The government is developing plans to introduce a system that allows homebuyers to be provided with more ‘critical information’ upfront when searching for a new property.
The new system, likened to the previous home buyer information packs, has been revealed in the government’s ‘Levelling Up’ white paper.
It is part of an initiative outlined by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ to help reduce the number of property transactions that fall through and to make it easier for first-time buyers to purchase properties.
Details and information about a property such as tenure type, lease length and any service charges are to be made publicly available to buyers ahead of purchase. This could potentially become a legal requirement.
Having this information readily available from the start will potentially reduce the number of house sales that fall through. Currently around a third of all housing transactions fall through which is costing buyers hundreds of pounds.
In Scotland, where upfront information packs are required, only one in 10 transactions fall through.
The ‘levelling up’ white paper, states that the UK government and the industry will work together to ensure the critical material information buyers need to know will be available to homebuyers and that the ‘expensive, time-consuming and stressful’ process of buying and selling a home will be improved.
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