Well I have had a few days to consider the various comments made by the 18 speakersand while some were obviously self seeking and overtly marketing their particular market sector be it conveyancing , Hips or Estate Agency. I was pleased to hear one or two speakers who were obviously more concerned to improve the home buying experience for uk property market.

No decisions were actually made during the meeting however some comments were highlighted for example:-

(i)Service Standards for conveyancing vary widely across the country and while it may be a process proper fees must be paid if standards are to be raised and the experience improved.

(ii)There is confusion in regard to Surveys and Valuations-hence there are few surveys carried out on properties particularly amonst first time buyers.

(iii)EPC’s which are presently part of HIPs will remain as Europe requires this as part of reducing the carbon footprint however if the Conservatives come to power at the next election then HIP’s itself will be scrapped and will almost certainly be replaced with something of more value to the general public.

(iv) E conveyancing will be promoted more since this will speed the process however efforts must be made to de-mystify the actual process of uk property transfer

(v) The majority of those at the meeting felt that some form of Financial deposit be paid by both the sellers and the buyers which will be forfeited by the defaulting party in the event of the transaction falling through as a result of their actions or inaction

I will post further observations shortly

Reg