Shared Ownership

Once we have received your completed Application to Staircase form and the valuation deposit from you, we will instruct an independent RICS qualified surveyor to value your home. The surveyor will contact you directly to arrange a mutually convenient time to visit the property.

Valuations are only valid for 3 months and the valuation will need to be in date when completion takes place. If the valuation expires before completion takes place, we will need to request a desktop valuation or new valuation report, this may be at an additional cost to yourself. Your valuation could change, and this may impact the price you will pay for the additional shares in your home.

We will aim to instruct the valuation within 3 working days of receiving your valuation deposit and completed form (or in line with the timescale defined in your lease).  

Your solicitors will arrange a completion date with you, the buyer’s solicitors, and our solicitors to let us know the proposed date. Our solicitors will let your solicitors know if there is any money they need to collect from you to cover rent and service charges to the completion date.

Once we are notified that completion has taken place, we will update the account and adjust the amount of rent you pay to reflect the equity you now own from the date completion took place.  

It is important you complete and return your application to sell to us at the earliest opportunity. The form gives us your consent to answer questions from any prospective buyers, your estate agent, solicitor or any other interested parties.

You are free to make your own arrangements to market the property for sale. Usually Customers arrange to market their property through local estate agents, but you can also agree a sale privately.

If a valuation is required, we will contact you to let you know whether we will instruct a surveyor or whether we need you to obtain a valuation. We will do this once you have found a buyer. However, if you wish to have the valuation done earlier, please contact us to let us know however please be aware that valuations are typically only valid for 3 months and if your valuation expires you may incur additional costs and the valuation may change.

Please give your estate agent a copy of the eligibility criteria. If your property is owned on a Shared Ownership basis or is a property that has a sale price restriction of less than 100% of the value of the property, please find the eligibility criteria here. If your property is owned outright but is age-restricted, you can view the eligibility criteria here.

You will need to let us know as soon as a sale has been agreed to prevent any delays with your transaction. Please ask your estate agent to email a copy of the Memorandum of Sale to Property.Sales@placesforpeople.co.uk as soon as possible. If you have agreed a sale privately, please email us with contact details for your buyer.

Please note that the sale price for the share must equal the relevant percentage of the market value of your home. 

If you haven’t already, you should instruct a solicitor once you have agreed a sale. You can find a solicitor through the Law Society. Please send us contact details for your solicitor once they have been instructed. 

Your solicitors will arrange a completion date with you, the buyer’s solicitors and our solicitors and let us know the proposed date. Our solicitors will let your solicitors know if there is any money they need to collect from you to cover rent, service charges or sinking fund payments to the completion date.

Your buyer’s solicitors will serve Notice of completion on us once the sale has gone through. It is important that the buyer’s solicitors serve notice as soon as possible as otherwise this can cause delays in the account being updated. We will then update the account into the new owner’s name. 

Please note that we cannot accept estate agents appraisals or mortgage valuations.  

Valuations are only valid for 3 months and your valuation will need to be in date when completion takes place. If your valuation expires before completion takes place you will need to get a desktop valuation or new valuation report and this may be at an additional cost to yourself. Your valuation could change and this may impact your sale price. Your sale price must not be more than the relevant percentage of the RICS valuation.   

We will write to your solicitor and the buyer’s solicitor to confirm our requirements for granting consent to the assignment of your lease and approving your buyer’s mortgage. At this point we will ask your solicitor to pay the consent to assignment fee of £144 including VAT. Your solicitor will contact you to arrange for you to sign a legal document called a Licence to Assign. Depending on the terms of your lease, we may instruct a solicitor to act on our behalf who will liaise with your solicitors in our stead. 

It is important that you monitor the progress of your sale by liaising with your solicitor to ensure that the sale completes within the validity of your valuation report.   

Your solicitors will arrange a completion date with you and the buyer’s solicitors and let us know the proposed date. We will let your solicitors know if there is any money they need to collect from you to cover rent and service charges to the completion date. 

Your buyer’s solicitors will serve Notice of completion on us once the sale has gone through. It is important that the buyer’s solicitors serve notice as soon as possible as otherwise this can cause delays in the account being updated. We will then update the account into the new owner’s name.  

