Can I build on site of long-term mobile home?
Q If a mobile home is on a site for more than 30 years, does it follow that I will get planning permission for a modest holiday home on the site? I have been offered such a mobile home on a site (in a remote area, not in a mobile-home park) for a very good price but it would only work for me if I could build.
A It doesn’t automatically follow that you will be granted planning permission so, if you go through with the sale on the basis that you are buying a (cheap) “site”, you may discover down the line that you have bought an (expensive) bit of a field that you can’t use. Years ago mobile homes for holiday use were plonked down in very strange places – some without proper road access, electricity or sewage – you can spot them up the side of mountains all over the country. Might this be the case with yours?
We heard of a similar situation to yours where a buyer was presented with a bargain site in a “good” location where they just assumed that all would be all right. However, planning permission was turned down because it was discovered that the caravan, while it had been used by the same family for generations, was on a particularly wet piece of land and the engineer’s report after the percolation test showed that installing an acceptable modern sewage system (even an advanced and expensive bio option) would not work on the site. The owners were then refused permission to even replace the dilapidated mobile with a more modern one because of the sewage situation. They are now negotiating to sell the land to a local farmer.
Before you do anything, contact the local planning office to get its view on the matter. Then get an engineer’s report on the site. Planning restrictions mean you should always be wary about buying a site unless you have done your research.
Why must we be told it’s an executor’s sale?
Q A house I am interested in is advertised as an “executor’s sale”. Is there a reason why the agent has to tell buyers this? As a buyer, is there a particular way to bid on such a house? Is there any strategy we should use?
A There’s no legal reason for the agent to state that the sale is an executor’s sale, it just is what it is. Assuming that this is a private treaty sale – auctions being so rare these days – you should proceed as you would with any private treaty sale. Get your finances in order (mortgage approval, etc), view the house several times, get a survey done, engage a solicitor to do the conveyancing, decide what the house is worth to you and then put in an offer. Executor sales can be as complex or as simple as any other sale.
When more than one party owns any house things can get complicated and drawn out: one person might want to hold out for a higher price, or alternatively the executor might have been given the instruction to simply sell the house as quickly as possible for whatever he can get for it. Just decide what the house is worth to you and forget about the sellers or what they might want.
Your questions
Send your queries to Property questions, The Irish Times, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irishtimes.com. This column is a readers’ service and is not intended to replace professional advice.
