Buying and selling-how would you make it better

JennyW_2

I've moved 5 times over a period of 20 years and it doesn't feel as if anything has changed for the better. Things still take ages to happen, slow solicitors etc.....

If I had my way I think it would be good to have weekly meetings with the whole chain that way we could chase each other and push things along and find out who's solicitor is holding things up. I'd even be happy to provide the tea and biscuits :rotfl:

NBOATER

As we are in the age of electronic communication I can't understand why it is so slow.

I vote for weekly updates from the solicitors for everyone.

Outlaw cheap Conveyancers who promise much and deliver nothing.

MaxTheCat

I would make everyone in the chain put a non refundable deposit down when offer is accepted to show a little commitment to the process. Enough so that if someone pulls out everyone is compensated for their losses.

lauraland

I like the Scottish system whereas its the sellers responsibility to provide a home report and I think this should be rolled out across the UK. As I am looking at properties in Northern Ireland, it is really scary for me to think I could find a property, pay out for the survey (which are hardly cheap!) all with the possibility that it could fall through and my moneys down the drain!

hazyjo

Some sort of central system... the same old information gets dug up and requested every bloody time the same house is sold, and then gets lost years down the line. Have some sort of record where it's all stored - indemnity policies, FENSA certificates, deeds of whatever, chancel repair thingies... it all gets searched for each time, the same questions asked during each sale, just bloody log it somewhere centrally! So frustrating!

And email! Despite emailing lots, I still ended up with around 30+ letters from my solicitor. Drives me mental. They did email back lots, but a lot of stuff in letters could have been sent/requested by email.

Jx

hazyjo

lauraland wrote: »

I like the Scottish system whereas its the sellers responsibility to provide a home report and I think this should be rolled out across the UK. As I am looking at properties in Northern Ireland, it is really scary for me to think I could find a property, pay out for the survey (which are hardly cheap!) all with the possibility that it could fall through and my moneys down the drain!

Must surely be bills to pay in Scotland too as solicitors have to put forward offers, etc, plus, in a rising market it can be soul destroying as it's often like sealed bids where you don't know you've got it until all the bids have been received, pondered over, and decided on. Can't say I'm a huge fan.

Jx

Bella73

Once an offer has been accepted that should be it the sellers should have to sell not mess people around and then change their minds and if they do they should have to refund all the buyers costs so far.

I also think the seller should have to get a full survey done so that the buyer can give an offer, once that is accepted that should be it no more negotiations.

Plus I think all sellers should have to sort out all relevant paperwork before the house even goes on the market. We spent ages waiting for various documents that had to be found.

lessonlearned

I was an EA in Scotland for 5 years and in England for about 25 so have seen both sides of the coin.

The Scottish system is weighted heavily in favour of the Vendor. The poor old purchaser has to have the property surveyed before going to sealed bids. Repeat this process several times on failed bids and you have spent a lot of money. On the plus side once the offer has been accepted, the deal is done and there can be no retractions.

We all know the faults of the English system.

Some form of half way house (no pun intended:rotfl:) is required.

Far too many Vendors "dip their toe in the water" and mess about and of course we are all rather too familiar with the terms "gazumping" and "gazundering".

I actually thought the HIP's pack was quite a good idea. The problem was they were flawed in as much as no lender would accept the survey and insisted on the purchaser obtaining another one.

So some sort of fully independent survey might have helped. I also think the idea of "central information" is good. Obviously this wouldn't work for local searches because they are time sensitive, but I agree that stuff like Chancel liabilities, mining searches etc, historic rights of way etc could be electronically stored.

Non-refundable deposits - definitely. It would sort the sheep from the goats. You can always add safeguards where there would be certain mitigating circumstances where a deposit could be refunded. Perhaps the deposit could be linked to a small insurance policy just as people often take out weddings insurance.

I really do think that our current system is wholly unsatisfactory and in dire need of an overhaul.

It's like walking blindfolded through a labyrinth.

hcb42

I have bought houses in both England and Scotland and have to say I dont see the benefit of the vendor providing the home report, and agree with the others, less so now, but it used to be first time buyer would have several surveys done and lose out under offers over system.

lessonlearned

hcb42 wrote: »

I have bought houses in both England and Scotland and have to say I dont see the benefit of the vendor providing the home report, and agree with the others, less so now, but it used to be first time buyer would have several surveys done and lose out under offers over system.

I agree. However there must be a way of having a survey that is wholly unbiased and independent that is acceptable to lenders, vendors and purchasers.

However whilst we have a legal system in which the phrase "caveat emptor" - "buyer beware" is firmly enshrined in law it does seem a difficult one to get around.

When I sold my house I put together a simplified version of a homebuyers pack. You have to supply a lot of information and corroborating evidence to your Solicitor anyway, for example guarantees, certificates, building regs etc. I simply put together a pack before the house even went on the market.

I took 3 copies of each of every kind of document that the solicitor required, Gas and Electrical Safety Certificates, Building Regs for some work we had had done, Fensa Guarantee, Boiler booklet and full service history etc.

The originals went to the solicitor. I kept one set of copies for myself and a second set of copies to show viewers if they wanted to see them. Once I had received a formal offer from my purchaser I gave them the second set of copies. The copies were clearly marked and dated as "Copies".

Once the sale reached Legal Completion they then received the originals.

Having the copies to look at before they exchanged contracts gave my purchasers complete peace of mind that everything was all tickety boo.

shortchanged_2

I would make gazumping and gazundering illegal.