Thank you for all your comments on this video. The Homebuying & Selling group are thinking of launching a consumer & industry campaign to get the government & industry change we need. Would you join us if we did? Please subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated www.moveiq.co.uk/newsletter-signup/

In the middle of this at the moment and all I get from my Solicitors is oh there’s no rush!! not for them probably 🤦‍♀️ very frustrating and we have first time buyers and we are buying a vacant house!! Taking forever ☹️

Couldn't agree more about the use of data to make the process more transparent and remove the costly delays and duplication. I am selling m second property in the last 12 months. First was direct to a seasoned investor, current via an agent. In both cases, solicitors showed no interest in client's wish to get the transaction completed in a timely manner. Agents will not let purchaser and seller talk to each other (or even provide a copy of heads of terms). First sale took almost 6 months. Current transaction is almost 5 months in with no agreed completion date. Anyone who has purchased or sold knows how easy it is to tell the other side they are keen to complete, but can delay the process with no penalties. We not only need a digital version of the home information pack (removed in its infancy by this Government in 2010), we also need a binding process, where buyers and sells cannot walk away from a deal for reasons other than defective title, leaving the other side out of pocket. Something similar to the Scottish or Hong Kong system should be introduced, locking both sides into the transaction with penalties for walking away. It's a while since the media were able to report gazzuping (or gazzundering) but with the market conditions likely to change rapidly if rates continue to rise, these practices will also return

One big win that the Home Buying & Selling Group has had is in the area of new build snagging inspections. The Residential Property Surveyors Association (of which I am Chairman) a key contributor to the HBSG, led a 2-year piece of work to give every new home buyer the right to have a snagging inspection before paying for their new home. It is a clear demonstration of what can happen when the industry works together with the support of Government.

I personally feel the whole house buying process could be speeded up. I honestly feel those involved simply drag it out to justify charging ridiculous fees. If you chose to buy a £150,000 car, once you'd sorted your finances out, you'd have the car inside a week or two, at most. Assuming the car was there to buy, and you didn't have to wait for it to be built etc. If you could buy a house, and be finalised within a week or two, those involved in facilitating the transaction would find it much more difficult to justify charging big bucks.... It is the way it is because *they* want it to stay that way.....

What a welcome change this would be after 35 years selling homes, a seismic change in the way homes are bought and sold is well overdue. We as an industry have not moved with the times. We are still struggling to get sales through in reasonable time frames. Things have to change!

My buying process was on standstill for 5 weeks waiting for Lewisham to produce results to our local authority searches. As a FTB, it seem bizarre the buyer needs to order these. Surely the seller should be ordering searches at the point of listing the property, then to provide the results and charge the costa back to the buyer later. This would alone speed things massively.

Thanks for the interview. I strongly agree with Phil for all his concerns. The current system is really horrible for all buyers and sellers. It must be changed.

What the lady says does make a lot of sense, but I personally would be a worried around data security considering past failures by government departments. Also how easy would all this be for someone not totally internet savvy ?

Very interesting insight and lets hope we move quickly in the right direction now- well said Maria excellent

Several reasons, ie more 'elf and safety stuff' like electrical and gas safety checks, butmainly because conveyancers take on too much work and then want to show us how important their job is that we get charged a big lump of money for.

Having worked in legal conveyancing nearly 20 years ago, I feel the process now in our digital age is just as slow, if not slower. I put the blame firmly on solicitors and estate agents not keeping a close enough eye on young, inexperienced staff, not keeping close tabs on their conveyances. It seems if you complain you have caused offence and shall be punished! These young ones do not have a firm grasp on the chain effect and are not confident enough to " get on the blower" and follow up. In my day a legal secretary had to prove their tenacity before given " live" conveyances.

Most property data is stored on legacy paper documents. And much of it is described using technical legal contract jargon. Most home buyers aren't going to have the ability to interpret it. It requires legal experience to understand it. And buying a property requires searches on other individuals and/or companies that may have a claim to that property. Without a national id scheme it isn't eaqsy to identify those people.

We need 10% deposit to be paid on acceptance of an offer which is not refunded if the buyers pull out

Thank you for a enlightening video. Really interesting and informative. I was wondering if a digital system and availability to data, already exists in any other country? Is there anything to be learned from others. I believe that we as a country, are unique in our approach to housing and that as you say, the existing precedent in the banking system is encouragement that housing will follow, eventually !

The main problem is “Solicitors” and no contract on Day 1!

I think buying a house should be as simple, quick, easy and low risk as buying something on Amazon

As a buyer and seller in the middle of a three person chain.. I don’t understand why either .. it’s all rush rush rush at the beginning and then I hear from others it can take around 10 months .. for what?! Other than post covid world perhaps 🤦🏿‍♀️

It’s interesting what was said, however, I used to live next door to a solicitor who was also a friend. We had trouble buying a house because the sellers buyers kept falling through, thus breaking the chain. This went on for about a year. Our solicitor said to us, when the chain is formed I can push this though for you in 4 days……and he did. So it’s not the system, it’s because the solicitors don’t want it to move too fast so people won’t crib about how much it’s costing them!

Deja vu. Still looking for a HIP replacement.

This needs to be government driven to be effective. There is no acceptable reason for timescales to be so protracted and as the prime beneficiaries of the process are the Estate Agents (commission) they should be exerting pressure on government for change.

Maria, well said. It is time to build a process that is clear and transparent that the consumers can understand. tjhm

Thank you all so much for taking the time to watch, respond and share your experiences. It's great to know that my proposed solution makes sense and you're all as frustrated as we are with this process. We'll keep you posted on how you can pledge your support and I'll keep working with Phil, the Move iQ team, and the huge number of industry providers who really do want to make this change happen

Solicitors only giving updates every 2 or 3 weeks instead of numerous times a week, loads of requirements of departments contacting departments contacting departments for X and Y and Z documents, surveys etc. Then the banks throw their arms up when they hear "ground rent" which is applied to most apartments in the UK as they don't like a property having ground rent, so add weeks making a decision. It's embarassing how slow we are in the UK. Some countries see keys swap over in 2 or 3 WEEKS. Not 4-6 MONTHS.

I had a cash buyer 4 months it took beyond a joke!!!!

I have received MOS from the vendor and then no more progress was seen for nearly 2 months. I email the estate agent and asked about the progress, but the estate agent just said there are no response from the vendor and the solicitor. Then I email the vendor solicitor and there are no response of course. I wonder what can I do to speed up the progress?

I'm selling my house. Can I use this organisation package to help me get the selling process done faster

6%+ interest rates would be 👌

She's excellent.

These ledgers can easily run through smart contracts and a blockchain like tech which runs BTC where every party gets the same copy and no one can change anything without the consent of others. Parts of this process are now digital or easier but need to be consolidated. Look at how Dubai is digitising their 100 million land and gov records through blockchain tech

In NZ put an offer in in May moved in in July. UK is a joke. I’m told this was slow.

If people are selling to get in a better financial position because of cost of living , the long timeframe could make them default. Property grab.

There is no excuse for house purchase speed ... even banking has to comply with this standard ... faster please !!!!

reading this a year on and if anything its even worse

Great interview.... Where do I sign?

Hi Phil I only have 1 property I rent out should I worry about the RRB coming in ? I feel very worried at the moment & thinking of selling it

Currently waited nearly 16 weeks and still haven't exchanged contracts.

Three Times in my life Buyers have dropped out at the last hour after weeks. They should have to pay a deposit.