CA backs property industry pledges

The Conveyancing Association (CA) has urged its member firms to endorse a series of home buying and selling pledges for property stakeholders. The pledges have been put together by the Home Buying and Selling Group (HBSG) and all those who sign-up, will be encouraged to follow-them and urge other stakeholders to do the same. The pledges are designed to encourage a more streamlined home purchase/ sale process, which will cut down on the average time taken to complete a transaction – currently 20 weeks.

The process also offers purchasers the best chance of taking advantage of the government’s stamp duty holiday which runs out at the end of March 2021. The pledges – which only apply in England and Wales – outline the measures each stakeholder can take to give the transaction the best chance of completing, covering off the seller, buyer, the selling agent, the seller’s property lawyer, the buyer’s property lawyer, the buyer’s mortgage adviser, and the buyer’s surveyor/valuer. The HBSG is urging both the seller and the buyer to take preliminary action to reduce the time it takes to sell or purchase.

As such, sellers should instruct their property lawyer on the same day as they market their property and fill in the property information forms provided to them as soon as possible. Buyers should make sure they have received a ‘mortgage offer in principle’ or, if paying with cash, make sure they have evidence of the funding available to them. Conveyancing Association director of delivery Beth Rudolf (pictured) said: “We all know that, when working for the seller, the sooner the conveyancer can begin carrying out the legal work, the quicker they can prepare the sale contract, and the better chance we have of hitting the ground running.

Also, by checking the title of the property upfront we can head off any potential issues or problems early on, ensure no documents are missing, and again process the transaction far more quickly. “This is why we’re urging not just our CA member firms to adopt these pledges, but every single property market stakeholder, in order that we can carry out the work relating to our own part of the transaction quickly, but also encourage all others to do likewise. “We have a real opportunity here to improve the home buying and selling process for every single person involved in it, and these industry pledges will go a long way to doing just that.”