these persons, usually without disclosing the commission to you. We are in a position to explain these hidden charges to you and to advise you on the procedure in relation to the entire transaction. AS Solicitors, the commissions earned on Endowment, Pension, Unit-Linked or Personal Equity Mortgages result in a substantial reduction in your legal fees. By arranging your Mortgage with us we can save you money.
If you’re buying, we will check the contract drawn up by the seller’s Solicitors, to make sure you are getting what you think you are. If you are selling we draw up the contract. When you have had your mortgage offer, satisfactory replies have been received to all our searches and enquiries and the Contract has been signed by both parties, then it will be possible to complete the transaction. In most cases you will want to arrange the completion date on both your sale and purchase at the same time. We will do our best to make everything go as quickly and as smoothly as possible, but please remember that delays may happen which are beyond our control. There may be a long chain of buyers and sellers and things can only move as fast as the slowest person in the chain. Please also remember that delay is sometimes deliberate as a seller may want to delay until he is sure of being able to buy his new house, or until his new house has been built. The seller may not be wholly frank with you because he does not want to lose you as a purchaser.
We may often be acting for the Building Society or Bank or whoever is lending you the Mortgage money. If so we will also prepare the mortgage Deed and make sure the house is good security for the Mortgage. We will then work out the amount of money needed on completion and will receive the mortgage money from the building society or other lender together with the proceeds of your sale and any balance from you. From the money we receive on your behalf we will pay your seller’s solicitor the balance purchase money on your own sale (After deducting any deposit already paid by you), pay off your old mortgage (if you have one) and discharge it. We will register your ownership and the Mortgage and after that send the Deeds on to your Building Society who will hold them until the Mortgage is paid off.
If any problems arise later we will be happy to deal with them. We will also advise you on any matters arising out of the house purchase including whether you should have the house in joint names or in one name, whether you need Planning Permission for any alterations, change of use and so forth.
- When the purchase of a property is agreed, we receive a Memorandum of Sale from the estate agents.
- We will then contact you (the purchaser) for confirmation of instructions.
- You should now ensure your mortgage application is submitted and arrange a survey, buildings insurance and life cover.
- Once the Contract Package is received from the sellers’ solicitors we will send the relevant information to you and submit searches (i.e. Local Authority, drainage, environmental, planning etc.)
- We will then approve the Contract and prepare the draft Transfer and Requisitions on Title.
- Once the search results are received, the file will be checked by a fee earner and relevant enquiries will be raised with the sellers’ solicitors.
- When the enquiry replies are received these will be checked to ensure they have been answered fully and the replies are satisfactory.
- When the Mortgage Offer is received we will check with you that you have received your copy, are happy with the offer and will check our copy to ensure that any special conditions can be met.
- Once all documents have been received and checked we will put together a Report to you to be signed and returned along with any deposit, if necessary.
- A completion date needs to be agreed by all parties which is entered into the Contract on exchange and becomes the date the purchase must legally complete.
- On exchange of contracts the deposit is handed over to the sellers’ solicitors and Land Charges, bankruptcy and Land Registry searches are submitted. We will also request Mortgage Funds where necessary and send a Completion Statement to you, telling you what further money, if any, we will need from you to complete the purchase.
- On the completion date we send the purchase monies to the sellers’ solicitors and advise you, the Estate Agent and lender of completion.
- Following completion we pay the Stamp Duty and submit the relevant application for registration to H M Land Registry.
- Registration is then confirmed to you and any Lender.
- When the sale of property is agreed, we receive a Memorandum of Sale from the estate agents
- We will then contact you (the seller) for confirmation of instructions. You will need to complete a seller’s questionnaire, a Fixtures, Fittings and Contents Form and Sellers Property Information Form and return these forms to us.
- We will obtain the title deeds for the property and prepare a Contract which will be sent to the purchasers’ solicitors along with the completed Property Information Form and Fixtures, Fittings and Contents Form. We shall also request a redemption statement from the Lenders if any mortgages and/or loans are secured against the property.
- If the property is Leasehold we will also need to obtain Management Company/Service Charge information.
- Enquiries are often received from the buyers’ solicitors which need to be answered. Occasionally we may need to send a copy of the enquiries to you to answer where the answers are not known by ourselves
- The contract (once approved by the buyer’s solicitor) is then sent to you for signature in readiness for exchange of contracts.
- Once the Buyers Solicitors are satisfied with replies to any enquiries they have raised and are holding their client’s signed contract and cleared deposit monies, a competition date needs to be agreed by all parties. The completion date is the say the sale completes and the date by which the property must be vacated.
- Once a completion date is agreed by all parties in the chain contracts are exchanged
- We request final settlement figures from lender(s) – if appropriate – and send a Completion Statement to you, telling you what monies will be payable to you
- We reply to sellers requisitions and approve the legal Transfer document.
- The finalised Transfer document is sent to you for signature as soon as it is received
- On completion day we advise you and the Estate Agent once the sale proceeds have been received and/or the mortgage has been redeemed. All keys are to be deposited with the selling agents by 1pm
- Provided you agree, we will arrange to pay the Estate Agent’s commission out of the sale proceeds and send the balance of monies to you
- The Transfer Deed and any Title Deeds will then be sent to the buyers’ solicitors.
Licensed to practice in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
A vital extra dimension to all these services is that, since we are licensed to practice in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, we are uniquely placed to advise the increasing number of businesses choosing to pursue commercial projects on both sides of the border.
Being licensed to practice in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, we provide high-quality, all-Ireland legal services to business. Our Strategic location in the city of Armagh near the border and within easy reach of Belfast and Dublin also offers obvious advantages.
