A recent roundtable hosted at the Ordnance Survey Head Offices in Southampton brought together leading data providers in the property industry to discuss the opportunity and barriers to wider adoption of UPRNs across the property sector.
UPRNs are hardly 'new' being introduced to the UK in the mid 90's, it would be fair to say that the industry has dragged its heels on their adoption, a quarter still remaining unmatched perfectly to address data! In a recent poll of the industry, 3 in10 respondents did NOT know what a UPRN even was!
During their discussions, 'Property Passports' or 'Logbooks' were identified as a vehicle for a 'single source of truth' and have been a prevalent part of discussions about providing 'more information to prospective purchasers in the home buying process, upfront'.
These central digital repositories store information and provide insight into the history of a property and enable better forward risk planning for homeowners and lenders; rather than the current process which provides more of a snapshot in time. The report went on to say 'as we move toward greater digitisation in the conveyancing process it is ever more critical that we have consistent threads through a transaction which keeps all parties connected'.
At Property Searches Direct we believe fundamentally that any homeowner (including tenants and landlords) should have access to a Logbook giving them a vault to help them better prepare themselves or simply store items that one day could be vital in an upcoming transaction.
Who would buy a car without a V5, two sets of keys, service history, and a clean unencumbered title? Why is housing stock such a minefield and why is cleaning it up proving so difficult? We believe that there are two words, 'blame', and 'appetite' that explains everything! In many countries, the realtor and conveyancer are almost indistinguishable whereas in the UK they may as well be different species! Estate Agents 'list' and conveyancers 'transact' which is explained to us as 'broken, but how we like it!' REALLY? Surely there needs to be a common ground where conveyancers and agents stop working in their own silos and collaborate with homeowners to make moving easier, more structured, and less stressful?
Logbooks provide the perfect vehicle for Estate Agents to reach out to their audience and stop asking 'who wants to move?' and start asking 'who wants a logbook with my face on it - ready to spring into action when YOU are ready?' Granted that might be 3 months or even 3 years away but if you start today you start to sow seeds that will flourish in time. Agents can suggest their favourite mortgage broker, local EPC provider, conveyancer, and even make their terms of business available should a potential client like to see it. Logbook users track the value, store crucial documents, set reminders, and relax knowing their favourite agent and updated market appraisal is only a click away.
At Property Searches Direct we remain hopeful that Property Logbooks are adopted by Estate Agents and conveyancers that are actively looking for better ways of working that reduce fall through's, stress and disappointment, maybe if moving was easier we would all do it more often?
To find out more visit us at https://psdlogbooks.co.uk/
Comments