A year-long pilot of using Upfront Material Information by residential conveyancers Thomas Legal and Conveyancing Data Services, part of tmgroup, shows transaction times reduced by up to 70 days.
The 12-month pilot in England, completed with a partnership of six estate agency offices, saw the time taken from heads of terms to exchange was reduced from the national average of 133 days to between 63 and 83 days.
For the agent, the difference in transaction time for properties from sale agreed to exchange in and out of the pilot was 51 days.
The results support similar findings north of the border, where the Scottish Home Report has already seen average property transactions now take four weeks less than in England and Wales, and fall-throughs reduce by 60%.
Richard Pickles, tmgroup’s sales director (residential) has been working with Thomas Legal on the pilot from the outset.
He said: “By providing information more transparently, earlier in the conveyancing process, and in a format acceptable to both sides, the pilot proves using Upfront Material Information could bring about the change bodies like the Home Buying and Selling Group have been urgently calling for. I am not at all surprised by the results.”
Simon David, chairman of Thomas Legal, added: “Obtaining search information at the point the property comes on the market already puts us up to four weeks ahead of the game. Critically, when a buyer is found, that search information can be supplied by CDS in the buyer’s name. This helped us overcome a huge potential stumbling block.
“Another potential issue, that of local authority searches expiring after six months and potentially before exchange, has also been avoided by CDS agreeing to refresh search details after six months at often little and sometimes zero additional cost. That was another huge tick.“
