Are there any plans to update the antiquated process of house buying in England?

allIcouldwishfor

Malt_in_my_hipflask said:

The conveyancing process has been mapped by multiple Legal IT suppliers for all UK jurisdictions. When selecting a solicitor, ask them which case management software they have implemented and how much efficiency it has brought them. If they don't have a case management system, then perhaps you should wonder why not.

 @Malt_in_my_hipflask I love my conveyancer's case management system - if I ever move house again that would absolutely be my first question to a potential solicitor. Makes things so transparent.

princeofpounds

Talking of surveyors lobbying... check out the location of RICS. Just over Parliament Square from the Palace of Westminster, right next to the Supreme Court. Must make it very convenient. They must be doing ok for themselves to warrant an HQ there.

I do suspect they are a big part of the problem and were an obstacle for HIPs. They don't want to lose the multiple-surveys-on-one-property business. But the thing is, they would probably need to be held to a higher standard of accountability if a seller-appointed surveyor prepared the surveys for all buyers... we all know that it's often barely worth the paper it's written on, given the amount of back-covering they engage in.

SpiderLegs

princeofpounds said:

Talking of surveyors lobbying... check out the location of RICS. Just over Parliament Square from the Palace of Westminster, right next to the Supreme Court. Must make it very convenient. They must be doing ok for themselves to warrant an HQ there.

I do suspect they are a big part of the problem and were an obstacle for HIPs. They don't want to lose the multiple-surveys-on-one-property business. But the thing is, they would probably need to be held to a higher standard of accountability if a seller-appointed surveyor prepared the surveys for all buyers... we all know that it's often barely worth the paper it's written on, given the amount of back-covering they engage in.

Problem with house selling is that there are a number of large, regulated institutions and professions involved in the process. All of whom want to defend their own positions and therefore have little interest in getting together to explore more efficient methods.
sometimes a nice pandemic or war or some other problem is the only way things move forwards.

There’s no appetite for rocking the boat from anyone, certainly not in government. Other than the odd forum poster who’s in despair at things taking far longer than they’d accept in their own job, the rest of us just shrug our shoulders and say yeah well that’s just the way it is,

BikingBud

SpiderLegs said:

princeofpounds said:

Talking of surveyors lobbying... check out the location of RICS. Just over Parliament Square from the Palace of Westminster, right next to the Supreme Court. Must make it very convenient. They must be doing ok for themselves to warrant an HQ there.

I do suspect they are a big part of the problem and were an obstacle for HIPs. They don't want to lose the multiple-surveys-on-one-property business. But the thing is, they would probably need to be held to a higher standard of accountability if a seller-appointed surveyor prepared the surveys for all buyers... we all know that it's often barely worth the paper it's written on, given the amount of back-covering they engage in.

Problem with house selling is that there are a number of large, regulated institutions and professions involved in the process. All of whom want to defend their own positions and therefore have little interest in getting together to explore more efficient methods.
sometimes a nice pandemic or war or some other problem is the only way things move forwards.

There’s no appetite for rocking the boat from anyone, certainly not in government. Other than the odd forum poster who’s in despair at things taking far longer than they’d accept in their own job, the rest of us just shrug our shoulders and say yeah well that’s just the way it is,

And nothing ever changes!
We are all bit players in the overall scam of house price inflation and these large institutions are but one of those that wish to ensure the golden goose has a long and healthy life.

greatcrested

BikingBud said:

PS- Why do we pay solicitors so much for it,

Last property I sold, I went in (pre-covid) to sign a document and picked up the Completion Statement. This included deduction of the estate agent's fee which the solicitor paid on my behalf.

I was embarrassed to look him in the face seeing what the EA earned compared to the solicitor's comparatively negligible fee.

BikingBud

@greatcrested
Yep get that as well, when you see some of the crap advertising, shocking photographs, widely inaccurate positions on the maps  and poorly written property details/listings, you have to wonder how they are allowed to get away with it. 
As vendors are driven by achieving the highest price by whatever means, the likelihood that pressure will come to bear and behaviours will change is minimal. 

Mickey666

SpiderLegs said:

princeofpounds said:

Talking of surveyors lobbying... check out the location of RICS. Just over Parliament Square from the Palace of Westminster, right next to the Supreme Court. Must make it very convenient. They must be doing ok for themselves to warrant an HQ there.

I do suspect they are a big part of the problem and were an obstacle for HIPs. They don't want to lose the multiple-surveys-on-one-property business. But the thing is, they would probably need to be held to a higher standard of accountability if a seller-appointed surveyor prepared the surveys for all buyers... we all know that it's often barely worth the paper it's written on, given the amount of back-covering they engage in.

Problem with house selling is that there are a number of large, regulated institutions and professions involved in the process. All of whom want to defend their own positions and therefore have little interest in getting together to explore more efficient methods.
sometimes a nice pandemic or war or some other problem is the only way things move forwards.

