Q&A

Your property questions answered.

I am suspicious because my agent denies that there are house plans

I am in the process of buying a site for a holiday home. I'm doing it all long distance which has caused a number of communication problems already.

The site is being sold with outline planning permission - which is one of the selling points in that I want all the planning hassles to be solved before I buy and am happy to build a simple bungalow. But when I asked the agent for the house plans he said there were none (or rather his secretary did - that's part of the communication problem). Is there something fishy going on?

Probably not. Outline planning permission can be granted in two stages and what your site probably has is permission in principle.

What this means is that the owner has applied to the local authority to see if the site is suitable for development.

This outline planning permission lasts for five years but within the first three years of that time, the owner must lodge the necessary house plans - which is the second stage in the outline planning permission process. So that's why in your case there may be no actual plans.

Some land owners don't bother with the permission in principle stage and go straight ahead and lodge plans, and so on, to get "full" outline permission - this tends to make the property more attractive to buyers.

At this stage, and if you are really interested in the site, you should bypass the local estate agent and contact the local planning office directly and seek information about the status of the planning permission.

The first thing you need to know is the time frame of the permission. There is a very tight and prescribed time frame when it comes to planning and you need to know where your outline permission fits into the scheme of things.

Other questions you need to ask relate to the local authority's view on holiday homes. You don't say where are you but some local authorities are becoming less keen on holiday-home development and this could cause problems for you down the line.

You should also ask for their view on house types - you say you are happy with a simple bungalow but maybe the planner in your area isn't.

Combining potential buyers with kids' clutter is taking it toll

Our house has been for sale for the past six months and, with three kids, keeping it in viewing condition is taking its toll. The viewings are sporadic. For example the agent phoned me yesterday to day she'd be around the following morning with a client. Can I suggest that all viewings take place on a specific day?

You can but it's unlikely that the agent will be keen. The nature of a private treaty sale is that the agent will be trying to actively interest buyers in your property and that means persuading them to view.

In a family house, viewers tend to be tolerant of kids' stuff so don't get too het up about that. But you're going to have to accept that selling involves a lot of hard work.

Try to track down a good cleaner to take some of the pressure off.

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or email propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.