I recently attended a seminar from James Monroe of The National Trading Standards Estate & Lettings Agency (NTESELAT) team in a room full of estate agents, where parts A, B & C in relation to material information under the Consumer Protection (from unfair trading) Regulations were discussed. Part A is already in place, Parts B and C are due to be released imminently by NTESELAT.
Like many industry colleagues, I am completely in support of upfront and transparent information for the consumer, because I truly believe that it will help speed up the conveyancing process and reduce fall through rates.
However, my observation from this meeting is that the law is being presented to agents in a way that they are struggling to engage with. This is maybe because change can often be difficult, and also perhaps due to the fact that balancing the knowledge of the law with the ability to sell will always be tricky.
There were questions from agents in the room, (many with years of experience), as to how this all works practically. I expect a lot came away with more questions than answers.
How can you rely on a vendor giving you (or not giving you), information in certain circumstances, but not have the ability to rely upon their information in others? It is a tricky balance to reach. We have to be experts in our area, and in property as a whole but we are not expected to be a surveyor or a lawyer. So how do agents navigate this? In reality, the answer is that we should always question and investigate further.
Today’s agents should be comfortable talking a seller though the most common issues that can arise in a structured way. The use of a fact-finding questionnaire (we have one available for download, or similar documents (such as the Propertymark PIQ), in the eyes of trading standards and the ombudsman is a great step to building a defence should problems arise.
There may be uncomfortable questions that agents need to ask a seller or a landlord, but the Consumer Protection Regulations make it very clear that we must know the negatives as well as the positives about a property to be able to give a buyer enough information in order for them to make an informed choice.
My views are simple. It is not an agent’s job to be a surveyor or a lawyer, but it is their job to present their services and the property available for sale or let in a professional manner. They are more than just ‘listers’; their role is not simply to list the property on a portal, but to offer professional advice and guidance. That includes having an open conversation with a seller who may be aware of problems with their property, and offering them the best solution to achieve their sales goal.
Agents should question sellers professionally, as property experts, and gather as much information as possible. Due diligence at this stage will become increasingly important as the expectations of material information move increasingly into the spotlight.
So, if a seller knows there is a short lease or high service charges, the agent should be thinking what is their advice? Again, the same applies for asbestos, or Japanese knotweed, or if the broadband is poor or the property has no mains services. What advice do they give?
Agents must now pay full attention to all parts of the Material Information guidance. They should question and interrogate further to ensure they work towards successful completions and happy clients, whilst also ensuring they remain fully compliant.
Charlotte Jeffrey-Campbell is a director of The Able Agent
It does look like phases B & C will be introduced soon, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out. It is likely that agents, conveyancers, and surveyors will have to work together more closely much earlier in the sale process.
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Parts B&C dictate wholesale disruption of both agency and conveyancing and it WILL NOT be possible to address that disruption without a multiple stakeholder solution that accommodates Agents and Conveyancers and all of their service suppliers as well as the trade associations, redress schemes and government regulators.
If interesting is a synonym for a headache on the scale of a tee-totaller going out with Simon for the evening it will definitely be interesting; most agents are not complying properly with Part A and some of their service suppliers will not facilitate their compliance with part A
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“It is not an agent’s job to be a surveyor or a lawyer,……. ”
Exactly that. What regulation is doing to protect consumer is to change ‘advertising a property for sale’ with buyer beware, to now including effectively legal advice with some many more holes than a cullender to trip the agent up. Agents job is to advertise with simple guidelines, period. If you want further information, then that is done in the conveyancing process.
You can argue the pro’s for change but you cannot cover every eventuality unless you have a law degree and even then foul. The pendulum was swung far to the left on the jolly ship “Consumer protection” and all it will do is run aground until it can be re-floated.
The only option for agents is have a law firm indemnify them with producing an advertising package, but guarantee it will have a disclaimer included! Two step backwards, costly, will not be liked by lawyers (neck on the line) and vendors who will foot the bill, delay marketing and brings back that old nut shell of details that have a shelf life.
Are you telling me that the situation is that far out of control considering over 1 million transactions each year? No.
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After all these years Woodentop it might be worth us chatting, most all of what is necessary has all been figured out in a way that resolves all of the difficulties and challenges that WILL face all the stakeholders in 2 symbiotic industries
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The problem with property transactions has been the desire to list properties in the hope that the legal but can then be sorted out.
If the legal bit relating to the property to be sold is sorted out before it is marketed and if all relevant documentation is completed and collated before the property is marketed and if the description is accurate based upon the legal documentation and the survey then marketing a property becomes easier, the transaction process quicker and there’s more certainty.
