HM Government plans to reform the homebuying process

When you buy a home, it's important that you order a suitable level of survey to be completed on the property before you commit to its purchase. This matters even if you're buying a new-build, since these types of home can still have major issues that need resolving by the developer.

The survey gives that peace of mind that what you're purchasing is sound and in reasonable condition before you agree a date for the exchange of contracts, after which you're legally committed to completing the transaction.

But there might be occasions where the survey unearths something financially worrying with its condition, for example the roof needing replacement, or damage from subsidence. This gives you an early warning that allows you to make a decision before you're bound to buying the property. Perhaps you can agree with the seller to pay for at least part of the rectification costs, or you decide to take on the full cost yourself because the property is so important to you, or maybe the results give you enough grounds to simply walk away from the transaction and look at other, less troublesome properties.

It's a far better position to be in than if you were to skip the survey altogether.

Unfortunately, it's a fact of homebuying life that survey results can frequently cause a transaction to fall through. That's good news for the buyer and bad news for the seller, but it's also a worrying trend for the wider housing market.

Anyone who's tried selling or buying a home in recent months will be aware of how long it takes from putting in, or accepting, an offer to reaching completion. Government figures put the average transaction at around 120 days, and some industry data puts it higher still.

Part of this is down to the number of fallthroughs that occur, which means the process has to reset and start again. It's also the result of the increased checks now required from estate agents and conveyancing solicitors, to prevent money laundering and identity fraud.

This kind of delay can put off potential buyers as well as sellers, which then has a deflationary effect on the housing market. Since the housing market is a key part of the broader economy, it's become an increasingly important focus for the Government to resolve.

The current Government has been pushing to transform the process for buying and selling a property. A large part of this is focused on the organisations involved, with much more emphasis being put on digitisation, electronic signatures and smarter management and communication processes.

For a long time, there's been a desire in England and Wales to follow the Scottish process, where details of a property being sold are made fully available and clear up front. Some of that already happens to an extent, but the key difference under discussion is that the seller would take on responsibility for organising a certain level of property survey.

Once completed, the survey would become part of the estate agent's pack, in much the same way as the Energy Performance Certificate is currently. Providing this detail at listing stage would allow the asking price to be pitched to reflect any work needed, and give the buyer an idea of the cost, time and disruption involved before they put in an offer.

The practical upshot of a reform like this is that fallthroughs caused by problems identified in the property's condition further down the line would be significantly reduced, if not eradicated. It would also mean a buyer wouldn't need to order a fresh survey for every property they put an offer on before deciding not to proceed. And it would mean every property on the market has had a survey, since it would become a requirement of putting a home up for sale.

It's still early days in the governmental process, and there are discussions ongoing with affected organisations, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, to make sure any changes are workable. Surveyor Local will be following this closely and will report on progress as the details become clearer.

Until any reforms are in place, you'll still want to understand the condition and structural integrity of a home before you buy it. Booking a survey with an RICS-accredited surveyor, like Surveyor Local, means you get a service that follows all the right guidelines and standards. Ultimately, it's buying peace of mind and the information to guide your decision on whether to continue with the purchase.

Surveyor Local connects you to the best professional advice through our nationwide panel of chartered surveyors, all of whom are RICS members. They'll work hard to identify all kinds of problems, including the impact of prior flooding on the structure of a property.

Call to get your no-obligation survey quote started, or discuss any concerns about the property you're planning to buy. Or get a quick quote using our easy-to-use quote generator, just input your name, postcode, email, phone number and an approximate property value, and we'll give you an instant quote by email.