With average property transactions currently taking approximately 20-22 weeks between offer and completion, coupled with a cumbersome process, the question of how we can simplify, speed up and improve home buying continues to be asked.

It is widely acknowledged that there is an issue with the speed of transactions, and this leads to additional problems, for example: fall throughs, cash flow issues for agents and unhappy customers. There are many organisations trying to address this with technology, digitisation and automation, and of course, the Home Buying and Selling Group is making great strides in facilitating change and lobbying the government. But these will all take time to evolve and impact the market.

In the meantime, although transaction times are reducing slightly (thanks in part to a return to ‘normal’ workloads for conveyancers), there are immediate actions that can be taken to help facilitate a smoother sales process and to create best practice. Not only can this help to reduce fall throughs, but it will also ensure agents are paid sooner and, of course, it will also result in happier clients.

As sales progression specialists, advancing hundreds of transactions per week, we see exactly where the hold ups lie. There are so many reasons for log-jams, and as an industry, we should be doing all we can to identify credible processes and change the mindset of both seller and buyer in order to help speed up transactions, and to give the parties involved a better experience.

Guidance and education from the outset

The amount of form filling required when it comes to the sales process can be overwhelming. And not completing forms correctly or quickly, for example property information documents, can cause real delays. Having accurately completed forms up front and early on helps to facilitate the enquiries process. There are several firms advocating the completion of upfront information and of course it makes absolute sense to provide as much information as possible at the outset, to avoid discrepancies down the line.

It is also paramount to encourage clients to take a proactive approach, to help them anticipate what may come up and to guide them through the process. Obligations for both buyer and seller should be pointed out at the very start, to ensure they are fully aware of what’s required from them to expedite a smooth sale.

We also hear of people not responding to enquiries quickly enough, because they are confused with what they actually need to provide. This is either because the solicitor hasn’t fully explained, or the client doesn’t understand the legal terminology. It is vitally important to handhold clients through the process to ensure they know what to do and when; this is time worth investing to help avoid unnecessary delays.

Appointing solicitors at the earliest opportunity

Not appointing solicitors at the earliest opportunity can result in delays. Some find their dream home and then lose valuable time shopping around for the right solicitor. When qualifying buyers, agents should be encouraging them to instruct a solicitor and request property searches at their earliest convenience.

Ordering searches when a sale is agreed

A common hold-up is centred around searches, and not just because they can take a long time to come through. Typically, searches are ordered 5-6 weeks after an offer has been accepted. There are multitude of reasons for this, not least because mortgage advisors suggest waiting until the valuation is back to confirm the transaction will proceed. We would always advocate ordering searches when the sale is agreed. In the scale of things, the cost of searches is minimal but the time that can be saved in getting the ball rolling early is significant.

Automation of processes

Many of the initial processes, such as ID checking, can and should be automated. We are gradually seeing a plethora of new companies and products coming into the market, helping to digitise and streamline processes, avoiding vast paper trails.

Give solicitors space to do their job

Solicitors who take a practical and organised approach always reduce the amount of inbound queries, freeing them to work on the case. Trust and building a good rapport between agent and solicitor from the outset is imperative. This avoids the need for chaser phone calls and emails (from both sides), which takes the solicitor/agent ‘off the job’.

Focusing on sales progression

I find it incredibly disappointing when I come across agents who don’t focus on sales progression, as this – in itself – plays a huge part in the log-jam issue. For those involved in a chain that includes an agent which doesn’t focus on sales progression, it can be very difficult to obtain the information needed, and the chain will move as fast as the slowest party in it. Agents need to have someone solely focused on this, or to outsource it to ensure the momentum is maintained right through to completion.

Training

Naturally, agents focus on winning those all-important instructions, but training staff on the whole process and best practice when it comes to sales progression can only help reduce lengthy transaction times and fall throughs. After all, how can agency leaders expect their teams to guide clients through the process if they don’t have the knowledge themselves?

Of course, there is no one ‘fix all’ product or process. However, by identifying the hold ups and log-jams, we can find the right solutions to help alleviate lengthy transactions and fall throughs, which is ultimately where we all want to be. We need to address today the immediate changes that could be implemented to make a difference, rather than just sit back and wait for wholesale change.

Richard Megson is managing director of ASAP