Consultation into home buying?

Property expert David Leake of Housesetc addresses the government’s consultation on making them home buying process ‘cheaper, faster and less stressful’

Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid, has asked for evidence from everyone involved in home buying including estate agents, conveyancing solicitors and mortgage lenders.

The main areas of consultation are:

• Gazumping: Buyers are concerned about gazumping, with sellers accepting a higher offer from a new buyer.

• Building trust and confidence: Although one million homes are bought and sold in England each year, around a quarter of sales fall through and hundreds of millions of pounds are wasted.

• Informing customers: How to provide better guidance for buyers and sellers, by encouraging them to gather more information in advance so homes are ‘sale ready’.

• Innovation: The government is looking for innovative digital solutions including making more data available online.
Javid stated: “We want to help everyone have a good quality home they can afford, and improving the process of buying and selling is part of delivering that.”