Improving the home buying and selling process is about delivering certainty and transparency, reducing stress for all stakeholders. Ensuring a short timeframe for transactions and enhancing the process particularly benefits consumers. This involves many components that, collectively, improve the overall experience.
Many policies we advocate for are not necessarily new, such as promoting the benefits of upfront information about properties. This information is best delivered through enhanced property packs and ongoing logbooks. By focusing on upfront information, we continue to work with stakeholders on what the property pack, ordered at listing, should contain.
There is a potential liability issue if a buyer purchases a property that doesn’t meet their needs or has hidden issues. Conveyancers must conduct due diligence and highlight any relevant issues, though they may need buyers to seek expert advice on specific concerns. A well-prepared pack that meets all material fact requirements can prevent delays and losses during the sale process.
Consumer regulations require full disclosure, and agents should provide comprehensive property information to convert potential buyers into proceedable buyers. This prevents wasting time and resources when buyers later withdraw due to unsuitable properties.
A complete property pack should include:
Providing all the above information allows stakeholders to meet their responsibilities and gives consumers the certainty they need to proceed with confidence.
Coupled with measures like greater use of digital ID, we can improve a process currently taking over 20 weeks to complete. Other jurisdictions, such as Norway, have reduced property fraud significantly through digital ID and upfront information, leading to binding offers.
Empowering property professionals to highlight the benefits of greater upfront information can bring cost savings and greater certainty. This reduces the risk of property sales falling through, ultimately requiring concerted efforts from all industry stakeholders. By cutting down on the time to completion and improving certainty for consumers, we can create a more efficient and less stressful home buying and selling process.
