William Nassau-Lake
Partner and Head of Development & House Building
+44 (0)118 952 7236
[email protected]
View Full ProfileOverview
Although demand for new build properties in the UK is high, competition is also intense and buyers’ expectations are higher than ever. An experienced, highly efficient and effective plot sales strategy and capability is therefore a crucial factor in the success of any property development project.
Consistently ranked in the top tier of both The Legal 500 and Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession, we are regarded as the region's leading full service property team. Our team includes a specialist Plot sales team – the leading service of its type in the Thames Valley.
We handle many hundreds of plot sales transactions each year for commercial and residential property developers. Whatever the scale and scope of the development, we offer a seamless and highly cost-effective service and pride ourselves on a proven track record of outstanding client service and achieving sales on time and to budget, in line with developers’ critical sales programmes and targets.
Forming a strategy for the future management and ownership of communal areas and the residual interests is becoming increasingly more important and can be costly and complicated if not addressed thoughtfully and at the right time. Our team is well placed to advise on these issues and the various options available to developers.
We also act as the "recommended solicitor" for many national house builders – working for purchasers of flats or houses on their developments. We specialise in Help to Buy and other government-backed schemes, as well as handling developers' own incentive schemes.
The team also supports affordable housing providers with sales of new shared equity properties.
Expertise
Services for developers include:
- Advising on management structure and future ownership of communal and residual parts of developments sites
- Preparing the site for sale by advising on structure and generating appropriate sales documents in advance of sales commencing
- Preparation of a legal handbook in association with the developer and selling agent
- Setting up management companies and liaising with managing agents to agree management schemes
- Regular weekly updates and review meetings with the developer and selling agent (creating cost savings by removing the need to employ a contract chaser)
- Customised billing protocols and transparent invoicing
- Use of a secure online sales micro site
- Use of a secure client extranet
Who we help
We provide our Plot sales service to a wide range of property developers and house builders in respect of the disposal of units of all shapes and sizes within residential, commercial and mixed use schemes.
Recent work
Relevant recent activities include:
- Acting for developers in respect of the sale of plots on multiple sites across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Wiltshire, London and beyond
- Completing transactions for recommended purchases the same day as the mortgage offer was received where urgency was required by the purchaser and developer
- Acting for developers where the solicitors who purchased the development site did not have the experience or capacity to deal with a large number of plot sales, with multiple completions taking place on the same day
- Disposing of 25 fully serviced plots to self-builders on a low carbon development in rural Oxfordshire
- Multiple disposals of residential plots to affordable housing providers
- Disposals of space for commercial, leisure and community use to investors / operators / occupiers in mixed use schemes
- Acting for housing associations in respect of the disposal of residential property sold on a shared equity basis
Key contacts
