Selling your
shared ownership home
Follow this guide if you are interested in selling your
home you purchased through shared ownership
Selling your home
As a homeowner, you can sell your shared ownership home like any other property, but you must follow the procedures set out in your lease, and in our guide below.
Our guide to selling your shared ownership home
If you are unsure about any of the terms in our guide, please read our shared ownership glossary.
Step one, part one: the application form and getting your property valued
The first step to selling your home is completing our shared ownership resales application form and getting a valuation of your home.
!Complete a shared ownership resales application form!
To get a valuation, a survey must be carried out by an independent RICS independent surveyor.
If you live in Bracknell, or in the surrounding area, we can obtain a valuation for a cost of £250 + VAT.
If you choose us to arrange the valuation payment must be taken before we can instruct the RICS approved valuers. Once the valuation is obtained, we will send you a copy.
If you choose your own valuer, we need to check they are RICS approved before you proceed.
The valuation must include:
- A full market figure,
- Four photos (front, back, kitchen, bathroom),
- A layout and condition survey,
- Details of improvements and works to the property.
If you live in Fleet/Oxford/Alton please obtain your own RICS valuation.
If you wish to proceed with the sale you will need to confirm this in writing and supply us with a copy of your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
Step one, part two: providing an Energy Performance Certificate
All properties require an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which you will need to provide. EPCs are valid for 10 years, so there may be a valid certificate already available for your property.
Visit 'find-energy-certificate.digital.communities.gov.uk' to check the EPC register
You should check the EPC register to see whether you have a valid copy from your initial purchase before instructing an assessor if that was less than 10 years ago.
If not, a survey by an assessor must be in place before we can begin to advertise your property and a copy must be sent to us within seven days of that starting.
Visit 'epc.direct.gov.uk' for more information about EPCs
Step two: marketing your home
To advertise your home, we need good quality photos and as much information about your home as you can provide. This includes things like parking options, access to a garage, access to a garden etc.
Photos should be emailed along with any other relevant information about the area. This includes things like schools, motorway links, public transport etc.
Your home will then be advertised on Help to Buy South for a period of 6/8 weeks depending on the lease terms.
Step three: the allocation process
The allocation process is where we establish which potential purchaser of your home (if more than one) has the highest priority needs.
It follows these steps:
- Interested buyers will register with help to buy and be approved for shared ownership.
- They will then complete a short financial assessment to check affordability.
- If they pass the assessment, they will contact you to arrange a viewing.
- If they are still interested after viewing your home, they will complete a full financial assessment and return an application form to us.
We will then complete anti-money laundering checks. If these are satisfactory, a formal offer will be made and your home will be placed under offer.
Step four: the conveyancing process
The conveyancing process is the legal process of buying a home.
It follows these steps:
- Once an applicant has been approved, we prepare a Memorandum of Sale (MOS) which formalises the sale of your property,
- The MOS will be sent to all parties and is the trigger for solicitors to start the legal conveyance process. Once this happens, we will only share information with your solicitors and ours. This means the buyer will need to direct enquiries to their solicitors, rather than with you,
- The buyer's solicitors will request a management pack/LPE1 from your solicitors. An LPE1 is a document that is used to obtain information about a leasehold property.
The number of enquiries the buyer has can vary and may affect the length of time for a sale to complete
The number of enquiries can vary and may affect the length of time a sale takes to complete. We will provide these enquiries usually within 10 working days of receiving the buyer's fee.
You will be liable for the fee for this service.
Step five: completion
Once a completion date is set, Silva’s solicitors will send your solicitor a completion statement highlighting any outstanding rent, service charges, legal fees and the resale fee. The Resale fee is the charge for administering the sales service. This includes marketing, website updates, finding a buyer, assessing applicants’ criteria and progressing the sale through to completion.
A mutually convenient time will need to be agreed with the buyer for keys to be handed over, usually at the property – Silva will not hold the keys for collection. You must leave any manuals and instructions for appliances in the property for the buyer. When the solicitors have confirmed that completion has taken place, you may give the buyer the keys.
The sale usually takes 12 weeks. Once completed, Silva will receive a legal notice and will update their records and adjust your rent and service charge accounts.
You should cancel your direct debit to Silva as soon as the sale completes if your solicitor has not already advised you to do so.
Shared ownership glossary
Affordability
We, alongside independent mortgage advisors, carry out checks to ensure that the property is affordable for your buyer and will not leave them with any financial risks.
Allocation process
The process in which we establish which potential purchaser of your home (if more than one) has the highest priority need.
Arrears
Money that is owed on your account. Arrears can come from overdue rent or service charges.
Conveyancing process
The conveyancing process is the legal process of buying a home. It begins after you have had an offer accepted on a property and ends once the final contracts have been signed and the money has been transferred to complete the purchase.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) measures the energy efficiency of a property on a scale of A-G. They are a legal requirement for a building or property to be sold, let or constructed. Once obtained, an EPC is valid for 10 years.
Lease
A legal document by which the freehold (or leasehold) owner (Silva Homes) lets the premises or a part of it to another party (you) for a specified length of time; after the expiry of which ownership may revert to the freeholder or superior leaseholder.
LPE1/management pack
An LPE1 is a document that is used to obtain information about a leasehold property. As such, LPE stands for 'Leasehold Property Enquiries, which form the basis of a leasehold ‘management pack’.
Marketing nomination period
A set period of time (typically 8 weeks), as set out in your lease, in which we seek to find a suitable purchaser for your Shared Ownership home.
Service charge
The cost of repairing and maintaining external or internal communal parts of a building charged to a Shared Ownership leaseholder. We also include buildings insurance and management charge.
Solicitor
A legal expert handling all documentation for the sale or purchase of a property.
Staircasing
Buying more shares of your Shared Ownership home is known as ‘staircasing’.
Valuation
A report produced by a RICS independent surveyor. It is a common way of determining the current market value of a property.