It says that at a time when new schemes such as Help to Buy are seeing demand rapidly increase, the consumer friendly guides aim to help buyers and sellers understand exactly what to do and how to avoid any pitfalls.
The long awaited phase two of the government's Help to Buy scheme is expected to see a sharp increase in potential buyers, and a record 56% more chartered surveyors expect to see transaction levels increase rather than decrease between now and the end of the year. However, with 29% of first time buyers saying that they do not fully understanding the purchase process when taking the plunge there is a need for more information.
RICS says that it is significant that over a quarter of first time buyers also admit to not knowing the difference between a market valuation, that is the property's actual worth, an agent's appraisal which is an estimate as to what it can sell for and a survey which is a surveyor's assessment as to the condition of the property.
It believes that failing to grasp the fundamentals could create big problems for buyers and sellers alike and, in some cases, could lead to unexpected costs and even potential transactions falling through.
The guides include: Buying a home, Selling a home, Home surveys, Renting a property, Letting a property, Property auctions and Boundary disputes.
‘It's no secret that buyer numbers are on the up and more and more sales are going through as the market begin to find its feet again,’ said Peter Bolton King, RICS global residential director.
‘With this in mind, it's a big concern that there isn't enough advice out there to help people buying and selling their homes, especially when it comes to first time buyers who haven't gone through the tricky and stressful process of purchasing their first home,’ he explained.
‘The guides we produced are designed to help those who're looking to buy, sell or rent a home and, hopefully, will go some way to making sure the growing number of transactions across the UK go smoothly,’ he added.
