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Selling your Home FAQs
The answers to our most frequently asked questions about selling your home
Here we’ve answered some of the questions customers ask us when they are selling their homes. If you have a different question, we’re here to help – just email us at resales@soresi.co.uk
Your questions answered
Yes, it’s important to let your dedicated resales consultant know about any structural changes you have made to your home. They will discuss these with you.
It’s a good idea to wait until your own home is under offer before looking for a new one – we cannot sell a shared ownership home to anyone who owns an existing home (unless it is under offer with a buyer)
EWS1 forms have been created by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to give mortgage lenders and valuers assurance that a building’s external wall system meets relevant building regulations and advice notices. Once you've found a buyer, lenders and valuers may ask them to provide an EWS1 form for the property to help them determine whether to lend against it. Please read our EWS guide for more information about whether your building needs an EWS1 form.
Your lease says that you can only sell your share for the value set by a RICS surveyor. If you think it is worth more, you will need a valuation report from a RICS surveyor to confirm the higher amount. If we don’t find a buyer within the agreed marketing period, you can instruct another estate agent. Then you can sell on the open market to a 100% buyer for any amount, as long as you pay your landlord their share of the RICS valuation or the sale price, whichever is the higher.
If your lease is below 85 years it may affect your chances of selling. Check your lease to find out and speak to your solicitor and SO Resi for more information. We will let you know your options for extending your lease to make your home easier to sell. You should be aware that the cost associated with extending your lease increases as the remaining term falls.
It gives buyers an easy way to see how energy efficient your home is, how it can be improved and how much money this could save. It is a legal requirement to have a valid EPC before selling your home. They are valid for 10 years, so if you received one when you bought your home, it could still be valid.
We have a panel of recommended firms, who all have lots of experience in Shared Ownership sales. We strongly recommend choosing from this panel to help your sale go smoothly – but we don’t receive any payment if you do use one of our recommended firms.
- Find out more about our recommended surveyors
- Find out more about our recommended financial advisors
- Find out more about our recommended solicitors
We can usually find a buyer within the nomination period – 4 or 8 weeks. If we are not able to, you can:
- Ask us to keep marketing your property until we find you a buyer
- Instruct SO Resi’s partner estate agent, Leaders Romans Group (LRG), to sell your share or 100% of the property
- Find your own estate agent to sell your share or 100% of the property
Once we’ve found a buyer, the conveyancing process can take several months or more, depending on the questions that come up during the process. The RICS valuation on your home is valid for three months from the date of the offer, and can be extended for a limited time through a desktop valuation. It’s important for everyone to work to achieve completion before the valuation expires. The SO Resi team will do their best to support the conveyancing process throughout.
SO Resi will appoint a dedicated resales consultant who will keep you updated at every step, from initial listing to completion. You can also keep track of progress using the My SO Resi online portal, which shows you how many enquiries and viewings your home has received, provides feedback from potential buyers and gives you a detailed to-do list at every step. Log onto the portal and select My account.
Your lease says that your landlord has a certain period of time (the ‘nomination period’) to find another Shared Ownership buyer for your home. This is typically 4 or 8 weeks and is in place to help make sure it remains a Shared Ownership home. If SO Resi can’t find a buyer within this time, you can sell your home on the open market, through an estate agent or through our partner, Leaders Romans.
Read our guide on open market sales here. If selling on the open market, you may end up selling to someone who purchases 100% of your home. Read more about this process here.