Government of Jersey

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A decision made 4 March 2010 regarding the proposed sale of 97 Don Road. (This decision has been rescinded by MD-H-2010-0029)

Decision Reference: MD-H-2010-0020
Decision Summary Title :	DS – Proposed sale of 97 Don Road		Date of Decision Summary:	2 March 2010
Decision Summary Author:	Property Marketing and Sales Officer		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	Proposed Sale of 97 Don Road		Date of Written Report:	2 March 2010
Written Report Author:	Property Marketing and Sales Officer		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: To approve the sale of 97 Don Road on the Open Market.
Decision(s): The Minister, 1. approved the immediate sale of 97 Don Road to Mr David Joseph England and Jean Alison Claire England (nee Cardy) for the sum of £395 ,000 arrived at in accordance with Policy HD22 ‘Valuation Policy and Sales ‘ 2. resolved to seek the approval of the Treasury & Resources Minister to the disposal on the open market, rather than by way of shared equity, under the provisions of States Standing Order 168 (2) and subject to the subsequent approval of the individual transaction once an offer to purchase has been secured .
Reason(s) for Decision: To ensure that the sale is carried out in accordance with Standing Order 168
Resource Implications: Financial: £395,000 receipt as agreed on States approval of P6.2007 to be credited to HYR000.121010
Action required: Director of Sales & Lettings to arrange for Treasury and Resources Minister approval and oversee the passing of the contract and receipt of funds.
Signature:		Position: Assistant Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

97 Don Road - sale of

REPORT TO THE HOUSING MINISTER

97 DON ROAD, ST HELIER – PROPOSED SALE

Date of Report 2 March 2010

On 17th July 2007 the States approved P.6/2007 - The Social Housing Property Plan 2007 – 2016. This provided approval for the sale on the open market of a number of non-core properties which were owned by the Public of the Island and were in the stewardship of the Housing Department. The States in approving P.6/2007 also agreed that the receipts generated from the sales should in the first instance be put towards the planned programme of property refurbishment and regeneration outlined in the plan.

The property known as 97 Don Road was not included on this list at appendix C to P.6/2007 and at the time that the property plan was developed, was occupied by a long standing tenant. The property, did, however, feature in the Department’s maintenance backlog programme, notionally for 2011 where it was estimated that a capital investment of up to £50,000 would be required to ensure that the property continued to provide sustainable social housing in the longer term.

97 Don Road is a 4 bedroom terraced property arranged over 3 floors which is situated right on the roadside of what is a busy part of the town ring road. Whilst the property does benefit from a large enclosed rear garden, there is no on site parking and limited public or roadside parking in very close proximity. As a family home it has distinct limitations that restrict its appeal.

In June 2009 the property became vacant unexpectedly. Its suitability for social housing provision was assessed against the needs of both existing tenants requiring a transfer and new prospective tenants on the waiting list. No appropriate social housing use could be identified and it was considered that the property was therefore surplus to requirements and had that fact been apparent in 2006 & 2007 it would likely have been included in appendix C to P6.2007 as an open market sale.

In October 2009 the property was valued my Buckley & Co in accordance with the Ministers’ approved valuation policy (MD-H-2007-0057 refers) and a market value of £415,000 set, with no onward sale conditions being imposed.

The property was placed on the market with a reputable firm of local estate agents and over a period of 2 months a number of offers were received. All of these offers were considerably less than the asking price and potential purchasers cited the roadside location and lack of car parking as being key reasons for the low offers. It should be noted that this period saw a general downturn in the residential property market in the Island due to restrictions in the residential lending market.

It was clear that the market was settling and in order to ensure that the price being asked for the property remained realistic a second opinion as to the market value

was sought from Gary Le Feuvre MRICS in which he opined that the market value for the property at that time was in the region of £395,00

An offer was subsequently made by Mr David Joseph England and Mrs Alison Claire England (nee Cardy) his wife in the amount of £380,000 which following refusal by the Department was increased to £395,000 notably as well as being a cash transaction, at that time it was indicated that the offer was not subject to survey. The Department was minded to recommend such a transaction given that the full market value was being achieved. However, Mr & Mrs England subsequently notified the agents that following a valuation by their lenders, the appointed surveyor Messrs Labesse & Co had given an opinion of the market value at £380,000. Mr & Mrs England were seeing either to reduce their offer or to seek agreement from the Public that certain works to the property would be undertaken by the Public at its expense.

The valuation from Labesse & Co showed a significant variance from the valuation prepared by Mr Le Feuvre on the Department’s behalf and it was considered prudent to obtain a second independent valuation to remove any uncertainty about which of the valuations best represented the realistic market value. A valuation was subsequently prepared by Messrs Reynolds Chartered Surveyors in the amount of £400,000. This gave added credibility to the existing valuation from Mr Le Feuvre. The outcome of this process was communicated to Mr & Mrs England, whereupon they agreed to maintain their offer of £395,000 with the only condition being that they were keen to complete as soon as practicable and if at all possible by 12th March 2010. That completion date is considered to be unrealistic given the necessary process of approval of such a transaction under Standing Orders which will require that the transaction is notified to the States for a period of 15 working days once it has been agreed by the Treasury & Resources Minister. It is therefore anticipated that a contract date into the beginning of April 2010 is more realistic.

Recommendations

That the Minister,

1 approve the sale of 97 Don Road, St Helier to Mr David Joseph England and Mrs Alison Claire England (neé Cardy) his wife for the sum of £395,000,

2 request that the Treasury &Resources Minister agree to the transaction under Standing Order 168 (2) (a) and that following notification to the States in accordance with Standing Order 68 (3) to authorise the Greffier and Attorney general to pass the necessary contracts on behalf of the public;

3 that in accordance with the States approval of P.6/2007 the resultant funds be credited to HYR000.121010

Report Drafted By : - ………………………………Date:

Kim Le Blancq

Property Marketing & Sales Officer

Report Checked By :-

……………………………….Date Dominique Caunce Director of Sales & Lettings

Report Approved By : - ………………………………. Date

J C Hamon

Finance Director