One common complaint of homebuyers is the amount of time it takes for the conveyancing process to go through. Lawyers are examining how this could be sped up.
Many home buyers are dependent on selling an existing home in order to purchase a new one. Even if they have a buyer for their existing house, the buyer needs to arrange a mortgage and wait for a solicitor to complete the conveyancing, all of which takes time. A bridging loan can be used to complete a house purchase so that a household can move into a new home before they sell their existing house.
The Conveyancing Association (CA), which represents conveyancing lawyers, has published a white paper called Modernising the Home Buying Process. They note that over the last few years the conveyancing process has risen from 6 to 8 weeks to 12 to 14 weeks.
The white paper has many proposals that will both improve and speed up the conveyancing process, including changes to the identity verification process, centralising property title information and fraud prevention measures. They also want the legal commitment to buy a house to occur much sooner in the process to provide more certainty that buyers will not pull out of the deal.
Most homebuyers are dissatisfied with the length of time it takes to complete a house purchase. If the process can be shortened then it will not negate the need for bridging loans, but it could mean that bridging loans are required for shorter periods.
