In This Guide
choosing an agent
Conveyancing
Holding viewings
Negotiation
Planning your sale
Prepare your home
Seller's Packs
1. A brief history
2. What they will contain
3. Key benefits
4. What the critics say
5. Winners and losers
Selling at auction
Selling in Scotland
Selling privately
Selling your home
Using estate agents
Seller's Packs
What the critics say
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As with any government proposal, the seller's pack is not without its critics. The main areas that have caused concern and consternation are as follows:
If the pack is not put together by an estate agent, then the vendor
takes on a lot of extra hassle and stress. Within a set time scale,
they have to try to obtain a conditional report from the surveyors,
a copy of the deeds from the lender, searches, planning permission
reports and so on from the local authorities, a draft contract
from the solicitor, plus a copy of the lease and all kinds of
other information from the freeholder or management company. These
groups are not renowned for their speed to action, meaning more
grey hairs for the vendor.
In effect the cost of purchasing a property is being increased.
A surveyor's report will be an integral feature of the pack, yet
only one in five buyers actually commission anything more extensive
than a basic valuation. Critics argue that extra costs of the
packs will heavily discourage people from putting properties up
for sale, especially in areas where property prices are low. In
parts of the North-East, many terraced house sell for as little
as £10,000, meaning that the cost of the pack could be as disproportionately
high as 5% of the property value. This would inevitably lead to
a further contraction of the housing market in areas where it
is already depressed.
Despite the inclusion of a conditional report from a surveyor,
lenders will continue to require a basic valuation for mortgage
purposes. This may well be due to the fact that conditional reports
being carried out by people with a different (some say less arduous)
qualification than those required for a survey. Early reports
have shown that many buyers have not felt that the conditional
report has been full enough for their requirements, meaning a
further survey has been required. This is despite the fact that
the conditional report costs about the same as the homebuyer's
survey. Why was the homebuyer's survey not used as a template
instead?
There is some question over whether buyers will believe a survey
provided and paid for by the vendor. How does the buyer know that
the surveyor is offering a fair and unbiased view and not simply
sales patter? If a seller disagrees or is simply unhappy with
the negative results of the first survey, what is stopping them
simply covering up the damage reported and arranging for a new
inspection by a different surveyor?
Where the pack is put together by an estate agent representing
the vendor, it is in their interest to make the property look
as attractive as possible. This has led to some critics arguing
that it would have been better if the pack was prepared by an
independent 3rd party.
Many homeowners speculatively put a property on the market to
test the water, and then find that they get an attractive offer
and decide to sell their home. Speculative sellers are likely
to be put off by the £500+ cost of obtaining a sellers pack. Will
this reduce supply, thereby increasing competition and driving
up prices? Only time will tell.
What happens if the house does not sell? The survey and searches
are only likely to be valid for three months. So if they don't
sell their home quickly, the seller will have to bear the cost
of a new survey and searches at regular intervals. The problems
mount…
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