D7 Sale of Manses

1          The legal requirements and procedure for the sale of Manses is exactly the same as for Sale of Church Buildings/Land discussed above.   There will not be outside organisations using a Manse as stated in Clause 5 above but if the property is let on an assured shorthold tenancy agreement then the procedure outlined in Clause 5 above must be followed. 

2          In the case of a private dwelling house, it is usually acceptable to instruct a high street estate agent to deal with the sale.  The Trust would advise that 2 or 3 quotes are obtained and the church makes its decision as to who to instruct to sell the property in consultation with the LTO.  

3          It should be noted, however, that a Section 36 Valuation Report is needed (see Clause 10 of the previous Section) and it is advisable to instruct a firm of estate agents with a qualified chartered surveyor on its staff who can prepare this.   This should be discussed with the agents before they are instructed.   If the agents do not have their own surveyor then an independent one will have to be instructed as we will not be able to exchange contracts without the Report.   If an independent surveyor is instructed to prepare the Report this will almost certainly increase the costs and will make things more complicated.  Further advice on this can be obtained from the LTO. 

4          It is usually assumed the net proceeds of sale will be invested by the church for the future purchase of a manse.   Instructions in this respect should be incorporated into the Resolution to sell and advice in this respect should be obtained from the Synod Treasurer.