Wednesday 18 April 2012

Why moving home with a mortgage will cost more and take longer

Why do some mortgage companies insist you go to one solicitor for your mortgage and a different one for your purchase?

For many years one solicitor would act for both you and the lender because in the main your respective interests would be the similar.    You both wish to purchase a property without any adverse legal consequences.   This is known as a “joint representation” transaction.

The benefit of this is that providing your solicitor was on the lender’s general panel one overall fee would be charged.

However, some mortgage lenders in response to increasing concerns with levels of mortgage fraud and poor conveyancing practice have decided to limit the number of firms that can act on their behalf.

This “separate representation” approach means the lender will appoint a solicitor to act on their behalf and you are able to instruct your own solicitor.   Generally there is no restriction on which firm you choose providing they are on the lender’s general conveyancing panel.  

However there is one lender namely HSBC which has through charging extra legal fees made it very difficult for you to exercise a free choice.  

If you are involved in a transaction where you have two firms of solicitors acting this can often cause delay because your solicitor will not be able to exchange contracts on your behalf until the lender’s solicitor has confirmed approval.

The likelihood is that separate representation is likely to figure more in the future with the consequence of  adding extra expense and time to the  already slow and stressful process of moving home.  

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Friday 13 April 2012

New energy rules for those selling and buying homes

The rules on the display of energy ratings (Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)) for homes have changed.

Those advertising property such as estate agents must now (as from the 6th April) :

  • Include the 1st page of the EPC for all sales and lettings properties in printed and electronic property particulars.

  • Have ordered an EPC prior to marketing and to produce  it within 7 days of marketing
If you are looking to market or let your property it is important for you to make sure your agent is complying with these requirements. 

Your agent must include a copy of the entire front page of the EPC document and not just the EPC graph as has currently been the case.  This includes any literature containing particulars of the property to be marketed including electronic communications such as emails.

Property particulars are defined as including at least two of the following elements:

  • a photograph of the building or any room in the building,
  • a floor plan of the building,
  • the size of the rooms in the building,
  • the measured area of the building, or,
  • the proposed rent in relation to a building being rented out,.
This may therefore (depending on how the new rules are interpreted) extend to the pictures and particulars of your home that appear in the agent’s window or in the local paper.  As for rentals the new rules seem must clearer and there seems no getting away from the requirement to display in any advertisement the front page of the EPC.

Almost all lettings adverts will include a property photo and the rental price, and thus it will be hard to avoid this.

The size of the EPC extract shown in the particulars must be sufficient for the details to be read – don’t allow the agent to print it very small nor to try and circumvent the rules by simply adding a link to the EPC.

Interestingly the first page of the EPC contains the full address of the property.   Agents do not normally like to display the full address in literature as this provides marketing opportunities for competitors.   Unfortunately there now seems no way around it and the address must remain within the published first page of the EPC.

What about properties appearing on agent’s websites?  Arguably as there is a picture of the property and often other particulars such as room sizes etc the first page of the EPC ought to be reproduced possibly in full rather than through clicking on a link.  

Rightmove it is reported recently emailed all of its agent clients and made the claim as quoted below:

"Rightmove is a property advertising website and the information displayed on Rightmove by all our member agents takes the form of property adverts and not property particulars. This is clearly stated at the bottom of every page on Rightmove that displays the details which have been provided to us by the agent about a specific property and will continue to do so.

It is our view that the new regulations do not place any additional obligations on Rightmove, although you may wish to consider separately how the new regulations might affect your own company website. We do, however, understand that some of our member agents may wish to display the EPC as part of the property advert on Rightmove. Rightmove does provide the functionality for you to do this if you so wish."

I do not necessarily agree that is correct; looking at the new rules and the elements that must exist for the publication of the EPC it is difficult to see how one can in this way distinguish ‘adverts’ from publication of property particulars.  Rightmove publishes pictures and particulars of property and this is no different from details published in newspapers or in an agent’s window.

Let’s not forget the purpose that lies behind the rules, and that is those looking for a property to buy should be able when searching to have immediate access to the energy rating for that property.

The problem is that as with the fated Home Information Pack some agents are reluctant to go to the expense of ordering and paying for an EPC until they know a buyer has been found for the property.  They view these requirements as an unnecessary hurdle to the marketing of the property.

