While the industry awaits further details on the requirements of Material Information Parts B & C, a poll has revealed that 37% of UK estate agents see it as a great opportunity, but many still see it as another admin burden.
iamproperty asked agents how they felt about the upcoming changes. The slight majority of respondents (37%) said they see it as a great opportunity, closely followed by those who don’t know enough about it (35%), with a proportion most concerned that it will be another admin burden (28%).
iamproperty is calling for more agents to see the opportunity that this could bring for the industry, having seen first-hand the positive impact that Upfront Information has had on auction transactions for over a decade.
The Modern Method of Auction’s 56-day completion timescale would not be possible without collecting and making information available upfront, supporting vendors with speedier and more secure sales – and faster payments for agents.
And for Private Treaty transactions iamproperty’s movebutler is already supporting agents with Part A requirements, helping to remove the admin burden. When the full extent of requirements for Parts B & C are confirmed, the platform will be enhanced to take care of the changes and help agents stay compliant, although agents using the Legal Prep module are already one-step ahead of these upcoming changes and are leading the way in helping to get their clients sale ready earlier in the process.
Nicola Astley, Office Manager from Robert Watts, which has branches in West Yorkshire, and is one of iamproperty’s partner agents, said: “iamproperty’s Material Information and Legal Prep modules really speed up the process for us. We recently completed on a sale where the vendors opted to get sale ready upfront using movebutler and completed in 29 days after the offer was accepted.
“Part A provides useful information to us which helps when we are marketing the property. If the Legal Prep part is also completed, contracts and supporting documents can be issued as soon as a buyer is found. As well as speed, working with iamproperty takes some of the pressure off our team. We can get involved if we need to, but know that if we don’t, the iamproperty team will be working in the background.”
Agents feeling like they don’t know enough about the upcoming changes can access insights, tips and guidance from industry experts via iamproperty’s dedicated Material Information Hub. New content is being added all the time in the run up to further guidance being issued.
Ben Ridgway, co-founder of iamproperty, commented: “It’s promising that over a third of agents see the upcoming changes as a great opportunity, as there is still some uncertainty around the new requirements and what will be required of agents to meet them. We want to support agents so that more of them see it as an opportunity, because if embraced, it could be transformational and the change that the industry has been calling out for.
“More information upfront has the power to increase pipeline turn, reduce time spent on sales progression and reduce fall through. Getting the right tech in place to automate the collection of data will be key to help agents to stay compliant and free them up to focus on the parts of the job that add the most value.”
So we have two stories today taking about reducing offer to completion times. Both of which are based upon up front information and in particular with auctions a legal pack that has been prepared by conveyancer’s.
These stories show it can be done, especially if agents and conveyancer’s work together. I personally believe the ‘process’ could be improved, but it appears with the correct preparation transaction times can be significantly reduced.
Now what was that up front information system that we used to have but parts of the industry made it a mission to get rid of, even after everyone had got used to it and in my opinion was improving transaction speed?
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Agreeing a price THEN uncovering survey and legal issues which can cause problems is ridiculous
Selling a property with a basic legal pack and a survey included UPFRONT makes sense to me
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You pay for it then
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I have recently put a property on the market and believe that Upfront Information should be made available to prospective purchasers prior to viewing. I therefore duly filled in the TA6 prior to marketing and returned to the solicitor. The Estate Agent gave me a Property Information Questionnaire which they had already filled in. It was full of “unknowns”. When I asked what would be done with this? I was told scanned and placed on file! This is not much assistance to the prospective buyer and I can see why some agents consider it a burden if used in this manner. Another agent I spoke to sits down with the seller and goes through the PIQ gets to know the property and the seller through the process. The PIQ is then given to prospective buyers prior to viewing. Two very different strategies. The TA6 would not be issued until an offer had been accepted and requested by the buyers solicitor!!
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Wasn’t the cost the problem, £450 or taking out finance was very off putting to someone just toe dipping
Needs something like the Car Vertical app you can use when buying a car, gives all the history instantly
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It was considered the upfront cost for the seller would put off those speculating / toe dipping……..but do you really want those sort of sellers anyway?
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sometimes, yes
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OK so this is HIP’s by another name. This story is another advert on EYE.
If you want to do an upfront report, do it. If you don’t for all the reasons why it is more often than not (a) waste of admin time (b) shelf life requiring it to be replaced (c) legal pitfalls and liabilities with nearly always 7 parties involved and (d) most importantly who pays? Vendors told you what you can do with that idea when HIP’s was flouted as the best idea ever and it failed miserably with agents in the main getting the flack, …. then don’t do it.
There is nothing stopping an agent putting together their own brief, at little to no cost and if you don’t know how to do that. What are you doing in estate agency.
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