A new research project launched this month is set to discover what buyers think should be done to improve homebuying in the UK.
The Open Property Data Association (OPDA) has issued a survey through more than 30 of its member firms including Atom bank, Inventory Base, and Kotini to cover thousands of existing and potential homebuyers. The results will form evidence for OPDA’s campaign to transform and digitise the homebuying process. The deadline for responses is 30 September.
OPDA wants to find out not only what homebuyers and sellers feel about the process but how they think it should be improved. The trade association is particularly interested in how much homebuyers and sellers know about digital property information and how comfortable they would be using and sharing data.
The survey is targeted at customers who have transacted on a property over the past year or two and those who aspire to home ownership. OPDA is aiming to reach as many homebuyers as possible through members who include several of the country’s largest lenders. The research launch comes shortly after NatWest Group and HSBC joined OPDA. Nationwide announced its membership in July and Lloyds Banking Group in March.
Results and analysis will feed into a white paper that OPDA will publish and present to Government and other key stakeholders later this year.
Much of the homebuying process still remains reliant on paper, duplication, multiple signatures, and manual checks, and OPDA says this is a major contributor to the lengthy delays many customers experience when it comes to reaching completion on their home purchase.
OPDA is keen to highlight that its own research shows that people using its data standards for digital property packs have seen time reduced from mortgage offer and purchase accepted to exchange.
Maria Harris, Chair of OPDA, said: “We’ve all heard examples of how bad the torturous and archaic homebuying experience is in this country. But we’re taking our research further by asking consumers not only what they think about the experience, but also how they feel it could be improved and about their attitudes to digital property information. We’d love the industry to share the survey link with their own customers to generate the biggest consumer voice possible.”
OPDA is calling on the government to deliver digitised property data at source, and wants to use the findings from this research to support their argument.
Two of my children are in the process of buying flats. Both are about to exchange and complete. Their solicitor/conveyancer has done everything they should have done, promptly and professionally, but that has not meant that the process has not been slow (in their opinions), confusing and stressful. I will sit down with both soon to see what they think should be done to improve homebuying in the UK. They can’t wait!
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I am sure that 2 FTB who know nothing will have a plethora of advice
LOL
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I am sure they won’t be giving advice Jan, just feedback. God you are a miserable so and so.
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“Much of the homebuying process still remains reliant on paper, duplication, multiple signatures, and manual checks, and OPDA says this is a major contributor to the lengthy delays many customers experience when it comes to reaching completion on their home purchase.”
I don’t think there are many conveyancers who’d agree with this assertion NOT because they are tech dinosaurs but because the real issues are Standard Enquiries (often tech generated) and an over reliance on technology at the expense of employing qualified and experienced conveyancers.
Workloads not being controlled also leads to delays.
It’s a shame that proper research isn’t being carried out to establish the real hurdles so they can be addressed.
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Lenders generally have their houses in order but need to have departments overseeing and application that has not been offered within 21 days so that specialists can deal with problems not just the standard ‘we take 5 working days to look at documents received’
Many (most) solicitors are very good at their jobs but don’t have enough time to deal with everything by return. Unfortunately there are also plenty that aren’t qualified to deal with problems. Every firm should have problem specific departments to pick up the cases that are out of the ordinary. Many Online conveyancers employ ‘clerks’ to tick the boxes who just don’t understand how to solve difficult problems. These problems are derived from conveyancing fees being too low so they can’t afford to employ enough people to speed it up. Workloads are too high to be efficient in most cases. I don’t say this lightly as I’m an estate agent but since the 1980’s now we have instantaneous communication and access to digital information the process has slowed down to double the timescales of average transactions. Leases need to be regularised so everyone knows what length of lease is mortgageable. Deeds of variation need to be off the shelf to deal with the most common problems and also need to be free and irrevocable. Lease extensions need to be quick and standardised with a simple valuation table adhered to by all to avoid unnecessary costs and time. Managing agents need to be governed to ensure LPE1 forms are returned within 7 days. There will always be anomalies like unregistered titles and odd covenants but the most common delays can be wiped out with strict governance and more staff with a good understanding of leases and conveyancing. Also, everyone selling their home should have to instruct their solicitor before they put it on the market to ensure that their title is saleable. Home information packs were excellent on the legal side. Survey issues can usually be sorted out quickly by a decent agent, as long as surveys are enforced to be passed to the agent to avoid fraudsters trying it on. Every estate agent branch should have to have one person who is qualified to understand leases, conveyancing and surveys in their basic forms. Not every employee needs to be licensed but one per branch needs to be as well as owners and self-employed agents.
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