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GAZETTE
JULY/AUGUST
1 9 90
society cheque as endorsed by
my client, brought it to their
bank and exchanged it for a
bank draft in favour of the
Council. My client and I now
believed all our difficulties were
overcome and we made our
way back to the Council's
offices complete with bank
draft in the Council's favour,
which was duly inspected by
the official concerned. It was
now 11.30a.m.
6. The Council official then pro-
ceeded to write out a receipt
document which he requested
me to bring to the nearby Cash
Office together with the bank
draft and the cheque for the
small balance of the purchase
monies. I was then to return
with the receipt when the
Transfer Order could then be
signed.
7. My client and I went to the
Cash Of f i ce and wa i t ed
patiently in a queue to pay the
money, which was received
and the document receipted.
We then brought back the
receipt to the official in the
sales office, (this official did not
actually 'conduct' the closing),
wh i ch he inspected and
accepted. The official then
informed us that he would now
get the Transfer Order typed -
a procedure which he said
would take about 15 minutes,
during which we could wait
outside in the hall.
8. There being no seats readily
available my client and I sat on
the stairs, with nothing to do
but to ponder the Kafkaesque
events of the morning. We
were now at the stage of
having paid over a substantial
sum of money but were still
awaiting the typing of the
document of title to the
property being purchased.
9. The 15 minutes passed and we
returned to the door marked
'Sales' to enquire how much
longer might be the wait and
we were told "another 15 or 20
minutes". I bit my tonguewhen
I was told that: "after all there
were people before us who
were on time for their
appointments!" Another half-
an-hour later we were called to
a different room! It was now
12.30p.m. We were attended to
by a pleasant young official
who had a file and a typed
Transfer Order which my client
signed. I handed over the mort-
gage documents, the family
home declaration and a cheque
for the stamp duty and regis-
- tration fees on the mortgage. I
then requested a wr i t t en
undertaking by the Council to
attend to the stamping and
registering of my title and the
building society mortgage and
to the furnishing of a copy folio.
The response was:
" n o
problem", it would be sent to
me in the post that evening.
However, I insisted on receiving
it then, as it would represent
the only security for the com-
pletion of the legal formalities
that either my client or the
building society would have. I
then drafted the appropriate
f o rm of unde r t ak i ng and
offered to type it if a typewriter
was made available to me. The
pleasant young official thought
I was joking; it was then
12.45p.m. The official went off
to find a typist and I told my
client that she could now go
but I would have to wait for the
wr i t t en undertaking. Wi th
obvious relief my client
departed. I waited and con-
tinued to wait. At 1.10 p.m. the
official returned w i t h the
undertaking typed and in order,
which he then signed and
offered apologies for the delay,
and I took my leave at 1.15p.m.
The transaction, which I had
naively assumed would take
about 10 minutes, being finally
concluded in four hours.
Final observation
The Council knew in advance (I had
discussed it with them per tele-
phone) that the purchaser's lending
institution would be a building
society; that the cheque tendered
would be a building society cheque
drawn in favour of the borrower;
that the Transfer Order would be a
standard form other than the
specific details of purchaser and
property; that it would have to be
signed by the purchaser; and that
a letter of undertaking as to
stamping and registration would
have to be given. If my experience
on this occasion has been unique,
so be it. If not, surely a more
efficient procedure can be devised
without insurmountable difficulty!
Yours sincerely,
MARY HEDERMAN
Solicitor,
30 Marlborough Road,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.
26th April 1990
Mr Ernest Margetson,
President,
Incorporated Law Society of
Ireland,
Blackhall Place,
Dublin 7.
Dear Mr Margetson,
I am writing to inform you of my
appointment as Registrar of Deeds
and Title with effect from 22nd of
April.
Whilst the task before me in
running both Registries is quite
formidable, I am looking forward to
your co-operation and that of your
members in achieving what I am
setting out to do, that is to provide
the
most efficient registration
system possible.
With this in mind, I am planning
a number of meetings with various
bodies, including your good selves,
in the near future.
Perhaps you would confirm with
my secretary, Ms Anne Lennon,
your willingness to participate in
any such meetings.
Yours sincerely,
CATHERINE TREACY
Registrar of Deeds and Title,
Land Registry,
Chancery Street,
Dublin 7.
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