As a provider of repeat property-related instructions you know exactly what’s needed to run an efficient, cost-effective service. You need to be dynamic, forward-thinking, flexible, adaptable, focused on speed and completion rates but with no compromise on quality. And in order to deliver all those things, you need your partners to be the same.
We have extensive experience in plot sales, acting in connection with sales at sites of all sizes for national housebuilders, PRS scheme providers through to developers of more bespoke and also luxury smaller developments.
How can we help with plot sales?
We work cohesively alongside our lawyers in our specialist residential development and strategic land, planning and construction teams to help you realise the full potential of your development site for you. Our expertise in this area includes:
- Preparation of all legal documents for a development site in preparation of plot sales. We work to set up the precedent legal documents bank ahead of the marketing of your plots so that we have everything ready for that first sale.
- Development planning in respect of road, utilities and s.106 agreements – We conduct a title check of the development site so that we can prepare all relevant legal documents/agreements that would be required by a buyer of a plot.
- Shared ownership, Help to Buy and other government schemes, affordable housing, Part Exchange, age restricted properties- We can assist with your registration of government schemes and have experience with the drafting of documents for niche sales such as age restricted properties in addition to part exchange processes if you wish to acquire a buyer’s home and re-sell it for them to speed up exchange and completion of your plot sale.
- Mixed use developments
- Set up a management company for the development to manage common areas. We advise on the best times to hold common areas in a management company and have specialist departments to assist with forming a company with Companies House.. We can then deal with transferring common areas to such companies after completion of the plot sales where required.
- Drafting bespoke contracts, transfers or leases to suit developments of all sizes which are also purchaser friendly to ensure that any enquiries raised are minimal. We work with you to agree the drafting before the marketing of your plots so that the document bank is ready and waiting for your buyers.
- Providing specialist advice on how best to ensure each plot sales goes through as quickly and as efficiently as possible
- Providing a detailed review of the proposed estate plans and draft lease (where relevant) and arranging for them to be pre-approved at the Land Registry prior to the first plot sales. Prior approval ensures that there are no issues with plotting of plans and/or lease drafting which is not acceptable to Land Registry that could otherwise cause issues prior to completion of a plot.
- Providing advice in line with the Consumer Code for Home Builders and how this affects your development and how to avoid complaints. Consider the Consumer Code when drafting agreements for plot sales and specifying what to include in these agreements.
What is the process for plot sales conveyancing?
All of our clients use exchange deadlines and we understand how important it is to avoid any unnecessary delays in the crucial period of issuing contract papers to the purchaser’s solicitors. We use an online data room for holding plot sale contract paperwork, allowing the purchaser’s solicitor to view the contract documents from the first day of instruction. This maximises the time the purchaser’s solicitor has to review the paperwork and leaves us able to manage the process of enquiries and chasing an exchange within our client’s given timescales.
The key to keeping clients updated is transparency in reporting, and we issue a comprehensive update on all sales weekly to the client, agents and another relevant third party. We understand the need for a concise approach, and most of our clients prefer discussing key files with us over the phone as we progress to exchange.
Why choose us?
Our approach is to adopt your targets as our targets and position ourselves as an extension of your team so you can be sure we’ll deliver the results you’re looking for. We give you a single point of contact who gets to know you and your team. You can also have access to our online systems so you can check progress whenever you want and we report regularly in your preferred format. We use the latest case management software which we tailor to meet your requirements so it works for you. Perhaps the best testimonial we can offer is that our clients say our approach really works for them.
Our sizeable real estate team includes not just residential development and sales experts, familiar with sites of all sizes, but also specialists in commercial and residential development and strategic land, real estate development, planning and environment, care and retirement living, construction, real estate finance and disputes, amongst others. This breadth of knowledge and experience allows our real estate team to provide truly full service advice to residential developer clients on all aspects of real estate law for the life of their interest in a particular property.
Frequently Asked Questions
An average transaction would be 4-6 weeks, in respect of new builds we understand the needs of our clients during critical targets and time periods that need to be met.
We have a dedicated team of experienced individuals with the ability and capacity to deal with sites of all sizes, ranging from small scale developments to high volume or complex residential schemes.
We use a set of detailed information sheets at the site assembly stage to provide the purchaser’s solicitor with as much information as possible at the beginning of the plot sale to minimise the number of potential enquiries raised to facilitate exchange of contracts quickly.
It is a code designed to make the process of buying a New Build property more transparent to purchasers. We provide our clients with advice on how to ensure they are fully compliant with the code.
Yes and no. The code is only mandatory if you are registered with one of the following warranty bodies:
- NHBC
- Premier Guarantee
- LABC Warranty