My advice to those selling and renting is to always ensure that any agreement reached with an agent to sell or rent you home includes a clause that the agent orders and pays for the EPC. If you are buying always insist on seeing the EPC before viewing a property and if the EPC’s first page does not appear in the particulars of sale wherever these might appear always ask for an explanation.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Thursday 29 March 2012

Solar panels could make your property difficult to sell


Solar panels may be associated with green issues but beware as they might be viewed as a red card when it comes to re-mortgaging your house or when looking to purchase a property with a mortgage where solar panels are fitted .  This is according to an article recently appearing in the Guardian.

Guardian Money reported on a Southampton couple who were refused by several companies when they tried to re-mortgage their home. The couple had previously agreed, with their lenders permission, to allow a firm to install solar panels on their roof for the duration of a 25-year lease.  They now face the prospect that their property has become ‘unsalable’.


The owners are reported to have said:


"We signed up to this scheme on the basis that we were doing the green thing, but it has turned out to be a nightmare," says John, who works as an air traffic controller.


The implications for us are that we cannot re-mortgage our house on a lower interest rate. We would still have a mortgage but one on the standard variable rate which will increase with the Bank of England interest rates.


We are extremely concerned that we will not be able to sell our house as no buyer will be able to get a mortgage on it. We can't be the only people in this position, can we?"


The big question is how many more home owners are there out there who are oblivious to this potential problem.  Solar leasing deals were heavily marketed last year by companies  looking to take advantage of  Government backed incentives to  those with solar PV panels on their roofs.


The most credible companies advised their customers to seek their lenders agreement, but many didn't.


The issue does not affect those who paid for their panels to be installed. It only relates to those installations undertaken under a lease arrangement.


One can only surmise as to why lenders are struggling to come to terms with these arrangements.    They may be concerned that if they have to repossess and sell quickly there could be a problem in finding someone to purchase the property where there is lease with financial obligations to take on.   This is because the leasing arrangement for the panels follows the property and not the owner who installed the panels. The lease company will only remove the panels if the lender can show it has tried and failed to sell it.


The article suggests having contacted the Council of Mortgage Lenders that the  issues which have begun to arise  may be down to  a failure on the part of the banking sector to formulate a clearer policy on solar panels and how these cases should be approached.


This reported case should however send out a warning to those looking to install panels under a leasing arrangement and also to those acting for those looking to purchase a property where an arrangement exists.   Time will tell whether those homeowners who have sought to reduce their energy bills in line with Government advice and encouragement will be left with problems in selling their property at  market price.  

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Thursday 22 March 2012

Prediction of 19% rise in housing transactions in 2013

Much of today’s focus has been on Budget headlines and little comment has been made of the detail supplied by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), particularly about its view of what is likely to happen to  the property market over the next 36 months.
According to the OBR the future looks bright and forecasts a dramatic increase in stamp duty receipts by 2016, when it expects the Treasury to receive £11.1 billion a year, nearly double the current level of around £6 billion. 
This suggests the OBR is expecting housing market to spring back to life in 2013, with a 19% rise in transaction levels and a further 14% increase in the number of sales in 2014.
This is based on the OBR’s expectation of an easing in credit conditions in 2013
The downside is the OBR has downgraded its housing price forecast expecting prices to rise by only 0.5% next year. This is in line with independent forecasts published this year.  
Looking ahead the picture is even better as prices are predicted to pick up more strongly in 2014, along with further strong rises in transaction numbers.
Let’s hope the OBR is right with its predictions.  The success of this budget clearly rests on the generation of extra Stamp Duty suggesting the Government has put  a lot of faith in the OBR's assessment. 

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Sunday 11 March 2012

Conveyancing firm marks successful year with launch of new website


Entering the market in late 2010 was not the easiest.  The property market was in free fall and the recession was still biting.  Every indicator was pointing to contraction and on the face of it this was not the time to look at expansion.



Not deterred however the partners in MJPconveyancing.co.uk  decided this was the best time to invest in people and information technology and look to build for the future. 

Partner, David Pett, explains:

“At the time of receiving my brief to reorganize and develop our conveyancing department we were operating with one conveyancer and two support staff.  We were fixing fees in line with expectations that predated the rise in competition caused by the introduction of the Legal Services Act.  


The philosophy was to ensure we could provide a service to our litigation clients who were looking for a conveyancing service.  To be honest we had not idea whether we were making any money and as for case management this simply did not exist.

The first step was to invest money into creating a new case management system.  Along with our IT programmer, Leon Williams, we designed and introduced a unique risk and case management system  - Quick Conveyance.  Straight away this put us in a position to develop a new low cost conveyancing model without having to make any sacrifices on risk management or the quality of service.  It also gave me the tools to see how much money we were making and to ensure profit margins were maintained.’

The investment has clearly paid off for MJPconveyancing.co.uk .   The business has gone from strength to strength and is now operating with six case handlers and a support staff of six.  It s handling around 100 completions each month and has recently released a new website whereby instant quotes for conveyancing services can be sought.

The Partners are also looking to see if they can ‘resell’ to other conveyancers the risk and case management system – Quick Conveyance

The next stage in the plan is to operate the business as an alternative business structure which MJPconveyancing.co.uk  hopes will be up and running in August of this year. 

For further details of MJP Conveyancing or Quick Conveyance please email davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Monday 27 February 2012

Compensation for delay in referring patient for physiotherapy

Compensation recovered for a Claimant who had a delay in referring her for physiotherapy which only took place some months later which had caused her condition to actually become worse. 

For further details on this or indeed any other clinical negligence claims contact:

Simon Bransby at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk or call 01603 877064

Abdominoplasty error leads to compensation payment

A five figure sum recovered for a young lady who had routine plastic surgery but had not been properly assessed and the hospital had not taken her through a proper consent process.  She has been left with scarring and a psychiatric reaction. 

For further details on this or indeed any other claims contact
Simon Bransby at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk or call 01603 877064

£30,000 compensation claim for HIP replacement hospital error

In excess of £30,000 recovered for a hip replacement which was carried out negligently when a globule of cement was dropped into the hip causing a thermal burn to the femoral nerve and required remedial surgery  After an initial period of disability the Claimant had made a reasonably good recovery but needed care and assistance from his partner in the early days. 

For further details on this or indeed any other clinical negligence claims contact:


Simon Bransby at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk or call 01603 877064

Childbirth failure leads to compensation payment

Compensation recovered for a lady who had a swab left inside her vagina following a routine childbirth.  Fortunately the swab was detected quite early on but still resulted in a period of pain and suffering and extreme discomfort. 

For further details on this or indeed any other clinical negligence claims contact:

Simon Bransby at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk or call 01603 877064

Compensation of £50,000 for hospital failure to convey test results


This is an interesting case where the Claimant was suffering symptoms of an overactive thyroid. Tests were carried out by the hospital which revealed he did in fact suffer from this condition but they never communicated the results to him and he was only told some three years later. In the meantime he had lost his job due to concentration issues linked to the problem.  Settlement reached for over £50,000 to reflect this.  

The case was complicated by the fact that although the Claimant had lost his job, he was able to obtain some part-time work and a large part of the fact he could not work was due to the current economic climate, which the Defendants alleged but we were able to say he had lost his original job as a direct result of the negligence and therefore the Defendants had to pay the price.  The settlement reflected that most of the Claimant’s loss of earnings were in fact recoverable. 

For further details on this or indeed any other clinical negligence claims contact:

Simon Bransby at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk or call 01603 877064

Bus accident leads to five figure compensation claim

Significant five figure sum recovered for Claimant who was injured when his car was hit but a bus.  The case was particularly interesting as he muddled by trying to carry on working but eventually had to give up, suffering a psychiatric injury which was not of immediate onset. 

Arguments from the Defendant as to what caused the psychiatric injury were put forward but the compensation agreed reflected the fact the Claimant was able to recover all of his loss of earnings. 

For further details on this or indeed any other personal injury claims contact Simon Bransby at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk or call 01603 877064

Injury at school leads to compensation payment

Compensation recovered for a child who was injured in a PE class which was improperly supervised by a teacher.

The Defendants had denied liability for a number of years and the case involved having to employ a leading expert on physical education within schools. 

For further details on this or indeed any other personal injury claims contact:




Simon Bransby at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk or call 01603 877064

Injury with saw leads to compensation payment

Five figure sums recovered for 2 Claimants, one of whom was not properly trained in the use of a saw, and suffered serious injuries to his hand and another, a cleaning lady who recovered compensation when she tripped over a “Henry” style hoover which she was using and fell down stairs.


The cleaning lady was a particularly interesting case as she was a foreigner and often required the help of an interpreter. 

