MPs are set to begin their inquiry into improving the home buying and selling process today.
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) will question consumer, professional and industry bodies, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the HomeOwners Alliance, as part of the opening evidence session.
A statement from the committee said the cross-party group of MPs are likely to ask questions on a range of topics relating to the effectiveness of the existing process for buying and selling homes in England.
This includes whether the experience could be improved voluntarily or if legislation may be necessary.
The inquiry is examining the transaction process, the information available to buyers, and the role of conveyancers and estate agents.
Witnesses to be questioned today include:
From 4pm
• Kate Faulkner, Chair, Home Buying and Selling Group
• Paula Higgins, Chief Executive, HomeOwners Alliance
• Maria Harris, Chair, Open Property Data Association
From 5pm
• Mairead Carroll, RICS Senior Property Specialist, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns, Propertymark
• Beth Rudolf, Director of Delivery, The Conveyancing Association
You can view the hearing at: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2c793149-84f7-4d53-a4ab-103379e6a8b5
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Bring in property passports so all documents / guarantees are stored in one place, all searches done by the sellers and valid 6 months before going on the market which will not only save time but wean out the waste of time sellers. Not sure how exactly Scotland works but doesn't the house get a qualified valuer to tell the homeowner how much it's worth before they pick an agent? This will cut down the over pricing. From sale agreed it shouldn't take more than 8 weeks to get a sale through.
We all could go on I'm sure.
Can they please sort out this ridiculous ID process where the buyer is having to complete one for us and one for the solicitor. And then if they end up not buying the property and go to another agent they have to usually do another ID process. Surely the buyers solicitor could do the ID process for the buyer and share it? Certainly needs to be a better system anyway.
The vast majority of money laundering schemes have a solicitor who is complicit.
Consider this innovative proposal: Why not have buyers and sellers etc carry out their own MLR (Money Laundering Regulations) checks using the government gateway? By utilising the HMRC portal, they could easily pay for the check, which could then be verified by the agent and solicitor through a unique code. Given that HMRC and other government agencies already hold extensive data on all of us, leveraging this information in a manner similar to applying for a passport or driving licence online seems like a logical step.
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