Two thirds of first-time buyers mistakenly believe an estate agent or a surveyor carries out legal searches when buying a home.
Analysis by removals comparison website reallymoving.com found a lack of knowledge among buyers when it comes to a property purchase.
Of the 500 surveyed, 67% of those getting on the property ladder mistakenly believe a surveyor or estate agent carries out conveyancing.
There was also a lack of awareness regarding who pays for a survey, with 36% believing this to be the responsibility of the seller or mortgage company.
Also, a quarter said they thought Stamp Duty was paid by sellers.
Only 60% said they planned to secure a mortgage in principle in advance of putting an offer on a property and only 55% understood the true meaning of ‘exchange’, with 37% believing it’s the date they collect the keys and move in.
Rob Houghton, chief executive of reallymoving.com, said: “Buying a property is rarely straightforward, but it is in the best interests of first-time buyers to ensure they are as well prepared as possible, with a good understanding of the different roles of the professional involved, who pays for what, and the likely costs.
“First-time buyer activity is surging this year, thanks to changes to Stamp Duty and the huge popularity of Government schemes such as Help to Buy, so it’s more important than ever that they are going into the process with their eyes open.”
Comments (10)
Kittens playfully cavorting on silken sheets.
Fields of flowers lazily moving in a gentle Summer breeze.
The magical feeling when you hold your new-born child for the first time.
Just testing… got to make sure the ‘Dislike Troll’ is kept busy and want to prove he will hit that icon regardless of the content of a post…
He or she might not like babies or kittens of course!
D’OH! You’ve got me there, AV!
One thing for sure – pretty certain he doesn’t like flower(s)…
“Rob Houghton, chief executive of reallymoving.com, said: “Buying a property is rarely straightforward…”
Sorry, Mr Houghton – but buying a property usually is fairly straightforward. It’s generally when those who don’t understand the process get involved that issues occur.
I’d amend that statement slightly, to “it’s when people get involved that issues occur”
The process, in theory, is easy. Find a house, make an offer. Get the bank surveyor to agree it doesn’t look like its about to fall down and that it is a safe place for the bank to basically store £*** for the next 25years. Ask a solicitor to make sure it wasn’t built on toxic waste, that you don’t have to pay eleventy billion pounds a year to get the church repainted, that the neighbourhood can’t use your garden as a shortcut, it hasn’t flooded and that there are no plans to build a prison with crappy security down the road. Agree on a date to put your TV and sofa in, and find a bloke with a van to help.
As soon as you put those pesky humans with their emotions and dominance games into the mix though, that’s where you have problems…
…and where Estate Agents really earn their Fee!
Oh, so so so so true!
Let’s re-write a paragraph or two, shall we?
Two thirds of first-time buyers have completely ignored the information available on the reallymoving.com website, according to their own survey.
The site claims a ‘lack of awareness’ in the 500 first-time buyers it surveyed – which is a big admission of failure considering they have a section dedicated to combatting just that:
reallymoving.com/first-time-buyers/advice
But in fairness, the title of this article also needs a re-write.
Please note, Mr Shoffman – Estate Agents have no Contract with homebuyers – we are NOT “their agent”.
At first I was very concerned, until I noticed, as pointed out above, they are first time buyers. Of course they won’t know things. That’s part of our job, to make them aware of the process.
Lets face it, how many new parents know that you can over-feed a baby? I didn’t until I babysat for a friend and got covered in milk…
Actually, you do need to read between lines on the statistic that two thirds of people don’t know who does conveyancing because they are first time buyers – how are they supposed to know?
However, it does explain why so many make the decision to go online for a cheap promise or use mandated panel lawyers.
I am sure that the new pamphlets promised by the government explaining the process as part of their review will help.
Thank goodness they are getting involved.