The Home Buying and Selling Group (HBSG), an informal mix of people from across the property, legal and finance sectors, including estate agents, has released a discussion paper with a view to improving the home buying and selling process.
The group, made up of people who believe that if the industry, government, and media work together, the home buying and selling process can be improved for consumers, want to secure improved changes for the sector.
But to improve the the buying and selling process, they say the whole home moving industry needs to come together to agree on what solutions would work ‘on the ground’, test and pilot upfront initiatives, for example, Property Logbooks, Property Packs or other solutions and Digital Identity and agree on changes the industry can make itself and where we need government and media help.
The paper sets out a different way of moving home which the industry can deliver now, including:
+ Instructing a legal company day one of marketing, or before
+ Buyers being financially qualified prior to viewings
+ Aiming to move everyone by 1pm on the day of completion
The HBSG also set out the help that it believes is required by government to revolutionise the sector for the future including implementing the already agreed changes to the leasehold sector, mandating upfront information which meets recognised standards, delivering single Digital Identity verification for sellers and buyers and turning a very paper led system into one that is digitised, where quality data can be trusted by all.
Collaboration has been key in delivering for the HBSG, including working on home moving industry guidance during covid and extending the SDLT. As such, the HBSG has published this paper with the aim of creating discussions within the industry, government, and the media on whether – and how – the solutions proposed would improve the process, not just for consumers, but for the industry too.
Kate Faulkner, chair of the HBSG, said: “We have worked hard to identify all the issues by working with trade and professional bodies, ombudsman, regulators, and redress schemes from all sectors involved in the home moving process, as well as government and importantly, practitioners, from small independent companies through to franchises and corporates.
“It’s an incredibly difficult job to secure support and agree on the best way forward for such a diverse industry, but by putting the consumer front and centre, we think we have a roadmap that will work. What we need now is feedback and hopefully support, including testing and piloting new ways of moving home from those that haven’t been involved in the group’s work to date.”
A copy of the paper can be found here.
The right direction.
Nothing regards a mandated gap in-between exchange and completion that I could see in the paper.
Anybody who works on the ground knows how much stress this causes. Indeed it is without doubt the peak of the stress curve for consumers.
Still gazundering goes unaddressed and at a time where it’s return is causing misery.
Moreover the horrific stress incurred by those with exchanges ridiculously close to completion day, often incurring major costs financially as well as emotionally, isn’t discussed.
Everybody who works on the ground, with consumers knows there’s absolutely no good reason why there cannot be a mandated period in-between ex&comp.
There’s no reasoning against that cannot have a hole quickly blown through it.
This was an early aim of the group. It’s a shame those with an interest in maintaining the current stress purely for their own benefit haven’t got on board, and indeed have clearly sought to frustrate a potential change that would have majorly benefitted those who are paying the industries wages.
The consumer
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To add,
I notice that where this document contains quite definite language regards many points;
Key release time remains an ‘aim’ for 1pm. In fact for the moving day section this document almost insinuates the issue is people being moved out by 1pm. Whereas in the real world, for decades this hasn’t been the issue.
One could argue that ensures the status quo would continue to exist, reading this.
The Law Societies time for completion right now is 1pm.
It could easily be argued that today, Conveyancers will ‘aim’ for 1pm.
Movers (both firms and the public) will only benefit if this language for the stated goal changes to ‘keys will be released by 1pm’.
I’m uncomfortable that the document doesn’t address moving days historic mess caused by conveyancing practices of almost sociopathic diagnosis.
Moreover the language hinting that being moved out by 1pm is an issue. Frankly it’s an insult to the moving industry.
Everybody knows the physical home movers aren’t the problem.
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I’m disappointed that BAR (British Association of Removers) have signed off on this language.
Any member of the public reading this would take the read that a common issue is having homes empty by 1pm.
Whereas in fact the issue is with the entire conveyancing process.
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Who has the power and the will to mandate a minimum period between exchange and completion Matt? Solve that problem and you would go some way to solving the problem of late completions on completion day, because conveyancers would have more time to request and obtain mortgage funds etc. It is often one party in the chain that says (dictates) I need to move on a certain date even if someone in the chain isnt ready to exchange until that day or a day or two before.
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common ground! You’re right Rob. However it doesn’t change the fact that its a huge issue. It is depressing that the will isn’t there. Any group purporting to act for the consumer would be seeking to address this. Including of course the bodies within that group as well as the individuals. The will, indeed isn’t there. But then neither is the direction or focus to create or force that will to exist.
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I will read through the document before commenting further. I am surprised that it appears that the first concern that seems to be flagged is the timing on the day of completion. That really is not an issue in the real world! Weeks of delays prior to this are however!
