An industry pledge has been issued by The Home Buying and Selling Group (HBSG).
HBSG was set up in 2017 following the government’s call for evidence on how to improve the home buying process. Chaired by one of the UK’s leading property experts, Kate Faulkner, the group brings together specialists from all areas of the property industry including lenders, surveys, solicitors, estate agents and removal firms. Their aim is look at the process from the consumer’s perspective and collectively suggest cross-business approaches to improving the experience.
The Industry Pledge sets out simple steps which could go some way to improving the process. The steps aren’t exceptionally awkward, and focus more on doing tasks earlier and ensuring consumers have the information they need as soon as possible.
One such step is for both the seller and the buyer to instruct their conveyancer earlier. For the seller, this is before the property goes on the market, and for the buyer this is before they make an offer. This is different to the current process in which a solicitor or conveyancer is only engaged once the terms of the transaction have been agreed. Although the pledge doesn’t advocate the solicitor or conveyancer being fundamentally involved in the negotiations, any law firms that sign up to the pledge should speak with their client about the potential benefits of providing information upfront and check the title for possible issues which may arise. On a purchase, they should discuss the different type of surveys available. This has the potential to shave time off the conveyancing process, but it’s difficult to see how this message will get to consumers.
Helen Hutchison, Partner in the Residential Property at Irwin Mitchell comments:
"Such a pledge would be welcome across the industry. A title health check prior to sale would ensure any issues are ironed out as early as possible, meaning once a chain is complete, from a legal point of view, the transaction could proceed in a more timely manner. Of course we’ve seen similar initiatives in the past which failed to have any real impact on transaction times such as the introduction of HIPS in 2007. It’s also worth bearing in mind, that for such a pledge to have a significant impact, it would need a complete buy in from the industry otherwise you could end up in a position where the aim is not met, should one party in the chain not sign up. Further, factors outside the pledge, such as search return times and obtaining mortgage offers could still see transactions delayed where they are otherwise ready to proceed."
Whether the pledge is adopted across the industry or not, buyers and sellers can take its message to heart by speaking with solicitors and conveyancers earlier. This could be simply to educate themselves as to the conveyancing process or obtain detailed cost estimates, but sellers particularly could discuss the information they need to gather in order to ensure the sale goes through quickly and smoothly.
A monthly briefing from Irwin Mitchell
October 2020
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