With the average time it takes to complete a home purchase typically taking more than five months, an estate agent in London is calling for the industry to establish an ‘MOT’ system for new property listings, to help speed up the residential property sales process.

Amy Reynolds, head of sales at Antony Roberts estate agency in Richmond, wants to see the MOT be a form with a standardised checklist of questions agreed on by the industry. It would be given to the vendor by their solicitor before the property goes on the market, so all the information is ready if they receive an offer.

Reynolds commented: “The current system is fraught with unnecessary delays. For example – we get a buyer, and the seller’s solicitor sends whatever they’ve got and waits for the buyer’s side to ask questions. The buyer’s solicitor comes back and says ‘we’re missing a Fensa certificate for two windows from 2023. Do you have one?’ And then it goes back and forth on every point. Gas safety certificate, roof, buildings insurance. If the seller’s solicitor found the gaps at the beginning, before they got a buyer, sales would be significantly sped up. Where possible, we encourage sellers to get ‘sale ‘ready and those that do have a much better experience.”

Reynolds, who is putting her own house on the market this spring, added: “In preparation for my own sale, I got my house files out over Christmas. I realised I was missing a building certificate for my extension, so emailed the council straight away. I’ve had my fireplace serviced – I know that’s going to get asked. I’ve got my Fensa certificates, copied my building insurance, my council tax, I’m getting my gas service done, getting the chimney swept. I know I have an indemnity policy from when I bought it. I’ve got all of this together, so that when I find a buyer, I can exchange quickly.”

Whilst historically, Home Information Packs (Hips) were seen as a solution to this problem, they were criticised for adding red tape and costs to sellers, and were scrapped.

Reynolds added: “The problem with Hips is that they deterred casual sellers from speculatively putting their house on the market to see if it got any interest; the packs took a long time to assemble and cost up to £400. My suggested ‘MOT’ system would not be mandatory; sellers could download the form online for free if they wanted to plan ahead. Speculators could still test their house on the market without an MOT, and just wait a little longer if they got a buyer. If even half the market used an MOT and got their documents together up front, it would break the present logjam.”