Faster housing transactions may finally be in reach – Rudolf

Was it Mortgage Solutions that won it? Perhaps it can’t take all the credit, but it has certainly helped to have a raft of industry stakeholders, and indeed the wider trade press, all pressing for these much-needed improvements and asking questions such as: “What is stopping us from putting these improvements into practice right now?”

The answer, of course, lies in a very fragmented sector, with numerous participants, a large number of regulators, a disjointed approach to the process itself, plus, at various times, little political will or enthusiasm to put in place the changes required. 

This is even more odd when you realise there is literally nobody in the country who would answer no to the following questions: 

• Would you like greater certainty when buying or selling a home?
• Would you like the process to be faster?
• Would you like the chances of you being involved in an aborted transaction to diminish?
• Would you like more information at the start of the process rather than during?

I could go on, but you get my drift. Unfortunately, understanding that delivering a faster, more certain, less costly home buying and selling process would be a win-win for all is very different to making it happen.

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For all that the industry can, and has, done in this area, it really does require government action or mandation in a key number of areas. The announcement that it is “opening up key property information, ensuring this data can be shared between trusted professionals more easily, and driving forward plans for digital identity services to slash transaction times” is undoubtedly welcome. 

A step in the right direction 

My first reaction is to focus on the positives and the potential benefits this brings, particularly in terms of the greater use and operability of digital property data. Not just at the point of transaction, but also in terms of remortgaging, or such requirements as altering or finding a planning application, for lettings, or retrofitting properties. 

Essentially, having access to the information required to move these tasks forward digitally and seamlessly is undoubtedly going to cut down on the time it takes currently to collate all of this, often via paper, in order to move forward.

How much time, effort, resources, and money is currently tied up in securing this information when the brave new world should mean this is easily accessible to all stakeholders at the click of a button?

The time we all spend waiting for this information to be accessed, delivered and received by those who need it clearly adds days, weeks and months to the process for all those tasks. It is incredibly important the government opens up this data securely so it’s readily available and, importantly, available at the start of any process, rather than during it. 

Still a way to go before house buying and selling is perfect

Overall, does this announcement solve all the process problems? Of course not.

From a conveyancing perspective, one of the key factors firms have been facing in recent years – and that has resulted in a longer process – is the increase in the responsibilities that have filtered into their work streams.

‘Task creep’ has been growing for conveyancers in so many different areas; for example, within the leasehold process and the requirements of the Building Safety Act, to name just two. 

Again, greater provision of data and upfront information that is easily accessible will aid in this work, but we must still account for this extra work, which is likely to grow further in the future. 

Overall, however, it’s clear there is further light at the end of the tunnel. The benefits across our space, in areas such as cutting down on the same administration tasks being conducted multiple times by different stakeholders, particularly the checking of ID, is clear, and the access to property data from one trusted source is obvious. 

No more time and money wasted? 

At the same time, we must also recognise the wider positives.

How much time is wasted by people being stuck waiting for purchases, sales, remortgages and planning, etc, to go through? How much money is wasted on transactions that are always likely to fail because the information that will determine a buyer moving forward doesn’t come to light until well into the process?

What is the impact of that on the UK’s GDP? What might the government be able to do with full information on the quality of the UK’s housing stock, particularly in terms of upgrading those homes that require it the most?

And how might all those tasks, which are currently duplicated multiple times by advisers, lenders, surveyors and conveyancers, etc, now be drastically reduced, and what impact will it have on business efficiency, pipeline churn, profitability, etc? 

We await to see, but I suspect the benefits will be considerable. The government now needs to deliver this and deliver it as quickly as possible in order to make a considerable leap forward for all property market stakeholders.

At the same time, we know digitalisation is not going to happen overnight, we recognise there is no one silver bullet and, even where government does promise mandation, it is likely to take some time to come through. 

So it is up to each of us as stakeholders to grasp the nettle and ensure we do all we can now to embrace the efficiency offered by getting searches, title and seller information when the property goes on the market and then sharing it with the buyer, lender and valuer through Material Information and the mortgage application process. 

One day, data will be available digitally, but don’t forget it is already available now, and there is nothing to stop you from using it to speed up your transactions, increase your pipeline turn and create happy customers who will recommend you to one and all.