Once we have received all required documents, we will carry out our usual checks and confirm whether you are eligible to purchase the property under the Right to Buy scheme within 4 weeks.

Next, we will arrange the valuation of the property before we issue our S125 offer letter.

The Section 125 Notice is an important document, and you should read it very carefully. It will tell you six main things:

• It will describe the property which you have the Right to Buy.
• It will tell you the price the landlord thinks you should pay for it. To calculate this, your landlord must first work out how much your home was worth at the date on which you submitted your application form, and then take off your discount. If you have made improvements, these are not allowed to put the price up. If your discount is reduced by the discount limit or the cost floor, the notice must say so. It is not specified in legislation that a landlord must attend a property to value it. You do not need to pay for the first valuation.
• It will give estimates of the service charges or improvement costs you will have to pay during the first 5 years after you buy your home if it is a flat or leasehold house.
• The length and expiry date of the lease if it is a flat or leasehold house. 23
• It will describe any structural defects that the landlord knows about.
• It will contain the terms and conditions that your landlord thinks should be attached to the sale. These may be set out either in the form of a draft of the legal document for you to sign, or as part of the notice, or on a separate sheet.

You have up to 12 weeks to accept your landlord’s offer.

It is during this time that you will need to arrange a mortgage or loan, get a survey, and hire a solicitor for conveyancing, etc. It is also time to get independent financial and legal advice (if you have not already) and check you understand all the costs before you sign anything.