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Why aren't properties advertised with all the key facts?

245

Comments

  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Cakeguts wrote: »
    If the seller is a relative of an old person they might not know if it was leasehold or freehold or which council tax band it was in.
    Well, how would they even know who the owner was? It's not too much to expect the sellers to make a cursory glance at the title before putting the property on the market, surely?

    And council tax bands are freely available online anyway:

    https://www.gov.uk/council-tax-bands
  • verybigchris
    verybigchris Posts: 630 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Combo Breaker
    I love shoddy, incomplete listings: they keep the number of rival bidders down to a minimum.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »
    It is beyond time the Government legislated on minimum standards of what must be stated at the outset.
    Perhaps there should be some kind of Home Information Pack required by law...?



    Nah, it'll never happen.


    What's that, Skippy?


    Oh, yeh. They were brought in in 2004, canned after the 2010 election, then there was talk of their resurrection after the 2015 election... then the referendum happened, the government changed, and it all sort of got buried under the weight of brexit.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »
    I could say I'm not even going to look at anything less than 4000 square feet, filter those out of the search.
    But I've seen a 3600sq ft house with a really good workable layout and recently rented a 5800 that was very cramped because of its poor design.
    What're "square feet", grandad?
  • cloo
    cloo Posts: 1,291 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Photogenic First Post
    I do think leasehold and length of leasehold really should be put on specs when relevant. The leasehold usually is declared, but you tend to have to dig around for length.
  • nyermen
    nyermen Posts: 1,093 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    I don't expect all information online, but I won't normally consider looking further at a house without a floorplan at least.

    There are some facts I wish they would mention though, eg. I saw a house last month which didn't think it important to mention the railway track right next to the house (no shelter / bank between). That's a deal breaker for me personally, and I could have saved the EA's time.
    Peter

    Debt free - finally finished paying off £20k + Interest.
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post Photogenic First Anniversary
    AdrianC wrote: »
    Perhaps there should be some kind of Home Information Pack required by law...?



    Nah, it'll never happen.


    What's that, Skippy?


    Oh, yeh. They were brought in in 2004, canned after the 2010 election, then there was talk of their resurrection after the 2015 election... then the referendum happened, the government changed, and it all sort of got buried under the weight of brexit.

    I like the Home Reports in Scotland both as a buyer and a seller. You already know if the loft conversion is legit and have the valuation that a mortgage lender will go by before I either party gets too far along the process only to discover that the buyer is £10k short or that there is a lack of planning permission.
  • Tiglet2
    Tiglet2 Posts: 2,470 Forumite
    First Anniversary Photogenic First Post Name Dropper
    Nyermen, while it might have been helpful to provide you with this information, surely if you'd looked at the property on Streetview, you would have seen the railway line?

    I do agree that more information regarding leasehold/freehold and the length of the lease and/or approximate service charges/ground rent fees would be helpful, but the EA can only rely on the vendor's information. Personally, I would like to see this type of information at the outset, before spending £ on searches and surveys. Perhaps all vendors should obtain copies of their title deeds to be made available at the EA for viewing by potential purchasers, along with copies of a council tax statement/utility bill - could always blank out vendor's name on these documents.
  • dunroving
    dunroving Posts: 1,881 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    AdrianC wrote: »
    What're "square feet", grandad?

    Square metres x 10. [approx.]
    (Nearly) dunroving
  • NaughtiusMaximus
    NaughtiusMaximus Posts: 2,832 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    ReadingTim wrote: »
    No mate, the only logical conclusion is that you're completely unaware of the principle of caveat emptor.

    I am fully aware of it 'mate'.

    The concept of buyer beware also applies to buying services, such as paying an EA to market the most valuable asset I own. When I sell a property I'm inclined to avoid those EAs who routinely produce shoddy, unprofessional listings which don't convey the basic information a potential buyer would be interested in.
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