The former housing minister Rachel Maclean recently described the current home-buying system as ‘acting not just as a block on economic growth’ but also as ‘a source of great personal frustration, costing households millions’.
She then set out her ambition saying ‘nothing less of a total overhaul of the system will do’ and harnessing the power of digitisation would make it more transparent and streamlined so that it worked for buyers and sellers alike.
The minister was speaking at the launch of a new group that has been formed to drive digital transformation of the land and property markets, the Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG).
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) is one of the founding members.
What improvements are being put in place for buyers and sellers?
The vision for the group is for everyone involved in buying, leasing and selling land and property to experience a secure and modern market that is transparent, customer-friendly and business-friendly at all stages.
It will be achieved through collaboration, innovation and a focus on emerging digital technologies to build on existing progress across the home-buying and selling system to get a better result for home buyers by making the process simpler, faster, more certain and less stressful.
The membership and shared vision of DPMSG means it is well placed to join up with the delivery activity being led by other groups who share the same ambition for a better property market including the Home Buying and Selling Group (HBSG).
When will the changes be introduced?
But how soon are you likely to see any changes?
The group is in its early stages and even the minister herself recognised the need to go further to accelerate the pace of change and promised that her department would be outlining its strategy in support of this soon.
Unfortunately, there were no new developments regarding this in the recent King’s Speech. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that if you’re about to buy a property some progress has already been made when it comes to removing barriers to upfront information and embracing digital identity.
Digital developments which are already in place to help buyers and sellers
All conveyancers are now required to display key information about price and services on their website, which gives you helpful information when choosing your conveyancer. The CLC always recommends that you shop around.
The CLC has gone one step further and introduced a Customer Charter. Our charter sets out what you can expect when instructing a specialist conveyancer, namely that your specialist conveyancer is subject to robust regulation and will only ever act in your best interests, that the fees you pay are clear and transparent, your money is held securely and if something goes wrong you are protected.
When it comes to digital identity, it wasn’t that long ago you had to show up in person to your conveyancer with physical proof of who you are in the form of a passport, bank statement and utility bills.
However, most firms are now using digital services to check ID – online systems which check your personal details against records held by, for example, mobile phone providers, credit agencies, HM Passport Office or the DVLA. This is much more convenient and is far more secure than using paper.
Digital identity checks can be completed in a matter of minutes, while the manual processing of documents can take days or even weeks. They can also be carried out from anywhere, which allows for greater flexibility in who you choose to instruct as your conveyancer.
While some consumers like a fully digitised conveyancing process, some remain more comfortable with face-to-face communication and paper. The important thing is to shop around and find a conveyancer who will deliver the service you want, not the service they want to give.
Price and speed of service are often the factors people think of first, but you should consider others such as location, how and when they will correspond with you and what experience they have in dealing with the type of property you plan to buy.
There is a search facility on our website to help you with this.
In the meantime, the CLC will continue to play an active part in helping the steering group achieve its aims and will provide further updates in due course.
Stephen Ward is director of strategy and external relations at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers
Why does the CLC always recommend that clients shop around? Surely that only encourages them to treat finding a Conveyancer as little more than a price comparison exercise. Clients should be encouraged to look for indicators on law firm websites that indicate the quality and level of service they will receive for their money.