Technology will be a key to improving house buying process in UK
The UK Government’s plans to make buying a home cheaper, faster and easier will help to revolutionise the process with digital technology playing a part, according to conveyancers.
The Conveyancing Association, the leading trade body for the conveyancing industry, is currently preparing its response to the Government’s call for evidence and says it is a pivotal point for the sector.
‘This call for evidence is a further step forward as the Government acknowledges the home buying and selling process is not fit for purpose. The CA is fully committed to working towards achieving a process which is fit for 21st Century consumer demands,’ said Eddie Goldsmith, chairman of the Conveyancing Association and a partner in GWLegal.
He revealed that the association is presently working through a number of internal pilots with CA member firms on areas which will provide solutions to some of the issues outlined in the call for evidence, including a digital home report.
The aim of digitising the home report is to a comprehensive collection of information upfront to the potential purchaser with a reservation agreement which will be legally binding and tackles the issue of aborted transactions and gazumping.
It is also working on introducing its Completion Code which enables completion money to be sent the day before completion, creating certainty in terms of the time of move and reducing wasted resources when it comes to completion delays.
‘Our members are fully supportive of this work and have been vital in developing these solutions. We believe the call for evidence process will result in a revolution in conveyancing and the CA will be at the forefront in helping deliver it,’ Goldsmith explained.
Other groups and organisations have also been giving their reaction to the move. Russell Quirk, chief executive of eMoov also believes that harnessing technology is the key to improving the home buying process.
However, he is sceptical about a ban on estate agent referral fees from introducing conveyancing and mortgage services and said they are a perfectly legitimate aspect of the property selling process and are already regulated by the Estate Agents Act and via the Property Ombudsman to ensure nothing illegal transpires between agent and broker.
‘Adding further red tape to this aspect will only be detrimental to the overall process which should not be the aim of this exercise. The buyer or seller has the option to use whoever they please to provide financial and legal facilities during a sale, while this could be made clearer to the consumer, the recommendation itself is certainly not solving a problem that needs to be prioritised,’ said Quirk.
He believes that a ban would result in a monumental decline in revenues within corporate estate agencies such as Countrywide, Connells, LSL and Foxtons which base their business model around the commission made via these referrals.
‘The Government have already begun the process to ban introductory tenancy reference fees in their attack on the lettings industry and so they have a track record of implementing bold moves and pulling the rug from beneath the industry’s feet. But in this particular instance, they would be causing a big problem, not solving one,’ he added.
