Buying a house is the biggest purchase most people will ever make. But for many people, it’s also one of the most stressful things they’ll ever do.
Too many buyers will recognise the torturous process of transactions that fall through at the last minute, costing thousands of pounds.
The months of uncertainty, waiting for checks, the endless bureaucracy, and the financial hit from wasted fees and costs. No wonder one in three transactions fail.
That costs house buyers and sellers around £400 million a year, after they’ve shelled out for surveys and solicitors.
The system is stuck in the 20th Century – slow, complicated and uncertain. It’s long past time we made buying and selling your home easier, and cut out the huge delays and heartache.
That’s why I’m introducing plans to make house buying faster, cheaper and simpler.
Firstly, we’re making it mandatory for estate agents and sellers to make vital information – like property searches and condition assessments – clear from the outset.
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Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Next, we’re exploring how this could open the door to binding conditional contracts. At the moment, either party can withdraw even months into the process. My plans mean pulling out without a good reason after signing would incur a penalty.
We want to streamline the paperwork as well, using new technology to make identity and anti-money laundering checks simpler and make transactions more secure.
Finally, we’re imposing minimum standards on estate agents, whipping the industry into shape and making it clearer for house sellers what they can expect so they can compare services and pay a fair price.
This should save first-time buyers hundreds of pounds, speed up transactions by a month and halve the number of transactions that fall through.
Buying a home should be one of the most exciting moments in a person’s life. It shouldn’t be a nightmare to navigate.
By making it much easier to buy and sell your house, we’ll restore the dream of homeownership to millions.
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