Sold Your Beach Hut? by Heather Hilder on June 15, 2022 “Sold Your Beach Hut?” Prepare for Hand-Over Are you feeling euphoric that you have a buyer for your beach hut? Or maybe you’re a little nostalgic thinking about all the wonderful times you’ve spent in your beach hut. However, in all the excitement, you may have forgotten what the next steps are now you’ve sold your beach hut. Let’s take a look at what needs ‘ticking off’ to make sure you make a smooth handover to your excited buyers. Sale Agreed – what next? The process of transferring the licence to your buyer can be over in a matter of days, or could take several weeks. This is because of delays in providing documentation, or holidays taking place, or completing the administration vis-a-vis Brighton & Hove City Council. We keep a very close eye on the sale process, working with all the parties to smooth the sale through to completion. There can be frustrations when either seller or buyer think the process isn’t going quickly enough, but patience is the key. During this time, it’s a good idea to remove all personal items from your beach-hut. Once your buyer has signed the Licence, the beach-hut is no longer yours. The Seafront Office manages appointments for seller and buyer, receives the administration fee for the sale of your beach hut, and issues the new Licence. Sale Fall-Through A sale may fall through at any time, for a variety of reasons: a) a buyer may change his/her mind if his/her cash is required for a new kitchen, bathroom, car, holiday etc b) a seller may decide the beach hut is for keeps (for the time being) During this time, with strong communication and diplomacy, the chances of a sale collapsing are reduced. Should the sale fall through for any reason, we will let you know immediately. As a result you may decide to keep or remarket your beach hut. The Money-side The buyer transfers the agreed sale price to our Client Account. We hold the monies safely in this account until completion. We advise never to accept CASH in case of money-laundering. Once the Licence has been transferred to its new owner, we transfer the monies (less our agreed fee) to your nominated account. Your Beach Hut now has new, excited owners – and you’ll have happy memories of your time spent in your property on the prom. Tips for Hand-Over Handing over your Beach Hut may be an emotional time, as you may suddenly recall all the wonderful times you’ve had with family and friends. This is normal, but if you get organised and plan well ahead the whole process will go a lot more smoothly. Here we share our top tips for making hand-over as stress free as possible. 1. Remove all personal items at least a week prior to completion. 2. Hand-over may occur any time of the week, so prepare by making sure we have all sets of keys Your Bank Details You’ve probably already provided us with your bank details to receive your completion monies. Our bank carries out a check on the payee’s name, account number and sort code once we have input the details of the monetary transaction. This is an excellent security check. So please don’t be put out if we ask you to re-confirm your bank details. It’s just to be on the safe side! “We’ve Moved!” Let your friends and family know that you’re selling your Beach Hut. They wouldn’t want to make an unannounced visit and find new owners there! Beech Hut Bills Last, but not least, make sure you notify the following that you’re no longer of the beach hut and cancel any subscriptions that you no longer need: Insurance Company Brighton & Hove City Council – Council Tax department Cancel outstanding quotations for work on your beach hut if you do not intend to go ahead Tips for sharing Let us know if you have any other tips you’d like to pass on. Thinking of selling your beach hut? To see some of the beach huts we’ve already sold, click here. Buyers are looking for beach huts throughout Hove. So, if you’re thinking of selling and would like a free, no-obligation valuation, call me, Heather, on 01273-735237 or heather@callaways.co.uk
