Number of property sales falling through in the UK increases.

New research from HomeOwners Alliance has brought to light that an average of £452 million a year is unnecessarily spent on property transactions that have fallen through.

These abortive sales and purchases are leaving homeowners’ bank balances worse for wear due to having to fork out for estate agent, conveyancing, surveyors and mortgage brokers’ fees despite the sale or purchase ultimately not going through.

Quick Move Now claim that around 28% of all property transactions in 2017 have fallen through at some stage of the process; given that there were 1.23 million transactions last year, that’s leaving almost 345,000 people out of pocket. With each abortive transaction costing homeowners approximately £1300 in fees (with buyers having to pay slightly more due to the cost of property searches and surveys), many groups have called for government reform surrounding the nature of property transactions.

One suggestion from HomeOwners Alliance is the introduction of a ‘reservation agreement’- much like the reservation fees already in place for many new build properties. This sum of money paid by both the buyer and seller (recommended to be to the sum of £1000), will be held by each respective conveyancer as a reserve fund to help cover such fees described above should a party pull out of the transaction. This proposal will purportedly whittle out non-genuine buyers and sellers from the process. 

Buying and selling property can be an incredibly stressful and expensive time, with costs creeping out of seemingly nowhere; having to pay fees despite the sale or purchase falling through serves to add to what can be an anxious time.

If you would like to hear more about the conveyancing services we offer, please call 08082747557 and ask to speak to a member of the property team.