Sir, - Bravo to Canon Desmond Sinnamon at the Church of Ireland General Synod (The Irish Times, May 18th). He has pronounced against the sycophantic support that our national newspapers give the real estate industry in this country.
How "real" is the substance of real estate? We are subjected to a conveyancing system where the property comes with no mandatory bill of health and no mandatory disclosure document duly signed by the seller and the agent in respect of the property's shortcomings. This is legally required in the US. For us, it is caveat emptor at its crudest and most brutal.
Our present conveyancing is a very convenient system where the sellers "dickey up" a property which can also come with "gunterised" extensions. It is cosy and comfortable for our realtors, the recipients of their expensive advertisements, and the sets of solicitors. What about our very hard-pressed young purchasers, stretched to the limit, forced to live with building defects? How can purchasers be expected to pay for proper professional surveys of all the houses they compete for?
The MOT has come for the car; the disclosure form signed by seller and agent must come for the house, its extensions, its water supply and its drains. It must be rigorously enforced. - Yours, etc.,
Gerald McConnell, Department of Civil Engineering, University College, Dublin.