It’s one of the biggest frustrations any home mover can face. Waiting for information from the seller or, worse, finding out that the information they’ve given is less than entirely accurate. But change may be afoot, as Piers Morton explains.
How we all love it. Getting so far along the sales process only to run into delays with the information you need from the person or people you’re buying from.
However, a recent hearing in Westminster saw MPs hearing evidence on whether they should change the rules and make it obligatory for sellers to provide the information upfront.
Industry representatives said it would ‘revolutionise’ the home buying and selling process. They said it would speed it up if people had to provide all the information before they can put their home on the market.
And we agree. It costs everyone money if a sale falls through. Delays on information can be a nightmare for everyone: buyers, their solicitors and for us as estate agents too.
Even worse is when the information arrives (belatedly) and is either highly selective in how it is presented or, even worse, missing key pieces of information – and we can always guess why that might be.
Sellers are rarely just selling homes. In the vast majority of cases, they’re buying a property too so it’s in their interests as well as everyone else to change the rules. Really, it’s just shifting the emphasis to the beginning of the process and it can’t be wrong to make people get their information together and available right at the start. We always advise our sellers to do that anyway.
MPs on the levelling up, housing and communities select committee were due to hear more evidence next month but the General Election will now delay that.
But I hope it comes back on to the committee’s agenda after the election and Parliament’s summer recess.
If it helps more people in Carlisle and North Cumbria move home more quickly, then that’s got to be a good thing. It would certainly have my backing.
Piers is the manager and senior valuer for BPK Estate Agents in Carlisle and Cumbria. To sell your home with BPK, get in touch here or call us on 01228 888999 option 2.
