EXPERTS
Agony agent Readers put their property questions to our guest panel of experts: solicitors, mortgage advisers, property gurus and shared ownership providers
THIS MONTH’S PANEL OF EXPERTS
Adrian Plant, Director of SOWN, (part of Leaders Romans Group)
Lawrence Mayne, Regional Sales Manager, Peabody New Homes
Can I sell a shared ownership home? Q I’ve seen a shared ownership property for sale which ticks all the boxes for me – it’s bigger than I could afford otherwise, and in a nicer area. But I’m confused about what happens when I want to sell. Is it more difficult to sell a shared ownership property? Do I need to sell through the housing association? And are there any restrictions on when I can sell? Poppy Moss, Watford A There are a lot of myths around the sale of shared ownership properties so I can understand your doubts. But in reality it’s no more complicated than selling on the open market – in fact there are advantages because you have two separate means of finding a buyer. You must inform the housing association of your intention to sell.Then you’ll need to get a professional valuation from an RICS surveyor to set the asking price.The housing association will have the opportunity to find a buyer within its nomination period (usually four to eight weeks) before you are able to market it via an estate agent, although sometimes a housing association or provider will lift this restriction early.When marketing with an agent, the property can be advertised at the share value (ie the portion that you own) and the full 100% value, opening it up to two markets. The main issues you need to be aware of are whether there are any staircasing restrictions on the home and whether there is still a local area connection requirement (although this is normally limited to rural properties). Once a buyer is found, the usual process of instructing a solicitor to oversee the transaction occurs. Estate agents don’t charge a higher fee for selling shared ownership properties – as with any sale, they will normally charge a percentage of the full sale price. Any estate agent can market your property but it’s best to choose one with a specialist shared ownership department which fully understands shared ownership.You can also choose to sell through a national agent, such as SOWN, which has broader geographic catchment area and can deal with everything related to your sale in-house.This includes buyer qualification for the scheme, mortgage advice, RICS valuations and a shared ownership sales progression service.
John E Jones, Director & Head of Residential Property, Jackson Lees
TEST THE PANEL
We need your questions... If you have any queries, or difficulties in understanding the property buying process, our panel of experts is waiting to help. Send our team your questions on buying property, shared ownership, legal issues, or your financial problems and we’ll find the best person from the panel to give the advice you need.
Email your questions to: lynda@ rsttimebuyermag.co.uk
Adrian Plant
122 First Time Buyer August/September 2024
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker