Estate agents and sellers are being offered a new way to identify property condition problems earlier as the industry moves towards providing more information before transactions get under way.
Landmark Information Group has launched Sales Pack Ready Surveys across England and Wales, providing a RICS-standard assessment of a property’s physical condition earlier in the home-moving process.
The reports are designed to highlight visible defects, maintenance concerns and areas requiring further investigation before a transaction has progressed significantly.
The move comes as the property industry and Government explore greater use of upfront information to reduce delays, renegotiations and unexpected problems later in the homebuying process.
EARLIER INFORMATION
Landmark says legal searches, title information and other property data provide only part of the information buyers need, with the physical condition of a home often investigated later.
Bringing surveys forward could allow sellers and prospective buyers to understand potential issues before significant time and money have been committed to a transaction.
The launch comes against a backdrop of high transaction fall-through rates. Landmark cites TwentyCi data showing 23.7% of agreed sales currently fail to complete, although property condition is only one of numerous factors that can cause transactions to collapse.
“We can start changing processes.”
Nick Dyoss (main picture, inset), Group Business Development and Relationships Director at Landmark Information Group, says: “The property industry can’t afford to wait for reform to take effect before it starts changing how transactions work.
“We know the direction the market is heading, and the businesses that start adapting now will be in a much stronger position as those changes become embedded across the homebuying and selling process.
“The future of home moving is about helping buyers and sellers make informed decisions before they commit, rather than uncovering issues once a transaction is already underway.
“Property condition information is a practical example of where estate agents, conveyancers, brokers and lenders can begin making that shift today.
“By giving the industry the tools to start changing established ways of working, we can start changing processes, learn what works for customers and build towards a transaction that is better prepared from the very beginning.”
SALES PACKS
The surveys form part of Landmark’s wider Sales Pack Ready proposition, which brings together property data, searches, title and condition information.
Reports will be delivered through a national managed panel of surveyors via Landmark’s Optimus business and can be ordered by estate agents and other property professionals.
The wider industry is also considering how condition information could be used earlier and potentially relied upon by sellers and prospective buyers.
Project 28 Charter members are due to hold a surveyors’ roundtable later this month to examine how earlier property condition information could operate at scale.
