Selling your home
Selling your property can be stressful. The following information may help to make it easier.
You are free to sell your property at any time. But, if you bought your property under the right-to-buy scheme and sell it within the first three years, you may have to repay all or part of the discount. If this applies to you, you should contact Home Ownership Services for the amount to be repaid.
How do I go about selling my property?
There are several ways you can sell your property.
- Through an estate agent – the estate agent will visit your home and tell you how much it is worth, advertise it for you and arrange for interested buyers to see the property. You have to pay the estate agent for their work so find out what their fee is before you hire them.
- Sell it yourself – you can arrange the sale yourself either through newspapers or using your own ‘For Sale’ sign. Some leases will not allow you to put up signposts or notice boards. You should check with your housing office. However, freeholders are allowed to put up their own ‘For Sale’ boards.
If you put up a ‘For Sale’ board, it must not measure more than 0.5 square metres or a total area of 0.6 square metres for two joined boards. No advertisement board may extend more than one metre from the wall of a building. You may only display one board and you must remove this within 14 days of selling the property. Boards are not allowed in some areas. You must check with our Planning Department before you put up any ‘For Sale’ boards.
- Internet - you can now buy or sell your home on the Internet. There are many websites to choose from. You have to search the different sites to find out what to do.
What do I need to do once I find a buyer?
You should find a solicitor to deal with all the paperwork. Solicitors’ services vary in cost and in the type of service they provide. Many people who want to sell their home contact several solicitors to find out roughly how much it will cost them to hire one.
How does the buyer get details of the service charge?
We provide a pre-assignment pack which is currently charged at £100.00 including VAT. This pack contains detailed information that your buyer needs to know. You or your solicitor should write to Home Ownership Services asking for the pack. The pack includes:
- A balance of your service-charge account.
- Details of any work rechargeable under section 20 that is being done but which has not been invoiced yet.
- Details of any invoices under section 20 that have not been paid.
- Details of any work rechargeable under section 20 that is planned for the future.
- Details of any incidents where the lease has been broken; and
- Service-charge details for the last three years.
We will give this information to your solicitor within 10 working days of getting their letter and payment.
Your solicitor must pass on this information to the buyer’s solicitor.
All service-charge payments, including invoices for work rechargeable under section 20, must be cleared before the property is sold. As your service-charge payments are based on estimated costs, your solicitor will normally ask to hold some money back until the actual costs are known.
Both sides’ solicitors must also agree what to do with any underpayment or overpayment left on the service-charge account at the time of sale. These are private arrangements and we cannot get involved with any disagreements that start after the property has been sold.
How is my name removed from the service-charge account?
After the property is sold, the buyer’s solicitor must write to us telling us about the change of ownership. This letter is called a notice of transfer or notice of assignment. We must also be told about any new mortgage arrangements. This letter is called notice of mortgage. A fee (currently £35) is charged for handling both of these notices.
We will sign these notices and send a copy back to the buyer’s solicitor. We will then change the service-charge account details and write to the new owner giving them the reference number, the estimated monthly instalments and details of the various ways to pay. We will also send a copy of our homeowner’s handbook.
We will not change account details until we receive these notices.
Who do I tell if I rent a garage?
If you rent a garage, parking space or shed from us, you must tell yourhousing office at least 10 days before the sale. You must hand any keys to the housing office. You must not give them to the new owner. Your account must be paid up to date and the account closed before you move.
If a new owner wants to rent a garage, parking space or shed, they should apply to the housing office.
Who else do I need to tell that I have sold my home?
You must also tell the Council Tax Department, the companies supplying gas, electricity and phone lines, the water board and so on. There are other companies you need to tell that are not listed here, so ask your solicitor if you are not sure.