Home moving process set to become more efficient in the UK
A strategic plan has been launched in the UK to create a more positive experience for home movers that includes a faster process, fraud protection and effective communication.
It is said that moving home is one of the most stressful experiences in life and the Conveyancing Association, the trade body for the industry, wants to deliver significant improvements to the current moving process.
It believes that this can be done by improving identification verification by developing a product that is more safe and reliable along with E-Home reports that provide all the information needed to put a property up for sale.
The association also wants to reduce uncertainty around the completion of a home sale by enabling money to be sent the day before to make moving home easier for clients on the day of sale.
It is calling for leasehold reform to reduce the costs and delays associated with leasehold transactions, plus helping develop a redress scheme and support fair terms in new leases and aims to create a new portal.
There is also room for improvement in the lending process by creating the ability for buyers to obtain a reliable decision in principle, plus reduce post-offer queries and improve communication with lenders.
CA member firms will be asked to pilot some of the plans in their businesses, specifically in work streams such as the delivery of reservation agreements, enabling greater completion certainty, provision of searches and using a secure portal.
Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association, said that the strategy is focused on areas which the organisation believes require significant attention but also have the capacity to make the most difference to all those who take some part in the purchase of a home.
‘They cover a wide range of intended deliverables and, for some, come with a number of unique and not inconsiderable challenges to meet. However at the CA we believe that, just because these may be difficult to achieve, it doesn’t mean we should shirk from them,’ she said.
She explained that in a number of key areas progress has already been made, particularly leasehold reform where the Government has committed to a review of leasehold tenure.
‘This strategic plan provides an overall guide for us to follow and focuses us on the job ahead. We will be looking for further involvement from many practitioners, affiliates, stakeholders and other organisations, to make these ambitions a reality,’ she added.