It is important you complete and return your application to sell to us at the earliest opportunity. The form gives us your consent to answer questions from any prospective buyers, your estate agent, solicitor or any other interested parties.

Once you have agreed a sale we will ask you to pay the valuation deposit so we can instruct the valuation report. If you would like us to instruct the valuation earlier, just let us know.  

You are free to make your own arrangements to market the property for sale. Usually, Customers arrange to market their property through local estate agents, but you can also agree a sale privately.  

You will need to let us know as soon as a sale has been agreed to prevent any delays with your transaction. When you let us know a sale has been agreed we will contact you to request the valuation deposit payment if this hasn’t already been paid.

Unless you are selling your home outright, your buyer will need to be assessed as eligible for Shared Ownership.  

On receipt of payment, we will instruct an independent RICS qualified surveyor to carry out a valuation of your property. The valuer will contact you directly to arrange a mutually convenient time to visit the property.

Valuations are only valid for 3 months and the valuation will need to be in date when completion takes place. If the valuation expires before completion takes place, we will need to request a desktop valuation or new valuation report, this may be at an additional cost to yourself. Your valuation could change, and this may impact the price we require for the additional equity you are selling.

If you are not selling your home outright, your sale price must not be more than the relevant percentage of the RICS valuation.   

We will send you a staircasing offer to confirm the price required for the additional equity you are selling. Your staircasing offer will also confirm the expiry date of your valuation and the offer. Your sale will need to complete before the expiry date or we may need to request a desktop valuation as outlined in the step above.

If you wish to proceed, you will need to return the acceptance form included with your offer and provide us with your solicitor’s details. You can find a solicitor through the Law Society. Please send us contact details for your solicitor once they have been instructed. 

It is important that you monitor the progress of your sale against the expiry date of your offer.  

Your solicitors will arrange a completion date with you, the buyer’s solicitors and our solicitors and let us know the proposed date. Our solicitors will let your solicitors know if there is any money they need to collect from you to cover rent and service charges to the completion date. 

If required under the terms of your lease, your buyer’s solicitors will serve Notice of completion on us once the sale has gone through. It is important that the buyer’s solicitors serve notice as soon as possible as otherwise this can cause delays in the account being updated. We will then update the account into the new owner’s name.  

Instructing the valuation

We will aim to instruct a valuation within 3 working days of receiving your valuation deposit payment (or in line with the timescale defined in your lease). 

Issuing your offer  

We will aim to issue the staircasing offer to you within 5 working days (or in line with the terms of your lease) of receiving the valuation report from the surveyor. 

Providing a management pack 

Your solicitor may request a management pack (also known as an LPE1 or Purchaser Information Pack) from us to give to your buyer’s solicitors. If your property is managed by us, we will request the applicable fee from your solicitor. Your solicitor can email us at Property.Sales@placesforpeople.co.uk to request our bank details or to ask us about other payment methods. 

We aim to issue the management pack within 10 working days from receipt of the payment from your solicitors. 

If your property is managed by Residential Management Group (RMG), RMG will acknowledge the request within 2 working days and then issue the pack within 5 working days.  

Updating the account  

After your sale has completed, the buyer’s solicitor will need to notify us that the sale has completed and provide us with formal confirmation of the buyer’s details. When we have received this information from the buyer’s solicitors, we aim to update the account within 5 working days.  

Do I have to choose an option at the point of completing the Application to Sell form?

No, you do not have to choose an option at the point you complete the form. You may decide one option works better for you than the other or you may decide to ask your estate agent to advertise the property for sale as Shared Ownership and outright. You should speak to your estate agent to get their advice on marketing your property. 

When do I return my Application to Sell form? 

It is important you complete and return your application to sell to us at the earliest opportunity. The form gives us your consent to answer questions from any prospective buyers, your estate agent, solicitor or any other interested parties.

When should I market the property? 

You are free to market your property whenever you wish. We do not nominate purchasers or have a list of potential applicants. We recommend you return your Application to Sell form as soon as possible so we can answer any questions from any prospective buyers, your estate agent, solicitor or any other interested parties. 

