Why Sprift are Guardians of the Property Galaxy
On the 30th of November 2023, the residential sales and lettings worlds changed forever with the publication of NTSELAT’s Parts B and C* of the process to improve material information disclosure in property listings. Respective links for these are here sales and letting agents.
James Munro, Senior Manager of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team, stating that, ‘For years, property agents have grappled with what information they should be providing and how, and when it should be disclosed. Their call for help was clear. And too many consumers suffer emotionally and financially because important information crops up late in the process and the transaction falls through.
That’s why I’m delighted to publish this guidance today, as the culmination of nearly three years’ work in collaboration with our partners to define and clarify what constitutes material information and to ensure that agents can access that information promptly and with the support they need.’
Proving that Sprift really are the agents Guardians of the property Galaxy, set out below in full is a thought leadership piece written by CEO Matt Gilpin of Sprift, from three years ago, which shows clearly why this leading proptech not only predicts the future but also builds a solution for its client agents to keep them protected.
Matt Gilpin CEO of Sprift writing in 2021,
Will ‘upfront information’ go from buzzword to conventional practice in the years ahead?
Of the many industry buzzwords, I suspect “upfront information” was up there as one of the most widely used in 2021. Whether a proptech announcing an innovation, or a comment piece stating that upfront information is a way of addressing the unwieldy sales transaction process, this is one topic that is regularly mentioned and that always garners lots of opinions.
Now, with the new “material information rules” initially alluded to in the Levelling Up agenda followed by NTSELAT‘s part A of the details – tenure, council tax band and rate must be included on all property listings – unveiled this week, it’s clear that the government is aiming for mandatory disclosure of material information at the outset of a transaction.
What’s the problem?
A recent Landmark Estate Agency Services survey of agents suggests that 83 per cent expect more upfront due diligence and data insights to help buyers to make better informed decisions and receive fewer surprises later in the legal process. With a reported third of property sales falling through before completion in the final quarter of last year, it’s clear that such insights are necessary. This is a problem in the sales process that certainly needs to be addressed and it’s clear that all parties in a property transaction would benefit from more comprehensive upfront information.
At Sprift, we have been evolving our comprehensive source of data on UK properties for the last six years. We are constantly developing our tech to try and find solutions to improve the sharing of this information, in order to reduce all-important transaction times.
Listening to agents and conveyancers has been at the cornerstone of our continual development, in order to address the need for upfront information. As such, our data can be shared instantly to all parties in a property transaction, via our online dashboard, which includes over 100 individual data points for every UK property, including title plans, planning history, EPCs, photos, floorplans, conservation areas and flood risks, as well as the necessary legal/protocol forms.
What is great to see today is that conveyancers are embracing upfront information as part of their digital transformation, in the same way their estate agent peers have over the last few years.
A single source of truth
By allowing property data to be shared with all parties right from the outset, everyone in the process can see the full set of information about a property – providing a trusted single reference of truth from official and trusted sources.
This sharing should be done at property listing stage, rather than waiting until an offer has been agreed between the buyer and seller – and this is where mandatory material information at the outset will help. Sellers should also engage a conveyancer at the time their property goes on the market, so that all the necessary documentation is in place when a sale is agreed and legally prepared. I believe this will speed up transaction times and reduce errors or misunderstandings, thus helping to prevent any issues down the line – saving time and money – and preventing transaction fall throughs.
Crucially, this will only truly be effective when the professionals in the transaction (estate agent, conveyancer and mortgage broker) and the consumer (buyer and seller) have seen and agreed what is being bought or sold at the outset.
The information is there, the challenge now is how this can be evolved and implemented so it becomes standard practice for all parties to share it from the start of the sales process. Certainly, the NTSELAT defining what the material information should be is a good place to start. Perhaps in 2022, the “upfront information” buzzword will finally become standard practice on any property sale as soon as a property hits the market.’
Six months on from NTSELAT’s new guidance all agents should have a robust solution to ensure they are compliant and are also maximising their operations by using that solution, especially as in July 2024 Rightmove will be wanting all agents who list with them to have all the material information.
To book a call with Sprift to discover how easy it is to keep ahead of the new obligations that all agents face just use this LINK.
Andrew Stanton’s PROPTECH-X ‘Proptech & Property News’ in association with Estate Agent Networking & News Now publications. #proptech #property #realestate #digitaltransformation #startups
Andrew Stanton Founder & Editor of 'PROPTECH-X' where his insights, connections, analysis and commentary on proptech and real estate are based on writing 1.3M words annually. Plus meeting 1,000 Proptech founders, critiquing 400 decks and having had 130 clients as CEO of 'PROPTECH-PR', a consultancy for Proptech founders seeking growth and exit strategies. He also acts as an advisory for major global real estate companies on sales, acquisitions, market positioning & operations. With 100K followers & readers, he is the 'Proptech Realestate Influencer.'
