Announced at the body’s conference in London, chief executive Mark Hayward (pictured) said he hoped the document would halve the time it took between the agreement of an offer and exchange of contract.
The body said the toolkit had been trialled by practising agents who reported that transaction times fell from an average of 40 weeks to seven.
The document is a 16-page questionnaire which is filled out by a seller. They will be required to disclose information such as whether the property has previously had issues with damp, disputes concerning the property or nearby properties and environmental concerns.
It also asks about the legal ownership of the home, ground rent and if any parts of the property overhang outside of its boundaries.
The buyer also fills out a contract which states broker contact details, how the purchase of the property will be funded and when they would like to complete the transaction and move in.
NAEA worked with a group of stakeholders including agents, conveyancers, Land Registry, The Property Ombudsman and National Trading Standards estate and letting agent team in the development of the toolkit.
It will be distributed to NAEA members and has been designed to comply with consumer protection regulations.
Improving conveyancing information
The toolkit is expected to address concerns raised around the TA6 form, an existing document used by estate agents. NAEA analysed it to improve the wording, remove uncertainty and reduce delays experienced when conveyancers need information clarified.
Hayward said: “Sellers have to go through weeks of waiting between offer agreed and exchange of contract.
“We have been working on this, assisted by the Law Society, and today we launch our new sales protocol. Our aim, if adopted by law, is to reduce that time by half.”
Hayward also said the reduction of transaction times through the use of the toolkit could serve as an interim up until the introduction of reservation agreements, which is still being considered by the government.
Reservation agreements aim to improve the transaction process through a commitment deposit from both parties and by providing transparent property information.