For further details on this or indeed any other personal injury claims contact:


Simon Bransby at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk or call 01603 877064

Hair Extension compensation claim


Compensation recovered for a model who had hair extensions applied which caused her hair loss and aggravation of her scalp.  The award included loss of earnings for missed modelling sessions as well as a cancelled holiday. 



This was quite a complicated claim as there was a clear dispute between the parties as to the facts of the case. The Claimant said that she had relied upon the hairdresser’s experience and expertise in telling her what the best product was to give her the effect that she wishes for but they failed to take into account a number of factors, carry out a strand test, properly counsel her about the risks.

The hairdresser then ignored her complaints that there was a problem for too long meaning that by the time the extensions were removed they had caused irritation to her scalp and hair loss, requiring use of hair growth tablets, special shampoo and precluded her from being able to use a hair dryer, or any hair products such as hair spray, hair gel and such like. Inspite of the dispute as to the facts of the case and continued denial of liability, upon taking the case to court the Defendant backed down and paid the claim on a full liability basis (although without making such an admission).

If you have suffered in this way and require a free and no obligation consultation with us please email Simon and we will be happy to help. 

Simon Bransby at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk or call 01603 877000

Sunday 19 February 2012

How much holiday can I take?

There is a minimum right to paid holiday; if you work five days per week you are entitled 28 days for someone working five days a week. This is capped at a statutory maximum of 28 days for all working patterns. Part-time workers are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata. You start building up holiday as soon as you start work. If you started work on or before 25 October 2001 (14 April 2002 in Northern Ireland) there are no legal rules about how your holiday builds up

Your employer can control when you take your holiday and provide in your contract for you to have more holiday than you are entitled to under current law. You get paid your normal pay for your holiday. Once you finish a job, you get paid for any holiday you have not taken.  Bank and public holidays can be included in your minimum entitlement. You continue to be entitled to your holiday leave throughout your ordinary and additional maternity leave and paternity and adoption leave.

You must give your employer advance notice that you want to take holiday. This notice should be at least twice as long as the amount of holiday you want to take.

Your employer can refuse permission for your holiday as long as they give you notice which is at least as long as the holiday requested. So to refuse a request for a week's leave, they would have to tell you a week in advance. Your contract may set out other rules about when you can take your holiday. This is allowed so long as the rules don't effectively prevent you from taking holiday at all.

In light of a recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling, the following is applicable if you become ill during your holiday or just before you were due to take it. You can ask to convert the period of holiday concerned to sick leave and ask to take the missed annual leave at a later date.

Statutory annual leave cannot be replaced by a payment in lieu except where the worker's employment is terminated (Regulation 13(9) Working Time Regulations 1998). Employers are able to make a payment in lieu of any additional, contractual holidays, as long as this provision is contained in the employee’s contract.

Regulation 13(9) prevents the carry-forward of the four-week element of statutory leave entitlement.

Maternity leave and holiday entitlement

Holiday entitlement continues during maternity leave.  Some employees may ask to take their statutory holiday either before or at the end of the maternity period depending on how much holiday statutory holiday entitlement is available.  As statutory holiday is taken through the notice procedure above if employer and employee are in agreement then the unused holiday entitlement can be taken when the employer and employee agree.   There may be a problem taking statutory holiday at the end of the maternity if this means the unused statutory holiday is carried over into the next holiday year.  If this were to happen then if the holiday is not taken before the end of the holiday year the employee loses the holiday, as it is unlawful to carry forward any of the unused statutory holiday.  Essentially therefore the holiday should be taken before maternity leave commences.

Check however as if the employee has had holiday before the maternity leave commences and there is only contractual holiday due then providing the contract provides for the contractual holiday to be carried forward and or salary to be paid in lieu then there should be no problem.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Monday 6 February 2012

What is a Home Buyers Report?

This is a survey of a property you may be looking to buy that’s much more detailed than the basic valuation. It’s for your benefit, rather than the mortgage lender.

It will highlight potential problems with a property, such as subsidence, damp or woodworm. This can help you decide whether to go ahead or not with the purchase, or whether to look to renegotiate the price.

It is always a sensible (and we would say essential) precaution to have a survey of your purchase property especially if the property is an older build. 

