The way properties are listed on estate agency and property portals is “not looking good”, James Munro, senior manager at National Trading Standards has said.
Speaking at the NAEA Propertymark annual conference in London, Munro said all material information about a property needed to be disclosed at the earliest opportunity so buyers could make an informed decision.
“The days of putting a property on the market just to see what it would do are gone,” he said.
Certain information which might be overlooked, such as broadband speed, was as important as anything else as it could also be used as a marketing opportunity for estate agents, Munro added.
The government is currently consulting on how tenure must be disclosed on portals, Munro said, as it was found to be a factor which caused the most issues during transactions.
During the presentation, he shared a screenshot of a flat in London which was listed with no ownership details.
Munro added: “People need to know all of that information; not halfway down the line, when solicitors and conveyancers get involved. It needs to be there right from the start.
“Any property that’s listed on any of the portals needs to have this information because quite frankly, the situation out there is not looking good.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
