Blog by Simon Bath, CEO of When You Move
“People assure us that in 25 years’ time [the home buying process] will all be very different. But we don’t want to wait 25 years for change – now is the time to have a grown-up conversation about the changes we need, and how to make them happen… It does not have to be this way, and it shouldn’t be this way.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. These are the words of Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid, in the Foreword for the Government’s recent Call for Evidence document as ministers launch an enquiry into the home buying and selling process. The document outlines the current flaws in the property industry and how the process could be made “faster and less stressful”, including a crackdown on gazumping.
Javid and his ministers have put forward insightful questions with the hope of hearing from estate agents, solicitors, surveyors, mortgage lenders and even the public. The opinions of the industry will help to inform their decisions before they put forward new legislation with the aim of transforming the legalities around the home buying and selling process.
As well as summoning the views of all property professionals, the Call for Evidence presented sobering statistics that truly highlighted the inefficiencies of the current process: 38% of buyers and 42% of sellers said it took longer than expected to get from offer to exchange of contract, with half of sellers reporting a delay of five weeks or more. That’s time and money wasted for everyone involved.
It seems that the government has finally caught up with what has been said about this antiquated industry for so long: the process needs to be brought up to date by increasing transparency, regulating processes and harnessing digital technology. We believe the time has come to actually put some tangible measures in place and see a real, genuine step change.
Here at When You Move, we’re embracing the national enquiry – surely people shouldn’t be experiencing these kinds of delays in the digital age? We’ve been looking at the document from a unique and holistic perspective across the chain as the When You Move platform was created for all parties with the aim of working better, together.
The Call for Evidence will no doubt spark debate for the remainder of the year, with responses being taken until 17 December 2017. The responses will be controversial but it’s what we need to steer change in the industry. We’ve summarised our views on the issues raised within the consultation:
Putting an end to the blame game
“Those experiencing delays tended to hold the other party’s solicitor or licensed conveyancer responsible, with nearly half (47%) of buyers blaming the seller’s solicitor, while 58% of sellers blamed the buyer’s solicitor.”
The industry as it stands is a classic example of the blame game. It seems that whenever delays occur, people pass the buck and point the finger at the conveyancer of the other party. In a process with so many components and people involved, the blame always seems to fall with the conveyancer, when the fault is more often due to the process, not just the person.
Let’s be realistic about the current conveyancing process: there are 70 steps and procedures laid out by The Law Society’s Conveyancing Protocol that need to be completed for efficient case progression leading to completion. This level of complexity causes massive delays and even cause transactions to fall through completely when buyers or sellers get itchy feet, or buyers get gazumped by a new buyer, so no wonder 69% of people are reporting stress and worry when their sale is delayed.
The government’s research has shown that nearly a third of buyers and sellers wanted a faster service from conveyancers, and the conveyancing sector itself has recognised this and are already planning to put in place a number of improvements. Instead of blaming the conveyancer, we should all try to improve the chain and work together to provide a better service for the public to prevent further delays.
We’re already embracing this at When You Move with our platform that has a panel of approved conveyancers, each with a rating and capacity indicator, so brokers can search for and choose conveyancers based on their performance and ability to take on new work. This way, conveyancers can provide an exceptional level of service, while estate agents and brokers and recommend firms to their clients with confidence. This level of signaling to our peers in the industry is what we need to avoid over-stretched conveyancers being appointed cases.
Create transparency and enable better digital communication
“There is a real lack of trust between buyers and sellers and that this can lead to people assuming the worst if there is an unexpected delay or the process is taking longer than they were lead to expect.”
Trust within the property transaction sector is at an all time low. The Government’s research shows that there is “a real lack of trust between buyers and sellers and this can lead to people assuming the worst if there is an unexpected delay or the process is taking longer than they were led to expect.” The problem here is the lack of communication in the chain. Buyers and sellers are often left in the dark about case progression, which is ultimately what is causing this mistrust.
‘No news is good news’ doesn’t work within the property sector. Updates through the chain can help to create transparency between parties and allows trust to be built, not only with the client, but also between estate agent, mortgage intermediaries and conveyancers.
Our many years of experience in the industry has given us an understanding of this issue: we’ve been on both sides of the fence. So when developing When You Move, we ensured that it had an innovative dashboard and consumer-facing mobile app to guarantee that all parties involved receive proactive status updates every step of the way.
We also believe that few consumers want to be communicated with in the way they did 20 years ago: interruptions during the working hours with calls or waiting for letters to arrive in the post aren’t ideal scenarios. Instead, let’s take a leaf from the way people communicate now – online or by mobile updates. The average adult spends 2 hours and 29 minutes on their mobile a day, so let’s make sure that we’re communicating with them in a way that reflects modern life now.
The mortgage intermediary and conveyancer can simply update the status with a single line e.g. ‘Forms have been received and will be processed tomorrow’. This will then appear as a push notification on the client’s phone and appear on all parties’ personal dashboards. This keeps the entire chain in-the-know and reinforces a sense of certainty, so all parties are better off.
Let’s make real tangible changes
This review gives us the opportunity to make a real impact on what holds up transactions, looking across the entire chain for blockage points. For example – hearing back from management agents regarding leaseholds can often delay the process. We propose a focus on ensuring these agents are encouraged to release information as soon as it is requested – perhaps even a fine if they don’t provide the relevant information within a set period of time.
And of course, there is the onerous burden of searches. The Call for Evidence recognises that a lot of frustration lies around the current restrictions that HM Land Registry are bound by in terms of the long-winded process of searching for data on property, such as leases, restrictions, covenants and easements.
The Government believes that by providing a “firm foundation for a digital revolution in conveyancing” these searches will become easier and improve the transparency of the process. We’d love to see search indemnities developed as an alternative to lengthy wait periods, much in the same way the as the USA operates, where the entire process from offer to completion only takes four to six weeks.
No doubt estate agents, mortgage intermediaries, conveyancers and the general public will all have different views on the best solution to make the process less stressful and more efficient, but one thing’s for sure: the Government is taking a step in the right direction. We can’t wait to see the results and help everyone in the property chain work better, together.
The complete document/publication is also available at www.gov.uk/dclg
You can respond electronically via an online survey, which can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/homebuyingandselling
Responses can also be emailed to: homebuyingandselling@communities.gsi.gov.uk
You must submit your response by 17 December 2017