Perhaps Eye can look further at this tomorrow after people have had a chance to read and inwardly digest?
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That is grossly naïve, and bafflingly out of touch. Speak to any representative body for home movers, or home movers themselves and they’ll tell you its been a massive, misery causing issue for decades.
There’s plenty of maths, and discussion on this. In fact its now causing a recruitment crisis for home movers. Not conditions, not the work, not the pay. Purely and simply the idiocy surrounding key release times.
‘Moving Matters’ podcast, episode 73 – the last third of it – have a listen and you’ll understand just how big a problem this is.
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Ok, that may be an issue for removal companies. I get that, but do you understand the reason for it?
It is purely down to the movement of money by the banks and the time it is requested and moved by the solicitors in the chain.
Probably made worse by exchange and complete on the same day transactions.
Not really sure how that can be changed, it is purely, as far as I am aware, to do with solicitors and the entire banking system.
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I do, fully understand. You hit the nail firmly on the head with ‘and the time it is requested and moved by the solicitors in the chain.’
It is this that causes the overwhelming majority of issues. Operating in a world where the CHAPS window opens at 6am, and 1pm is the accepted completion time yet having an MO (as many do) of thinking it’s acceptable to apathetically take 2 hours to acknowledge, adjust and move funds along is gross misconduct.
Having it widely accepted that lunch should be taken for 1 hour right at the time clients should be completing is, has and always will be a gross insult, to clients, never mind movers.
That a close friend of mine (solicitor for decades, and darn successful to boot) agrees that any chain with true competancy and empathy not too mention proper professional practices amongst all firms should easily have a chain’s funds done and dusted by 1pm speaks volumes.
This needs addressing. If tomorrow by decree all homes had to be empty by 10am on moving day movers would start at 6am. The CHAPS window opens at 6am yet frequently the conveyancer at the bottom of the chain doesn’t send funds until mid morning. This again, is grossly disrespectful to all parties involved. Not to mention so far short of decent practice I’d suggest they’re out of their depth and need to find a counter top customer service role for they surely do not have true comprehension of their role and how it affects others.
You’re quite right about the scourge that is exchange and completion same day. That is all too frequently a blight and both an idiots charter and scoundrels charter. Moreover, above all is a practice that does nothing but sour, mangle, and render what should be happy memories into miserable stress filled memories, again for the paying public and moving companies.
And it actively encourages and enables gazundering. The hypocrisy of conveyancers that tell clients its ‘fine’ to do this knowing full well the effects it can have is a gross misconduct issue as far as I am concerned. That the same idiots also tell their clients not to pay deposits until exchange….well…..again the utter lunacy of the position is hard to fathom. One can only imagine then telling their heart surgeon ‘ No, leave the anaesthetic until you’ve made the incision, after-all, you’re not definitely operating until you’ve cut me open’.
Conveyancing has become a wild west. We could and should solve all the above points, especially given there are only two.
Any body that truly wants the consumer to enjoy the process needs to deal with them.
Any family that has been stuck in their car for 4 hours on moving day suffering the stress of waiting, or indeed who get timed out and see their possessions driven off to storage…. or those who get chipped for ten grand at 11:00 on moving day because their solicitor said ‘its fine to ex&comp same day’ ….. well those families would jump for joy if these things were fixed.
It is beyond belief that any serious entity created to improve things for the consumer would not seek to address these. Especially when theres decades of experience and evidence to say just how big an issue it is, and how many hundreds of thousands of people over that time have been shafted by events leading up to, and on moving day.
When you think that that day is the one moment they’re building up to. That often it becomes a cruel, miserable event is unforgivable.
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When part B & C of material information are released it would be good if the turnaround time taken for local authority search or probate are known and available as factors when considering offers
Some delays are outside anyone’s control or influence
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Having read this through in a little more detail now. It looks very much like HIPS to begin with, with the addition of a digitised ‘log book’ for the property. That just seems sensible and logical to me. Why do the same requests for information have to be made every time a House sells? Set the information up once and keep it!!
There are some nice ideas, but not really practical. Eg. All potential buyers have to be financially checked before any viewings? Sellers fully committed to selling?
Not practicable or easily changed without new legislation.
The thing they really seem to have missed out on though is getting all the money to the solicitors on time. It is a great idea to ensure mortgage funds are drawn down twenty four hours prior to completion and top up moneys are paid. But what about the money that is used from the proceeds of the sale that is then used by the selling solicitor to send up the chain as part of the total purchase cost of the next property?
How can this all be guaranteed to happen by 1pm? In a chain of six properties?
I like the general plan and the digital log book in particular. Some of the other changes are highly unlikely to happen, particularly licensing of agents.
Increased licensing means higher fees to customers. Which government is going to allow that?
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