Selling a First Home

The sale of First Homes is a market-driven process. Essentially, if a potential buyer wants to buy a First Homes property, and they are eligible and financially proceedable they can do so. The sale of First homes is a first-come, first-served basis.

The resale process

The resale process is as follows:

• The seller should arrange and pay for a RICS qualified surveyor to value your property. You can find a local RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) qualified surveyor. Buyers can find a local RICS surveyor by using their website: RICS Find a Surveyor (ricsfirms.com).
• The seller must notify us of your intention to sell your First Home by emailing communityhousing@dover.gov.uk. 
• We will confirm receipt of your intention to sell, and issue you with instructions for marketing your home.
• The seller instructs an estate agent to sell your property. You must give the marketing instructions to your chosen estate agents.
• The seller’s estate agent markets your property, complying with the marketing instructions.
• A potential buyer views the property.
• A sale is agreed.
• The estate agent must complete the application pack with the buyer and submits this along with the RICS valuation and any supporting documentation to the Council. This must be sent to communityhousing@dover.gov.uk. 
• We will review the buyer’s application to assess whether they and their application are eligible for First Homes.
• Once satisfied the buyer is eligible, our Legal Team will issue an ‘Authority to Proceed’ form to the developer, mortgage broker and your solicitor. We will also send a conveyancer pack to their solicitor with instructions.
• The Buyer’s mortgage broker applies for the mortgage and the Buyer’s solicitor follows the conveyancer instruction pack.
• The Buyer's mortgage is offered. A copy of this must be submitted to us via communityhousing@dover.gov.uk.
• Once the Buyer’s solicitor has completed their legal tasks and undertakings, they submit the full legal declarations and undertakings to the Council.
• Our Legal Team will review and assesses the conveyancer pack and legal undertakings. Once the Legal team are satisfied that the sale is compliant, they will issue the Authority to Exchange form, Compliance Certificate and Title Restriction Certificate to the Buyer’s solicitor.
• On receipt of these documents, the Buyer can pay their deposit and the contracts can be exchanged.
• A completion date is agreed by both the Seller and Buyer’s solicitors.
• The Buyer’s solicitor will apply to register the transaction, including sending the Title Restriction Certificate to HM Land Registry as evidence that the First Homes restriction has been adhered to.
• The Buyer’s solicitor informs the Council of completion. We update our records.

Considerations

Owners are responsible for arranging and paying for a RICS-qualified surveyor to value their property. The report must have two valuations: the market value of the property, and the value of the property with the discount applied. If the owner has any concerns about the valuation, they must speak directly with the surveyor. Valuations are only valid for 3 months – if the sale does not exchange and complete within that period, a new valuation may be required. It is possible for valuations to be extended. Owners should speak with their surveyor about this. This may incur an additional charge.

It is the responsibility of the Buyer, their mortgage broker and solicitor, and the estate agent to ensure that the application form is completed correctly, and all supporting documentation, including the RICs valuation, is submitted to us. First Homes operates on a first-come, first-served basis; we will only progress applications that are eligible and have complete submissions. Any incomplete or incorrect applications will be rejected. 

Estate agents must only submit one application per sale at a time. Sales must not proceed without the Authority to Proceed form having been issued by our Legal team. This essentially confirms that the sale can proceed to the next steps. Buyer’s should not apply for a mortgage before receiving this confirmation. We aim to have assessed your application within 5 working days from the date it is submitted.

The sales price of the property cannot be negotiated upwards, even if there are several potential buyers. However, the sale prices can be negotiated downwards if at the request of the Seller.

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