THE PROPERTY INDUSTRY IS FINALLY CATCHING UP WITH WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS
The Government has recently announced plans to modernise the home moving process, with a focus on reducing delays, lowering the number of sales that fall through and helping transactions complete more smoothly.
THE PROPERTY INDUSTRY IS FINALLY CATCHING UP WITH WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS
By Ben Roberts, Managing Director, Keystone Estate Agents
The Government has recently announced plans to modernise the home moving process, with a focus on reducing delays, lowering the number of sales that fall through and helping transactions complete more smoothly.
For many people, this will sound like a positive step forward.
For us at Keystone, it feels like recognition that the industry is finally moving towards a way of working we’ve already been championing for the last two years through our Sale Ready Service.
The traditional home moving process has always had one major flaw.
A seller accepts an offer, everyone celebrates, and only then does the serious legal work begin.
Property searches are ordered. Forms are completed. Enquiries start to be raised. Important information is gathered for the first time.
The problem is that weeks can pass before issues come to light. By that stage, buyers have emotionally invested, onward purchases may have been agreed and entire chains can be depending on that transaction progressing.
When problems emerge late in the process, delays follow.
Sometimes sales collapse altogether.
It’s frustrating for buyers, sellers, solicitors and estate agents alike.
That’s exactly why Keystone introduced the Sale Ready Service over two years ago.
Whilst the Government’s proposals are broader and involve changes across the entire property industry, the principle is remarkably similar to the approach we’ve already embraced.
The earlier important information is obtained, the better the outcome for everyone involved.
One of the key elements of our Sale Ready Service is that property searches are commissioned immediately when a property is instructed to market, rather than waiting until a buyer is found.
This is hugely important.
Searches are often one of the biggest causes of delay within the conveyancing process. By obtaining them upfront, we remove weeks from the transaction timeline and identify potential issues long before they have the opportunity to derail a sale.
As part of the service, sellers also use solicitors that we work alongside every day. This creates a much smoother process, better communication and allows the legal work to begin far earlier than it would under a traditional sale.
The result is simple.
When a buyer is found, much of the groundwork has already been completed.
Instead of starting from scratch, the transaction is already moving forward.
Of course, no system can eliminate every challenge. Property transactions involve multiple parties, mortgage lenders, surveyors and legal representatives, all of whom can influence timescales.
However, what we’ve consistently seen over the last two years is that preparation makes an enormous difference.
Issues are identified earlier.
Buyers receive information sooner.
Transactions progress more smoothly.
And, importantly, the risk of unnecessary delays is significantly reduced.
This matters even more in Flintshire and Chester, where many property sales form part of longer chains. One delay can impact multiple families. One missing document can affect several linked transactions.
The smoother each individual sale becomes, the smoother the entire chain becomes.
What excites me most about the Government’s announcement isn’t simply the detail of the proposals themselves.
It’s the acknowledgement that the industry needs to move away from outdated processes and towards greater transparency, better preparation and earlier action.
For years, many people have accepted delays and fall-throughs as an unavoidable part of moving home.
They don’t have to be.
The future of the property industry will be built around better information, smarter systems and getting important work done sooner rather than later.
At Keystone, that’s exactly the approach we’ve already been taking.
For homeowners across Flintshire and Chester, the message is simple.
Whilst the industry is now beginning to move in this direction, our clients have been benefiting from these principles for the last two years through our Sale Ready Service.
Because the best time to prepare for a successful sale isn’t after you’ve found a buyer.
It’s the day you decide to put your home on the market.
