Buying process in detail
The buying process
Once you have been accepted onto the Housing Options New Build Homebuy waiting list, we will contact you when a suitable property is available. There are then several stages to buying your shared ownership home:
Viewing and allocation
You view the property and let us know your preference in person on the day, or by fax or email within two days. We will ask your HomeBuy agent for your allocation form so that we can offer you a property according to our allocations policy. You need to ensure that you have given the agent your correct housing status.
Accepting the offer
You need to return the completed acceptance of offer form sent with our offer letter and return it to us together with a cheque for £500 to reserve the home. You will need to choose a solicitor and lender or financial advisor and let us know who they are.
Before we can go any further we will need proof of the following:
- your bank account
- your savings account
- your salary slips
- your P60 (or accounts if you are self-employed)
- your passport
- your utility bills
- your key worker status (if required)
- your tenancy agreement or housing waiting list number.
You then receive a Memorandum of Sale (MOS). This contains details about the sale and is sent to you, your solicitor, your financial advisor and Peabody's solicitor. It is important to check that all the information in the document is correct as from this point your £500 is non-refundable.
Conveyancing
This is the legal process of transferring ownership of the property to you. Your solicitor checks all the legal documents such as the title deeds and lease. They will also check with the local authority to make sure there are no planning applications that will adversely affect the value of your property (this is known as a local search). You will get a report of their findings. Your solicitor will work on your behalf and on behalf of your lender.
We then sign and exchange identical contracts. Once these have been exchanged you will be committed to purchasing the property. In order to exchange, your solicitor will need a copy of your mortgage offer.
Completing the purchase
This will take place on a date agreed by your solicitors and our solicitors in consultation with you and the Trust. This could take anything from one day to one week from exchange of contracts. Sometimes it can take place on the same day as exchange, known as simultaneous exchange and completion.
If you are paying a deposit on the property, your solicitor must have the money in their account as cleared funds before completion. Transferring funds takes some time so you need to allow plenty of time for this, and to take into account any notice periods for savings accounts.
Your solicitor will call you when your mortgage money has been transferred to our solicitors. We will then call you to let you know when you can pick your keys up from us. The home is yours.
Timing
Each individual sale varies, but as a guide the whole process should take around eight weeks.
