Commercial Property

Buying Commercial Property

Buying commercial property in Ireland is a complex exercise. Buyers making a significant investment should insist on the oversight of skilled professionals before making the commitment. A failure to complete a full and proper investigation risks a considerable loss on investment. For significant acquisitions a properly constituted review would comprise the following services:

• Legal due diligence, pre-contract
• A review of title, easements, leases affecting and advices
• A review of title maps and boundaries in consultation with the purchaser
• Advice on stamp duty on commercial purchases, currently at 6% of purchase price
• Advices on norms of letting commercial property in Ireland
• Advices on commercial lending prior to the payment of arrangement fees
• Accounting due diligence, advice on taxation, Capital Gains Tax and Value Added Tax (VAT)
• Assessment of costs of acquisition
• Tax advice on purchase vehicle (partnership/company)
• Assessing the rental yield
• Deductible costs on rental income
• Capital Gains Tax and its impact on investment return
• Where VAT applies to purchase or letting, advices on implications of VAT on sale, letting, development etc.
• Structural survey to include the commissioning of water systems, heating, plant and equipment installed
• The preparation of a surveyor’s report with repair issues identified
• A review of plant and machinery and contents, if included
• The delivery of the report to the purchaser and legal team so that commercial matters of condition may be raised and resolved on a pre-contract basis
• Planning advice on the planning for the property in question and general planning policy for the area, restrictions on the property in sale by way of special designations or preservation orders.
• A review of commercial rent in the area for similar properties to consider the yield

Your legal and accounting team should always be the first relationships you establish. The process of contract for purchase in Ireland enables and in fact obliges purchasers to have completed full investigations on legal title, planning, structure and condition prior to the completion of binding contracts. The opportunity therefore exists to purchasers to be fully satisfied on all material aspects of the purchase prior to the final commitment of funds with exchange of contracts and the discharge of costs connected to commercial finance.

Once contracts are executed by the purchaser the vendor will expect the payment of 10% deposit before exchanging. This is typically comprised of the payment of the refundable booking deposit to the sales agent and the balance of 10% paid with the contracts. Once the contracts are exchanged a purchaser is bound to the purchase of the property to complete on the agreed closing date.

The legal team then take over and processes the transaction to be ready to ensure the availability of commercial finance for drawdown and organise the completion of the purchase with good marketable title.

Every purchaser of commercial property needs a strong team to assist them. Every member of the Abacus Legal network including our commercial conveyancing solicitors has been chosen not only for their expertise but their proven track record in complex conveyancing transactions. If you are considering a purchase of commercial property you should contact one of our network. We will ensure that any purchase is completed to the highest standard and that all aspects of your transaction are fully investigated and advised to you. We have a specialist in your area