Conveyancing – agents not to fear more up-front property info
Beth Rudolph, Head of Delivery at the Conveyancing Association, says progress improving the sales progression process is being held back by estate agent myths about property information.
Beth Rudolph goes on to advise that providing more information to home buyers and making it easier to process the data digitally should not be feared by estate agents as sales ‘deal breakers’, a senior conveyancing industry figure has said.
Beth Rudolph (pictured), who is Head of Delivery at the Conveyancing Association and who also used to be an estate agent, says the property industry – not helped by the HIPs debacle during the 1990s – incorrectly believes initiatives to give buyers information up-front are a bad thing.
“These are the myths that we are fighting,” she says. “The idea that you don’t want that kind of information bandied about is wrong – because all you’re doing is pushing the problem further down the sales process, and causing sales to fall through.
“Remember that every seller has a duty to disclose any defects before exchange of contracts including, the recent SPS Groundworks case proved recently – in the property advert.”
Rudolph also says the other myth that putting up financial barriers for vendors will depress stock levels is also ‘rubbish’.
“The mandatory Home Report in Scotland, which costs between £500 and £1,000, has not impacted transaction or stock levels since it was introduced [in 2008],” she says.
Rudolph spoke to The Neg following the latest update to the digital BASPI conveyancing form that agents are required to complete, which now asks for even more information about a property to be supplied.
This includes its UPRN reference number, a requirement for buyers to receive its property logbook on completion and the declaration of any ‘smart equipment’ within a house.