What is the difference between a RICS valuation and an Estate Agent valuation? 

An estate agent’s valuation is an appraisal of the recommended price to market your property at. A RICS valuation is carried out by a RICS-qualified surveyor, in line with their professional guidance. A RICS valuation will determine the market value of the property, assuming a sale from a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm’s length transaction, after proper marketing.  

How will I know the value of my property before a valuation has been carried out? 

You will only know the market value of the property when a valuation has been carried out by a RICS-qualified surveyor. It is up to you when the RICS-valuation is obtained. However, your estate agent should be able to advise you on marketing your property and the price to advertise your home at. 

When do I instruct a valuation? 

If you are selling the share you own, you will be responsible for instructing a RICS-qualified surveyor to value your home. Once your buyer has been approved, we will contact you and ask you to obtain a valuation from a RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) qualified surveyor. You can find a RICS qualified surveyor local to you on the RICS website

You are free to obtain the valuation earlier if you wish. Please note that valuations are only valid for 3 months and your valuation will need to be in date when completion takes place. If your valuation expires before completion takes place you will need to get a desktop valuation or new valuation report and this may be at an additional cost to yourself. Your valuation could change and this may impact your sale price. Your sale price must not be more than the relevant percentage of the RICS valuation. 

If you are selling a higher share or selling your home outright  

If you are selling a higher share than you own or selling your home outright, we will instruct the valuation and you do not need to obtain one yourself.

When do Places for People instruct a valuation?  

If you are selling the share you own, you will be responsible for instructed a RICS-qualified surveyor to value your home. We will not instruct the valuation if you are just selling the share that you own. 

If you are selling a higher share than you own or selling your home outright, we will instruct an independent RICS-qualified surveyor to carry out a valuation of your property once we have received payment of the valuation deposit from you. If you would like us to instruct the valuation earlier, just let us know. The valuer will contact you directly to arrange a mutually convenient time to visit the property. 

Valuations are only valid for 3 months and the valuation will need to be in date when completion takes place. If the valuation expires before completion takes place we will need to request a desktop valuation or new valuation report and this may be at an additional cost to yourself. Your valuation could change and this may impact the price we require for the additional equity you are selling.

What if my valuation expires?

Your valuation must be in date when completion takes place. It is important that you monitor the progress of your sale against the expiry date of the valuation. If you think your valuation will expire before completion takes place, you should contact us and we will let you know the next steps.  

Are there any restrictions on the sale price I can agree with my buyer? 

If you are selling your property on a Shared Ownership basis, the sale price for the share you are selling cannot exceed the relevant percentage of the market value of your home. The sale price must be market value or less as Shared Ownership is an affordable housing product. 

If you are selling your property on a Shared Ownership basis but at a higher share than you currently own, the price payable to us for the additional shares you are selling will still be calculated based on the market value, not the sale price. 

If you are selling your property outright, there are no restrictions on the sale price you can agree with your buyer and you can agree a sale price higher than the market value. If your agreed sale price is less than the market value, the price payable to us for the additional shares you are selling will still be calculated based on the market value, not the sale price. 

What if my remaining lease term is short? 

You can apply for a lease extension if your lease is short. Read our guide to lease extensions. 

What fees will I pay?

You will be responsible for your own legal and estate agents costs, plus the valuation fees. You will also have to pay an administration fee to us which will be confirmed to you on the application form.

Please note that if your rent or service charge account is in arrears, any arrears will need to be cleared at or before completion takes place. 

How long will the process take on average? 

We can’t answer that for you. How long the sale will take from the point a sale is agreed to completion depends on a number of factors, including how quickly your buyers can proceed, whether your buyers need a mortgage and how quickly your solicitor and the buyer’s solicitors complete the conveyancing for your transaction. 

What is in a management pack/purchaser information pack? 

The pack provides information on your property, the lease and the management of the scheme which a buyer’s solicitor may ask for in order to advise their client about the property. It will include insurance and service charge accounts and any other documents we hold about your property.