Getting serious about property transaction certainty – Rudolf

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) Discussion Paper (DP25/2) on the future of the mortgage market may understandably have grabbed recent headlines for its suggestions on consumer advice and distribution models, but there are other, perhaps less-publicised innovations gathering pace across the transaction chain. 

Advisers, for example, may not be fully aware of the progress being made on the roll-out of Certified E-Signatures for deeds or the industry-backed Digital Property Information Protocol (DPIP). Both have been championed by the Conveyancing Association (CA) and represent tangible advances in how property data is gathered, verified and shared. Early, digitally, and with certainty.

Why does this matter for advisers? Because these changes, along with the ideas mooted in the DP25/2, could radically (and hopefully) improve transaction speeds, reduce the number of fall-throughs, supporting lenders to lend more efficiently.

All things that should benefit advisers and their clients. 

Lenders are increasingly invested in this space, and recent CA meetings and discussions have shed light on why.

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Money and time wasted on abandoned transactions 

One key topic that has dominated discussion is the scale of lost revenue due to fall-throughs. It’s estimated that around 30% of agreed property transactions do not reach completion. That’s a staggering figure when you consider the resource costs across the board, from adviser time to lender underwriting, valuation, and legal fees.

All wasted when a case collapses. 

This figure, alongside narrowing lender margins, appears to have become something of a wake-up call. Lenders want more certainty. They want to move the pipeline faster and make confident mortgage offers earlier.

Some are reportedly exploring radical new approaches, such as underwriting the property before they even know the borrower. In this scenario, properties would be listed on portals with a badge of ‘buyer-ready’, meaning that – subject to the buyer’s finances – the lender would be ready to proceed immediately. 

That kind of change may sound ambitious, but it’s the logical next step in a market where speed and certainty are everything. Lenders can’t afford to tie up capital and resource on deals that have a 30% chance of failing. 

What digital tools can do 

This is where DPIP and other digital tools come in. If property information can be verified, certified, and shared early, and if contracts and deeds can be securely e-signed, then the entire market becomes less reactive and more prepared.

A mortgage lender could assess a property in advance with confidence. A buyer could make an informed decision before offering. And advisers could focus their energy on viable cases, not those destined to disappear in a fog of delays and discoveries. 

Within all of this, we should not forget what is happening politically and how important this is going to be in terms of moving all of this forward.

The government has also laid out a 10-year growth strategy, in which a fast, efficient, and more certain property market plays a critical role. Only 4% of the UK’s housing stock transacts each year, far lower than comparable nations.

That low figure reflects a range of issues – housing supply, affordability, transaction complexity – but it also shows the potential upside. If we could increase that figure even modestly by reducing the fallout from transaction failure and the stress associated with buying and selling homes, the impact on economic activity and GDP would be significant. 

Improving the advice journey 

Advisers should, of course, be a full part of this conversation. When 90%-plus of all mortgages come through the adviser distribution channel, there is clearly a major role for your industry to play, and to benefit from.

Greater transparency and digitalisation do not just help conveyancers or lenders, they also support better client outcomes. Imagine being able to tell a client the property they want is certified as ‘buyer-ready’, the legal documents are ready, and the lender has already approved the property for a mortgage, all before you run your fact find and sourcing.

It’s not quite reality yet, but the building blocks are being laid, and DP25/2 suggests the FCA is interested in the entire mortgage journey, not just the financial advice but the structural processes that enable faster, fairer, and more effective decision-making. 

For advisers looking to future-proof their businesses, understanding how all these elements connect, from DPIP to digital deeds to property underwriting, is becoming essential. The market is moving toward a place where certainty is king.

The question is whether we’re ready to embrace the changes needed to get there.