There’s no appetite for rocking the boat from anyone, certainly not in government. Other than the odd forum poster who’s in despair at things taking far longer than they’d accept in their own job, the rest of us just shrug our shoulders and say yeah well that’s just the way it is,

But that's not really true is it?  Or at least it's only true to the extent that buyers and sellers want them to be.  As I described earlier, anyone with ready funds could complete a legal property transaction within a couple of hours if they wished.  They don't, of course, because they want to make loads of enquiries, pay for expert opinions on a whole range of things and usually need to coordinate with a chain of other buyer/sellers.  It is all this that takes the time and how would you propose to speed up those activities?

Property auctions prove that fast transactions CAN be done, but the generally lower prices (mostly to cover the risks involved) make them unattractive to most domestic buyers/sellers.

So the choices are out there if you really want them.

NatNat77

Being able to apply for a mortgage before offering on a property would help speed things up, my buyer is almost 4 months in and still no offer! Obviously covid hasn't helped and he had an issue with his credit report so that explains part of the delay  It would have to be subject to valuation and a time limit of course. But if you knew you were guaranteed to be able to borrow X amount before you go house shopping I'm sure it would speed up the process and save some stress

greatcrested

Mickey666 said:

SpiderLegs said:

princeofpounds said:

Talking of surveyors lobbying... check out the location of RICS. Just over Parliament Square from the Palace of Westminster, right next to the Supreme Court. Must make it very convenient. They must be doing ok for themselves to warrant an HQ there.

I do suspect they are a big part of the problem and were an obstacle for HIPs. They don't want to lose the multiple-surveys-on-one-property business. But the thing is, they would probably need to be held to a higher standard of accountability if a seller-appointed surveyor prepared the surveys for all buyers... we all know that it's often barely worth the paper it's written on, given the amount of back-covering they engage in.

Problem with house selling is that there are a number of large, regulated institutions and professions involved in the process. All of whom want to defend their own positions and therefore have little interest in getting together to explore more efficient methods.
sometimes a nice pandemic or war or some other problem is the only way things move forwards.

There’s no appetite for rocking the boat from anyone, certainly not in government. Other than the odd forum poster who’s in despair at things taking far longer than they’d accept in their own job, the rest of us just shrug our shoulders and say yeah well that’s just the way it is,

But that's not really true is it?  Or at least it's only true to the extent that buyers and sellers want them to be.  As I described earlier, anyone with ready funds could complete a legal property transaction within a couple of hours if they wished.  They don't, of course, because they want to make loads of enquiries, pay for expert opinions on a whole range of things and usually need to coordinate with a chain of other buyer/sellers.  It is all this that takes the time and how would you propose to speed up those activities?

Property auctions prove that fast transactions CAN be done, but the generally lower prices (mostly to cover the risks involved) make them unattractive to most domestic buyers/sellers.

So the choices are out there if you really want them.

Indeed.

Cut out the others in the chain.

Choose to forego a survey.

Ignore searches on the property and locale.

Take a gamble on the seller's right to own and sell.

Budget for a new boiler, electrics, woodworm treatment etc to obviate the need for specialist reports.

Pay cash to remove a lender insisting on the above.

And you could Exchange/Complete in a day or wo.

SpiderLegs

Mickey666 said:

SpiderLegs said:

princeofpounds said:

Talking of surveyors lobbying... check out the location of RICS. Just over Parliament Square from the Palace of Westminster, right next to the Supreme Court. Must make it very convenient. They must be doing ok for themselves to warrant an HQ there.

I do suspect they are a big part of the problem and were an obstacle for HIPs. They don't want to lose the multiple-surveys-on-one-property business. But the thing is, they would probably need to be held to a higher standard of accountability if a seller-appointed surveyor prepared the surveys for all buyers... we all know that it's often barely worth the paper it's written on, given the amount of back-covering they engage in.

Problem with house selling is that there are a number of large, regulated institutions and professions involved in the process. All of whom want to defend their own positions and therefore have little interest in getting together to explore more efficient methods.
sometimes a nice pandemic or war or some other problem is the only way things move forwards.

There’s no appetite for rocking the boat from anyone, certainly not in government. Other than the odd forum poster who’s in despair at things taking far longer than they’d accept in their own job, the rest of us just shrug our shoulders and say yeah well that’s just the way it is,

But that's not really true is it?  Or at least it's only true to the extent that buyers and sellers want them to be.  As I described earlier, anyone with ready funds could complete a legal property transaction within a couple of hours if they wished.  They don't, of course, because they want to make loads of enquiries, pay for expert opinions on a whole range of things and usually need to coordinate with a chain of other buyer/sellers.  It is all this that takes the time and how would you propose to speed up those activities?

Property auctions prove that fast transactions CAN be done, but the generally lower prices (mostly to cover the risks involved) make them unattractive to most domestic buyers/sellers.

So the choices are out there if you really want them.

I don’t really think the solution to speeding up property transactions is for millions of people to do it all themselves.

however next time I’m in the market I’ll give it a go. Setting up my own bank should be a doddle.