A recent Which? Survey disclosed:

‘Those who missed problems spent an average of £2,500 putting them right. One in ten spent more than £10,000. Mark Morris from Newbury told us: ‘Since moving in, I’ve found the rot and damp was much worse than I thought. I’ve also spent several hundred pounds making the electrics safe.’ A quarter said that if they’d known in advance, they would have tried to renegotiate the price, and more than one in ten said they wouldn’t have bought at all'.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Government to support buyers of new build homes

The Government has today announced it will in March launch a scheme which is aimed at those looking to purchase new-build homes.  

The ‘NewBuy Guarantee scheme’, will allow lenders to offer large mortgages on new-build homes without running the risk of losing money if the property falls into negative equity and is repossessed. Essentially the loan will be guaranteed by the developers and government (taxpayers).

It is hoped this will enable would be movers looking to buy a new-build property up to the value of £500,000 to overcome the problem of finding  large sums of money to put down as a deposit.  The scheme is looking at underwriting 95% mortgages.

It is reported, Nationwide building Society, one of the lenders which will take part, is currently working with the government to work out exactly how the scheme will operate.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said discussions are on-going, and when the final details are announced the £500,000 cap could vary around the country.

MJP Conveyancing welcomes this move but as similar schemes have in the past operated  with little impact, we will wait and see what affect this will have on lifting the deposit affordability barrier which continues to dampen the growth within the property market.

Morgan Jones and Pett solicitors offer a fast, low cost and professional home moving service with prices starting at £230 plus VAT. Call now ion 01603877001 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk for a FREE quote

Flood risk alert for future home owners and coveyancers

Buying a property that may be within the range of a flood plain has become even riskier due to the news that around 200,000 homes at risk from flooding could face problems getting insurance from next year.

Properties that have a 75% chance of flooding in any one year are those most at risk. Boston and Skegness in Lincolnshire is the constituency with the most homes at significant risk of  flooding with 7,550 properties under threat, followed by the Vale of Clwyd (7,339 homes), Folkestone and Hythe (7,196), and Windsor (7,125). Some properties in Great Yarmouth also fall into this category.

The reason for this is that an existing deal with the Government expires in 2013 and time is running out for ongoing talks about a new safety net arrangement.

The Association of British Insurers’ director-general Otto Thoresen said: "Insurers want to make sure that every home has access to affordable insurance, should the worst happen, and we're concerned that those people most at risk will lose out unless the Government considers a safety net.

"We are frustrated with the progress of our talks with the Government on this issue and want it to look urgently at a model that would allow flood cover to remain widely available and competitively priced. No country in the world has an entirely free market providing universal affordable flood insurance, and action is needed now to avoid 200,000 high-risk homes struggling to afford cover."

The possible non - availability of insurance may make it more difficult for people to find a mortgage for properties in the affected area and may lead to current home owners in those areas feeling trapped. 

Those acting for prospective owners of such property need to keep a close eye on this development and to warn clients of the what is happening and how this could affect the future value of the property.    Looking more closely at environmental reports and assessing the risk of flooding will clearly be needed as will the requirement to report the risk if indentified to the lender.

Unless Government acts quickly to extend the current arrangement we could see a large number of transactions failing over the next 12 months. 

By David Pett Solicitor and Partner

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Thursday 26 January 2012

Conveyancing process needs urgent reform

What can be done to make moving home faster and less expensive?  

This is a burning question and one that has yet to be addressed by Government despite the fact we currently face a major housing crisis and a situation where first time buyers are finding it increasing difficult and expensive to find a home.  The problem facing the first time buyer is likely to increase shortly with the withdrawal of the stamp duty concession and the forthcoming changes to how mortgages will operate in the future.

A brave Labour Government sought changes, the first since 1925, with the introduction of the doomed home information pack, but this was shot down in a blaze of glory by the Coalition Government when it came to power in May 2010.  Unfortunately in the rush to score political points no one seemed to care that by removing this attempt of reform it left the door open once again for the return of the problems associated with aborted transactions, increased costs and delay.

In fact, we are still left with an antiquated process and one that cries out for immediate reform.  The question is whether the current Government has the courage and inclination to do anything about it. 

So where do the problems lie?

Disclosure

As the law currently stands it is for the buyer to do most of the running around and to ask the seller questions because the duty to discover any problems with the property rests with the buyer.  There is no duty on the seller to volunteer adverse information about the property unless asked.  This means we have this bizarre process of having to ask the seller a series of questions hoping that all of the right questions are raised.   This is often a long and protracted process and one that could be avoided if the seller was required to bear all about the property to be sold.  This could be through thee completion of forms/questionnaires, documents that could be completed when the property is first placed on the market.  

