Meet Bella, Senior Sales Completion Coordinator for Sovereign’s new build shared ownership homes.
Bella looks after a team of four Sales Progressors who work across our regional areas, from Oxford to the Isle of Wight and Reading to Devon, all progressing our customers house purchases from reservation through to completion.
We’ve asked Bella all the important questions surrounding the sales process of purchasing a shared ownership home…
What does a Sales Progressor do?
As a Sales Progressor, it is our job to ensure your sale goes through swiftly and smoothly. Whilst you may not have much correspondence from us throughout your sale, my team and I work hard in the background liaising with solicitors and financial advisers to get the keys in your hands as soon as possible!
What kind of questions will I be asked during a financial assessment?
In a typical financial assessment, you will be asked about your household income, any bonuses you may receive, debts or regular re-payments and if you are in receipt of any benefits. You will also be required to provide bank statements (normally at least 3 months) and payslips, so try and have this organised prior to your appointment.
What does my solicitor do for me?
Your solicitor will undertake all the legal work of the property sale for you. They will apply for ‘searches’ on your home and raise any ‘enquiries’ they or you may have to Sovereign’s solicitor.
What are ‘searches’?
Searches are applied for by your solicitor usually to the local authority or a search provider, to provide you with in-depth information about the property and the land it’s situated on. For example, an environmental search would look to see what the land had previously been used for.
What are ‘enquiries’?
Enquiries are questions about the property such as, ‘are there solar panels?’
What should I look for in a solicitor?
To ensure your sale goes through smoothly, it is very important to have a solicitor who is well versed in shared ownership, as it’s slightly different to buying on the open market. Once you’ve reserved your home, we suggest you speak to your Sales Consultant, as they can tell you if a certain solicitor has already been used on the development you are buying at. This is an advantage because if a solicitor has already raised enquiries on another property at the same development, they shouldn’t need to raise any more – unless of course you have any specific ones you would like to ask. Therefore, we should be able to get the keys to your new home in your hands quicker! View our handpicked panel of independent solicitors here.
What is a Memorandum of Sale?
A Memorandum of Sale is a document that is issued once your reservation has been successful. This is sent to all parties and has key information about the property to confirm the sale has been agreed.
What can I do to help progress the sale?
To keep momentum throughout the sale, it is crucial to keep in touch with us, your solicitor and your financial adviser. We advise to try and get a weekly update from all parties.
When do I pay my deposit?
Once your solicitor is satisfied with their findings and is happy for the sale to proceed to exchange, they will request your deposit to be transferred.
What does it mean to exchange contracts?
Once both parties are happy to proceed and the sale has been finalised, all documents will have been signed. When signed documents are held by both sets of solicitors, they will call each other to confirm the terms of the contract and advise their client has given authority to exchange. After this has been done, the sale is legally bound.
How long does it take to exchange contracts?
Once your solicitor receives the contract documentation from Sovereign’s solicitor, a 6 week exchange deadline will be set.
We do of course understand that we are currently in unprecedented times and there are delays for multiple reasons. For example, the Stamp Duty Holiday introduced by the Government has led to a huge increase in the volume of mortgage applications and therefore banks may have a slightly longer than normal response time.
When do I get the keys to my new home?
If we have taken handover of the property from the developer, just before exchange of contracts we will agree a date for you to receive your keys and complete the purchase. We wouldn’t normally agree on a completion date further than 10 working days after exchange.
If you exchange contracts before we take handover, we can only agree on a completion date once we take handover. This has to be within 10 consecutive days.
Throughout your home buying journey, if you have any questions please contact your dedicated Sales Consultant to discuss any queries you may have.
FAQs
We partner with you to share the cost of buying your own home – you pay for the part you can afford and we’ll pay for the part that’s left. It’s an opportunity to buy the home that’s right for you without needing the large deposit or the mortgage that goes with it.
You buy a share in your home that’s right for you. That could be from 25% up to 75% initially. You’ll pay a reduced rent to us on the share we own and a monthly service charge.
As your finances allow, you can buy further shares in your home as and when you choose, meaning you’ll own more and pay less rent.
Typically, you’ll only need a deposit that is 5% of the value of your share, rather than of the total property value, meaning you could get moving sooner than you thought.