A government enquiry began earlier this year to look at ways of improving the process of home buying and selling in England. It questioned a number of relevant professionals including representatives from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Homeowner’s Alliance and the Conveyancing Association.
The RICS suggested that “the role of professional surveys earlier in the home buying and selling process” would “help consumers make well-informed decisions and reduce the risk of sales falling through”.
One of the proposals put forward was to implement a system similar to that of Scotland’s Home Report.
Under the Scottish system, a survey is completed before the property goes onto the market and must be provided to prospective buyers within nine days of the potential buyer requesting it. Failure to produce the report can result in intervention by the local council’s trading standards department.
This is considered a contributory factor to Scotland’s housing market, which enjoys more stable house prices compared with those in England and Wales and a buyer drop-out rate that is estimated to be below 10%. This is a significant reduction on the drop out rate of over 30% that is seen elsewhere in the UK.
A “digital property logbook” was also considered, to allow all parties access to all the required information and to eliminate the need to start from scratch each time a particular property was put on the market. A digital logbook could include information on the energy efficiency and sustainability of the property.
Having all this information easily available before putting in an offer for a property could make the process much less stressful and expensive for all parties involved. In addition, it could achieve a reduction in the number of property sales that fall through, and ultimately make the process of buying a home more streamlined and straightforward.
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