Why not get the estate agent to ask the seller to complete the form and to make this available to prospective buyers.  At least the buyer could then decide on whether a survey would be needed.  All of this would take place before the lawyer is instructed and would save so much time.

Some may argue this is a ‘HIP”.  No it is not.  There is no added expense for the seller or the buyer. The seller simply completes a form knowing due to a change in the law that the duty to disclose rests with him or her and this forms part of the marketing process.   It would save time, it would save money as the transaction could proceed that much quicker and it would mean both seller and buyer standing far more chance of completing the transaction than they do at present.


Searches

Before the days of the HIP there were often delays in procuring searches.   Due to the shake up of Councils caused by the introduction of the HIP, most Councils have streamlined and improved service levels.   On top of this, personal search companies following the collapse of the HIP have faced a drop in demand for searches and this has led to increased competition and a vast improvement in the time it takes to deliver search results.

Search related delay is therefore uncommon.

However it is a bizarre situation that each time a property is sold a buyer is required when purchasing with a mortgage to order new searches.   This is often costly.  Often the cost of the search package is more than the fee charged by the solicitor!

In a time when the majority of the land in this Country is registered at the Land Registry would it not make sense for information on water and sewage and environmental issues to be noted on the Land Registry Title Document so that future buyers could see that at the outset and decide whether to ask the suppliers of the information whether there has been any change to the data since it was first supplied?   The cost of checking would be far cheaper than having to order a new search each time the property is transacted.

The same could apply to planning and building regulation data requiring this also to be noted on the Register the first time a property is sold and the data is disclosed.  How many times have property lawyers had to run around after planning and building regulation documents. 

On this subject if lenders could make it clear that they are not interested in planning and building documents which relate to matters of over 15 years in age this would also save time and money.  Some simple changes to the law to make it clear that no liability can arise on planning and building regulation breaches after a set period of time would put an end to this ridiculous and unnecessary paper chase.

Title defects

There will always be the occasional problem with title that needs to be addressed through insurance.  Why is it not possible that when the effect is found and insurance is taken out that there is not a requirement on the purchaser to register the insurance details at the Land Registry?  This would in terms of future due diligence save time and money and also avoid a future purchaser who may not have had the original policy passed to him or her, having to take out and pay for a fresh policy.  


Mortgages

Obtaining a mortgage offer once the mortgage is approved is no longer a reason for delay.  Most buyers receive their mortgage offer very early in the process.  The reason for this is that the lenders are issuing far less offers than they were before and therefore the paperwork of those mortgages they take on is coming through much faster.

Client Delay

Clients who sell have quiet a bit of paperwork to complete and it always amazes me that responsibility of over seeing this rests with the lawyer.  I am not sure why the selling agent could not ask the seller to complete these when the agent is engaged. It would save a lot of time and would quicken the process.


Solicitor delay

I always tell my clients that I can only be as fast as the slowest solicitor in the chain.   It is frustrating when you do as much as you can to progress a transaction only to find the solicitor acting for the other party is not responding or taking too much time to respond.

What can be done to improve this?  Very little though in a climate where lender panel membership is of importance to the survival of most conveyancers perhaps lenders will in the future take a closer look at the activity and performance of panel members and be more inclined to remove members where there is evidence of   repeated ineptness.

Conclusion

I accept a change in the law to reverse the maxim of ‘buyer beware’ would involve a radical switch, however by doing this the whole process would be far more transparent, quicker and cheaper.    It would lead to the front loading of information on a sale and if the requirement to register search data at the Land Registry along with title defect insurance was also introduced this would mean a prospective buyer would have to hand before an offer is made all the information he or she would need in making an offer and thereafter engaging a solicitor.

The cost of obtaining the title information, a cost which is already met by the seller may increase due to the extra data recorded and supplied, but this would easily be off set by the saving on not having to order full searches and reduced conveyancing fees due to a more streamlined service.

What are the chances of this happening?  Remote I would say as there is too much vested interest in the process as it presently operates and you also have a Government that says on the one hand it wishes to reduce bureaucracy and save costs, whereas on the other hand it has clearly stated it is not keen on introducing regulation that could hamper an already ailing property market.   It seems to have little appetite to interfere with the process. 

So it looks as if we may be facing another 100 years of operating a slow, costly and totally unfit for purpose  home moving process.   

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

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