Property Clinic

Q My husband and I purchased our home, a three-bed Georgian townhouse in south Dublin in 2007. It was always meant to be a starter home and we planned to move into a bigger family home with a garden after five years. We were lucky to get a tracker mortgage and mortgage interest relief at the time.

As our family has grown we are trapped by negative equity in a house we have outgrown – however we have managed repayments so far. As a GP I am considering converting the house into a GP practice as an option instead of selling at a loss. Is this an option? How does one go about this? Is it expensive? What are the pros and cons?

A The change of use from residential to use as a GP practice will require planning permission. The acceptability in principle of such a proposal depends upon the zoning of the site. A GP practice is normally a use which is permissible in principle under a residential zoning objective, but it does depend upon the particular development plan or local area plan relevant to the area. For example, under the Dublin City Development Plan 2011 – 2017, a ‘medical and consultants clinic’ use is permissible in principle under the Z1 zoning objective (to protect, provide and improve residential amenities). Any such proposal would also need to comply with relevant site development standards. In particular, it would need to be demonstrated that there would be no detrimental impact upon residential amenity.

In terms of cost, a planning application fee would be charged at €3.60 per sq m of floorspace for which the change of use is sought. It would also be necessary to publish a newspaper notice and erect a site notice. A building surveyor or architect would need to be appointed to prepare a set of drawings to accompany the application. Any grant of planning permission for such a change of use may be subject to development contributions. This should be discussed with the planning authority.

Should permission for a GP practice be implemented, there should be little difficulty with getting planning permission to revert to residential use, should this be required in the future. Alternatively, consideration may be given to a temporary permission for a GP practice for a period of, for example, five years, after which the use would automatically revert to residential. Before the five years expire, if you wish to retain the GP practice use, you could apply for the GP practice use to be extended either indefinitely or for a further temporary period.

John Spain is a chartered surveyor

Q I’m living in Ireland more than five years. My parents are living in China. My parents want to buy a holiday home in Ireland because they visited me last year and love it here. They will not be living here, just transferring the money and I will buy the property for them.

If they want to spend their money and buy property in Ireland, do they need to pay tax? What kind of tax? How can they transfer the money to me so I can buy the property for them? Will there be any charge on the money transfer except the bank fee?

Is there any difference between my parents buying a property here and a person who is resident here buying a property?

Please advise any other things my parents and I need to consider.

A Your parents can buy a property here in much the same way as an Irish resident. The purchase will be subject to stamp duty (1 per cent up to €1m and 2 per cent for any amount over that). They will also incur registration fees (€400 to €800). They will need a solicitor (typically charging 1per cent to 1.5per cent of the purchase price plus VAT) and, given that they are overseas and you are not directly involved in the property industry, you would be well advised to engage a property professional to act on your behalf in the acquisition (typical fee 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent plus VAT).

In my experience availing of the services of a property professional will often save a purchaser a multiple of the fee charged by negotiating a better price and avoiding any pitfalls that may arise.

I would advise having the money transferred to your solicitor who will hold it in their client account rather than transferring it to your personal account. The solicitor will also help them get a Personal Public Service (PPS) number which they will need in order to purchase the property. Their bank in China should be able to advise on charges for the transfer.

Your parents will be liable for the new Local Property tax (LPT) – see revenue.ie for further information. If they rent the property, they will have an Irish taxable income. I recommend seeking tax advice from a suitably experienced accountant if they plan on renting the property out to tenants.

If your parents are considering buying an apartment, they will need to check the status of the management company and should be aware that they will need to pay an annual service charge which covers the maintenance and services associated with the development.

Simon Stokes is a chartered surveyor

Q I was wondering if the process of upgrading single glazed windows to double glazed – without changing the window frame – is possible and ultimately successful. I saw an ad some time ago claiming this was possible – and much cheaper. Just wondering if there’s a catch?

A There is nearly always a catch when something is substantially cheaper than you think it should be.

One of the problems with retrofitting a glazing unit is that there is limited space in the frame to install a suitable sized double glazed unit. The second is that if the frame is aluminium or metal then the frame which will remain has a very bad U-Value. A U-Value is the measure of how an element (in this case a window unit) looses heat. The lower the U-Value the better the element is.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) software for calculating the Building Energy Rating (BER) gives a single glazed unit with a metal frame a U-Value of 5.7. If you retrofitted this with a 6mm double glazed unit this would have a U-Value of 3.3. A standard new double glazed uPVC window unit will have a U-Value of 1.3. This means that retrofitting an existing metal frame will give your window unit a 42 per cent improvement whereas a totally new unit, which will come along with a certificate of U-Value, will give a 77 per cent improvement.

When you select the option that is right for you ensure that the company which is doing the work give you a NSAI certificate for the unit and not just the glass. Many retrofitting companies only talk about how low the U-Value of the glass is whereas it is the performance of the whole window unit that is important.

If you have timber or uPVC single glazed windows and they can accommodate a 12mm or 16mm double glazed unit retrofitting may be worth considering as long as the company doing the work can give you a certificate for the full unit.

Kevin Hollingsworth is Chair of the Building Surveying Professional Group of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland scsi.ie