Government’s homebuying fixer-upper

At the beginning of October, the Government announced some significant planned changes to the homebuying process. These reforms also include a focus on digitising the process, rather than relying quite so heavily on sending physical copies of documents and spending countless hours on the phone chasing conveyancing solicitors for updates. For those of you who have been through this painstaking process in the past, the phrase “About time!” might spring to mind.

These changes were announced with the hope that they will reduce the timeframe for completing the purchase of a new home by around four weeks. One of the key proposed differences is the requirement for searches and surveys to be published by sellers and estate agents prior to a property listing being made public.

This would save homebuyers both the time and money required to instruct searches and surveys on their prospective new home. It is also expected that this would lead to fewer property sales falling through as this will enable buyers to be far more informed from the outset. With the surprises that can arise as a result of these searches and surveys, this would appear to be a good way to reduce the number of buyers getting ‘cold feet’ and pulling out due to previously unforeseen problems.

There is also the potential for legally binding contracts to be introduced earlier in the process, to reduce the likelihood of prospective buyers pulling out months after having had their initial offer accepted.

According to an article by Financial Reporter, the mandatory information that would need to be provided under these reforms prior to a property being placed on the market include:

• council tax band
• EPC rating
• property type
• legal and transactional information such as title information and seller ID verification
• leasehold terms
• building safety data
• standard searches
• property condition assessments tailored to property age and type
• service charges
• planning consents
• flood risk data
• chain status
• clear floor plans

As for digitisation, more widespread use of digital ID verification and standardised data sharing aim to smooth the journey to completion of purchase, improving transparency and reducing the number of sticking points that so frequently arise under the current system.

This is a promising announcement, and one that feels massively overdue. Better late than never! The government is set to lay out the roadmap for making these changes in the new year. Until then, we must wait to find out how the government plans to deliver this system overhaul.

Let’s hope this reform doesn’t fall through before completion.