Home-Buying The Electronic Way

If you've ever been frustrated at the lack of information on the progress of your house sale or purchase, a new scheme is set to soothe your mind.

I've been rather lucky on the two occasions that I've bought a house. In both cases I was buying from dead people and I didn't have a property to sell. Ergo, not much of a chain to worry about.That's not the case for many people in the process of buying and/or selling a home and the longer the chain of people involved, the more likely it is that somewhere along the line something goes wrong. It's not surprising that moving house is supposed to be one of the top three most stressful events alongside divorce and bereavement.The Land Registry is hoping to cut back on the worry and frustration of the conveyancing process with the launch of a pilot scheme that will enable everyone involved to get electronic access to up-to-date information on the progress of all linked conveyancing transactions.In other words, if you and I were involved in a 'chained' property transaction, we'd both be able to log on to a dedicated website at the Land Registry to find out which part of the chain was causing a hold-up and why. At least we'd know quickly that it was because the first-time buyer at the bottom of the chain was having difficulty getting a mortgage, for example, or who needed chasing to agree a completion date.The idea behind the scheme is all part of the Government's plan to make conveyancing easier and quicker for all those involved in the process of buying and selling houses. They've already announced the introduction of Home Information Packs from July 2007 which are designed to ensure that the seller has all the relevant details of a property in place before it even goes on the market. The Land Registry will be trialling its prototype 'chain matrix' service in Bristol, Portsmouth and Fareham for six months from the Autumn. Conveyancers handling the sale and purchase of properties in those areas will be able to make progress reports on a password-protected website and use a notepad facility to leave messages for the authorised buyers, sellers and estate agents involved in the chain. There'll be a message alert service for the important milestones in the process ('Hurrah - you have exchanged!'), registration will be automatic on completion and funds can be transferred immediately and securely. In principle it seems a good idea. But I wonder how it will work in practice. If a conveyancing solicitor in the chain is slow to deal with his paperwork currently then surely he'll be slow to update the electronic version of the system. Perhaps the difference is that everyone involved in the chain will be able to see exactly who's to blame.Got a house? Get a better mortgage deal!