New technologies are poised to revolutionise the home buying process and are already changing how buyers approach the three key phases of researching, financing, and purchasing a property.
With the increasing acceptance of paperless processes in the property industry, the pace of change is accelerating, with significant implications for consumers and the property sector. Most importantly, this new approach is helping to speed up the property purchase process, making it easier and more efficient for buyers while saving them both time and money.
First registered in 2018, the HM Land Registry’s digital service ‘Sign your mortgage deed’ reached its 7,000th digital mortgage deed registration in February 2020. Initially introduced to reduce paperwork delays, the online service has resulted in a substantial reduction in processing time, with some customers able to complete the remortgage process in just three days, 18 days faster than the average for a paper transaction. This new process reduces uncertainty and delays, while also assisting with compliance by creating an automated audit trail that records the actions of all parties involved. Although currently only available to homeowners looking to re-mortgage, the Land Registry has plans to expand the service to include all homeowners in the future.
Securing Local Authority data can also be a particularly time-consuming process. The Local Land Charges (LLC) process is a key priority for digitisation, with a pilot scheme launched across five Local Authorities as a first wave in 2018. This will be an important change for the future, as the plan is for all 326 Local Authorities within England to offer digital LLC within the next five to seven years. The key benefits include 24/7 access to data, freeing up council resources, and once again, significantly speeding up the process.
The digitisation of all these processes could significantly streamline property purchases. The volume of repetitive data gathered when buying a home is substantial and can ultimately cause delays and, in some cases, lead to a failed purchase. From environmental data to survey reports, it is conceivable to envision a future where information for every address is easily accessible through an online portal, allowing potential buyers to access it at the touch of a button.
At Hubb, we eagerly anticipate observing how digital advancements in the industry will continue to streamline and improve efficiency when it comes to acquiring property. We are excited about the benefits these advancements will bring to our valued investors and the vital role they will play in our work.