Q&A

Your property questions answered.

My seaside home won't sell and I feel the agent is to blame

I am selling my house in a seaside resort in Ireland - I live in the UK so everything is being done by letter and phone.

It was our holiday home when we were children and I inherited it some years ago and I put it on the market last June.

It still hasn't sold which I find difficult to understand. The agent advised taking the "For Sale" sign down in November which I didn't understand at all. He now says he expects good interest when the season starts up this month. All this sounds very odd. Is this the norm or could there be something underhand going on?

Well, never say never, but it is most unlikely that there is anything dodgy afoot. Seaside holiday homes have a rhythm of their own - it's not unheard of for houses to be for sale without any signage whatsoever, instead there'll be a notice in the window of the estate agent's office.

When it comes to holiday homes, agents sometimes prefer to take the sign down during the winter months so the place doesn't look like it's been on the market for so long that there might be something wrong with it.

The sign is usually then put up again in the summer when more people are around. It is time however for a full and frank conversation with the agent and if you don't feel able to do it, is there a close relative who will oblige?

The simple question is why has the house not sold? There are so many reasons - the house might be in poor repair and in seaside resorts there is generally a number of new developments for buyers to choose from. Often buyers simply don't want the hassle of renovating a holiday home.

Does it need a little TLC to get it in market condition? Your agent should be able to recommend a local handyman to do the job for a reasonable price.

The main reason why any house doesn't sell is the price - is it simply too expensive? Have you picked the right agent? Is the agent a member of either of the professional organisations (IAVI and MIPAV) and does he have a web presence? Being on the internet is a big plus for a holiday home because that's often where long-distance buyers look first. Ask what his strategy is for the coming months? How many viewings were there to date? What was the response? This should give you an idea of what might be going wrong.

Is the agent simply too busy to give your sale the attention it needs? If the answers to these sorts of questions are not to your satisfaction, consider taking your business elsewhere. You'll find that his agency is not the only one in town.

I thought I was exempt from stamp duty, so why am I liable?

I am bidding on a small cottage which has now reached €320,000. I was under the impression that, as a first-time buyer, I would not have to pay stamp duty but the agent now tells me that I will have to pay duty. Is this true?

Unfortunately, yes. The 317,500 price tag is important for first-time buyers because below that, no duty is due. However once the price rises, the tax kicks in. At your current price (between 317,501-381,000) you will be liable for stamp duty at 3 per cent.

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.