Conveyancing
We hope you will come and see us as soon as you have made a decision to buy or sell. If you are selling, even if you have not yet found a buyer, we can save time by making an early start on the paper work. Our first interview is free and we will give you an estimate of our own fees and also of outlays. (Stamp duty, if payable – registration, search, and other fees and VAT) with a full explanation of them. Should you wish we can provide a quotation on line through the on line application on this site
When you are buying we can make sure the seller is actually entitled to sell the house, and that nobody else has claims to it. We make sure there are no outstanding mortgages. We find out as much as possible about the house – whether and buildings have been erected without planning or building control permission, whether there are any plans for compulsory purchase and so forth. We get this information by making enquiries for the seller’s Solicitors and from the District Council and other Authorities.
We can also assist you in obtaining a Mortgage. As you may or may not be aware the majority of Estate Agents and Building Societies no longer offer financial advice as they have become tied to one particular life Insurance Company. It is also not often appreciated that commissions are earned by these persons, usually without disclosing the commission to you. We are in a position to explain these hidden charges to you and to advise you on the procedure in relation to the entire transaction. As Solicitors, the commissions earned on Endowment, Pension, Unit-Linked or Personal Equity Mortgages result in a substantial reduction in your legal fees. By arranging your Mortgage with us we can save you money.
If you’re buying, we will check the contract drawn up by the seller’s Solicitors, to make sure you are getting what you think you are. If you are selling we draw up the contract. When you have had your mortgage offer, satisfactory replies have been received to all our searches and enquiries and the Contract has been signed by both parties, then it will be possible to complete the transaction. In most cases you will want to arrange the completion date on both your sale and purchase at the same time. We will do our best to make everything go as quickly and as smoothly as possible, but please remember that delays may happen which are beyond our control. There may be a long chain of buyers and sellers and things can only move as fast as the slowest person in the chain. Please also remember that delay is sometimes deliberate as a seller may want to delay until he is sure of being able to buy his new house, or until his new house has been built. The seller may not be wholly frank with you because he does not want to lose you as a purchaser.
We may often be acting for the Building Society or Bank or whoever is lending you the Mortgage money. If so we will also prepare the mortgage Deed and make sure the house is good security for the Mortgage. We will then work out the amount of money needed on completion and will receive the mortgage money from the building society or other lender together with the proceeds of your sale and any balance from you. From the money we receive on your behalf we will pay your seller’s solicitor the balance purchase money on your own sale (After deducting any deposit already paid by you), pay off your old mortgage (if you have one) and discharge it. We will register your ownership and the Mortgage and after that send the Deeds on to your Building Society who will hold them until the Mortgage is paid off.
If any problems arise later we will be happy to deal with them. We will also advise you on any matters arising out of the house purchase including whether you should have the house in joint names or in one name, whether you need Planning Permission for any alterations, change of use and so forth.
YOUR TEAM
Educated at St Colman’s College in Newry, Kevin graduated from University College Dublin in 1982 with a degree in Law (BCL).
He graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a Certificate of Professional Legal Studies in 1984 and was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Northern Ireland in 1984. He was later admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in the Republic of Ireland in 1992, as well as in England and Wales in 2008. He qualified as a Solicitor Advocate in 2013. He is also a certified Mediator.
Kevin has worked at Donnelly Neary & Donnelly since he was admitted to the Roll in 1984 and has been a partner in the firm since 1988.
Kevin is a Notary Public, and is currently the President of the College of Notaries in Northern Ireland. He is also a Trusts and Estates Practitioner (TEP) of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and a member of the NI Commercial Property Lawyers Association. Kevin currently acts as Treasurer for the Irish Legal History Society and is Deputy Chair of the Statutory Committee for the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland.
Kevin has experience in all areas of practise; however, Kevin specialises in commercial property, as well as in general conveyancing, trusts and wills.
Daniel was educated at the Abbey Grammar School in Newry. He then went on to study Law (LLB) at Queen’s University Belfast, graduating in 2014.
He graduated from the Institute of Professional Legal Studies, Queen’s University Belfast, with a Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Studies and was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Northern Ireland in 2016.
Daniel is the fourth generation of the Neary family in the firm.
Daniel has a particular interest in immigration law. He also has experience in conveyancing and civil litigation.
Brendan Hagan LLB graduated from Queen’s University in 1973 with a BA Honours Degree in Modern History.
Brendan commenced practising as a Solicitor in 1978 and completed his apprentice with John P Hagan.
Brendan specialises in Criminal, Matrimonial and employment law and is a Solicitor Advocate and a member of the Children Order Panel.
Brendan has acted in a number of high profile criminal cases as well as Public Enquiries.
Kate Ervine graduated from Queen’s University and completed her degree in Law & Accountancy in 2006 and Trust & Estate Administration in 2009.
Kate was formerly employed by two provincial firms before joining the practice in August 2007. Kate specialises in Conveyancing, Administration of Estates; contentious Probate; Will drafting; Agricultural law and Taxation. Kate is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.
Educated at St Joseph’s Grammar School Donaghmore, Kathryn graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 2002 with a degree in Law and Politics (LLB).
Kathryn obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice with Distinction from Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne in 2003.
In 2005 Kathryn was admitted as a Qualified Solicitor in Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
Kathryn worked in our Portadown office JPH Law in 2018 and later moved to our Dungannon office Simmons Meglaughlin & Orr.
Kathryn is a multifaceted general practice Solicitor who specialises in Property, Probate and Wills. She also practices in Matrimonial Law, Children’s Law, Personal Injury and General Litigation.
Michael graduated in law with LLB Hons from Queens University Belfast in 1985 He works with JPHLAW as well as being the Principal of Campbell & Grant in Newry.
Michael’s legal expertise includes conveyancing, criminal law, commercial property acquisition, sales development, residential property development, licensing, planning, trusts, inheritance tax, wills and estates both in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland.