Relocation
employers move
their workforce
with minimal effort"
David Parton, Partner
If you're an employee who has been offered relocation assistance, we can help you with the conveyancing of both your existing home and the purchase of your new one.
If you are an employer we can provide help and advice in setting up your relocation scheme.
Not sure how relocation works?
As most employee's main asset is their home, the property transfer forms the core of most company relocation packages. It typically involves the employer or a specialist relocation company nominated by the employer purchasing the employee's property to facilitate a home move.
For this reason, the nature of relocation typically involves the employer buying the employee's home, often to help their employee move more quickly to the new employment location and avoid the added stress of trying to sell their existing property on top of the job move.
The employer will normally only wish to hold the property bought in for as little time as is reasonably necessary and may already start to market the property for sale whilst the employee is dealing with their move.
How is the sale price of the home agreed?
The employer will typically arrange a number of valuations of the employee's property to agree an informed fair price for the purchase in. This is commonly known as the guaranteed price.
The employee may continue to try and sell their property for a period of time in an attempt to improve upon the guaranteed price offered, but if they are content with the price offered, more often than not they simply go with it.
Does the employee have to participate in the sale on?
The employer will require the employee to complete a series of detailed questionnaires relating to their property ownership. This is because the employer has no personal knowledge of the employee's home and will wish to collect as much information as possible to ensure all buyers' questions can be answered raise when the employer endeavours to sell on.
The employer will also require all customary conveyancing searches to be obtained to ensure that the agreed purchase price is appropriate, reflecting on the results of the searches and to ensure that no problems will be encountered on the subsequent sale on.
Is the process similar to a private sale?
Broadly speaking, yes. The purchase is typically broken down into the two customary stages of property transactions: exchange and completion.
It is not uncommon for the employee to tie in a related purchase with the relocation sale. Company schemes can differ as to the financial benefits that an employer will offer an employee and there are likely to be tax implications associated with these employment benefits, which the employer should be able to counsel on.
A deposit will be released by the employer against the guaranteed price to be used by the buyer on their related purchase. The release of this deposit coincides with exchange of contracts.
The balance of the guaranteed price is paid over on completion of the sale. However it is likely that the employer may ask the employee to sign a power of attorney enabling them to deal with the property as their own but avoiding the need to report a formal property transfer in turn avoiding the associated expenses of a full transfer.
Why use Access Legal from Shoosmiths?
Personal service with a modern twist. The nature of our relocation conveyancing service is specifically engineered to avoid the need for the client to attend our offices to instruct, complete forms and sign legal documents.
This means benefits for employer and employee, and means less stress and time out of the business for the new employee.
Action orientated
Our team of solicitors and specialists are focused on proactively progressing all transactions to achieve the earliest possible completion.
Great communication
We'll keep you up to date at all times via phone, email, letter and our online progress tracking system, which lets you view your relocation transaction 24/7.
