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Govt outlines plans to streamline house purchase process

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  • 17/03/2016
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Govt outlines plans to streamline house purchase process
The government has committed to publishing a call for evidence on the house-purchase process and how it can improve this for customers.

In the Treasury’s Budget document the government said it wanted to make the process “better value for money and more consumer friendly”.

Around £270m a year in fees and costs associated with buying a property is spent by consumers who fail to see their purchase come to fruition.

Colin Payne, associate director at Chapelgate Private Finance, said the conveyancing process was largely to blame for long and drawn out transaction times.

“Solicitors have a great deal to do with delays in transactions and the time taken isn’t helpful, as the longer the process takes, the more likely it is that a case will fall through.

“There must be a way that the vendor’s solicitor can have all the basic information up front to reduce the time taken requesting information,” he said.

Payne added that sometimes disagreement over a valuation or responsibility for fee payment could result in a ‘stand-off’ between the vendor and buyer.

“In some cases after a purchase price has been agreed the surveyor may come back with a various number of discrepancies about a property to ensure they have their back covered. The buyer will then expect to see a reduction in the purchase price which can mean a lot of back and forth negotiation.”

The Department for Communities and Local Government was unavailable for comment.

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