Yes sellers will have to pay for this but putting a property up for sale should involve preparatory work.
Those estate agents who embrace the approach and refer sellers to Solicitors and Surveyors before marketing the property will earn a reputation for speedy completions.
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Been there, tried that, no it didn’t speed up the process as the conveyancer on the purchasers side wouldn’t take the risk it was correct, nor would lenders agree. Back to square one.
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Some conveyancers need to go out of business. I find your last comment most bazare. What lender is going to frown upon more clarity and what risk is being set upon the buyers representative? Sounds like someone that refuses to adapt to progress.
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Why are people not adopting the BASPI digital document? This helps a seller to disclose all required information and collate all supporting documentation that can then be shared with their Conveyancer and Selling Agent ahead of marketing.
IF an Estate Agent required a Seller to Complete the form AND compile all of the required supporting documentation, and then instruct a conveyancer to act for them in the event that they do agree a sale, surely there would be far greater clarity and understanding on all sides.
Am I missing something?
Surely, no one is expecting an estate agent to become a conveyancer, nor a conveyancer an estate agent. When is the industry going to put the ‘client’ (the Home Mover) at the centre of all this. THEY are the ones that need to supply ALL of the required documentation, and until such time as they do, nothing is going to progress.
Why is this being made so complicated? Why is this being talked about by so many influential people and yet so little being put in to place?
Agents should stop throwing properties on the market and treating it as a numbers game. They should take their time to ensure that a seller has appropriate motivation and dedication to a move so that abortive transactions are reduced and wasted marketing money can be saved. It’s a good thing.
The BASPI will help them to navigate this easily by giving the seller a task to complete that covers material information as well as all the information held within the Standard Protocol Forms…that a client has to complete anyway (but usually after a sale has been agreed which is too late and they don’t deal with material information.)
Conveyancers MUST get on board with delivering a ‘legally prepared’ service for clients of the estate agents that they work with. Conveyancers should be able to review the BASPI and related paperwork, check title and then give the go ahead for marketing. Agents should review the BASPI and understand the material information declarations ahead of marketing, because they are important.
It’s positive collaboration and is best for the home mover and the industry in the long run. Any agent cutting the corners should be called out.
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“Why is this being made so complicated? Why is this being talked about by so many influential people and yet so little being put in to place?” ……… Very good question. When you have worked it out can you tell us. If it was so simple I can guarantee there will not be an agent complaining. WE have been asking for decades!
Love the bit “Conveyancers MUST get on board” , oh how many stories can I tell you on that subject (to be fair I have worked with some good ones occasionally).
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Changed comes from individual efforts. What are you doing to drive change Woodentop? All very well asking about influential people doing lots of talking, but change can and should be driven from the coal face. Good practices will get adopted and the best agents will stand out.
Perhaps you should look harder for good conveyancers. I know a number that provide legally prepared services. Ask your preferred relationships to do the same and if they don’t want to, move on. They’ll soon get the message.
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I mean this next statement in the most positive way possible.
This country has the estate agency service it wants, not the estate agency service that it needs.
The UK population are obsessed with house prices and the unrealisable paper profits that ensue from property ownership.
The average cost to the consumer per transaction has gone through the roof because of stamp duty, meaning that the downward pressure on other associated fees has been incredible. This has had a knock-on effect into the service that some agents and some conveyancers can give.
The problem though is not really the agents or conveyancers (although I admit it definitely is in some cases).
The real problem is persuading the UK population to accept that they have to pay a decent fee for a decent service and that the days of “no sale, no fee” are over because there has to be some kind of set-up cost to get the property ready for sale.
If NTESELAT could actually deal with that, then all these issues would go away.
It’s actually quite easy. Re-introduce and re-invigorate the Home Information Pack and make it an offence for a property OWNER to market their property without an up-to-date info pack immediately available.
That would take the problem out of the hands of the agents completely because every single agent would have to say “Sorry Mrs Goggings, I can’t put your property on the market until it’s ready because YOU would be breaking the law”.
The playing field would then be completely level and everyone would win.
Need to get it on the market quickly? Easy, just pay a higher fee to the info pack company to expedite your case.
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Agents are the first foot through the door, they need to explain the benefits to the seller, and then work with a conveyancer they know and reccomend, and hey presto, progress!
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I think the comments highlight that there is still an awful lot of work to do. Clear guidance and then training in all areas ( estate agency and conveyancing) will have to be implemented as well as all stakeholder input.
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