Brokers highlight solicitor delays and call for practical reforms under Project 28
As Project 28 sets out to transform the UK’s property transaction process with a pledge to cut completion times to 28 days, mortgage brokers are voicing both cautious optimism and deep-seated concerns. Drawing on their frontline experience, brokers point to entrenched legal delays and fragmented processes as the main obstacles to achieving the charter’s ambitious targets.
For many brokers, the legal side of property transactions remains the most significant hurdle. “The legal side can be very slow,” said Corby Macdonald (pictured top left), managing director of Manchester-based mortgage adviser Vickers Young.
He argued that the introduction of a binding contract at the point of sale could help protect both buyers and sellers from issues such as gazumping and gazundering. “Even if it falls apart due to other reasons: legal, cannot get a mortgage, there should be a ‘contract of agreement’ to protect all parties,” he said.
Andrew Foligno (pictured top right), adviser and owner at Foligno & Co, also pointed to the slow pace of solicitors as a persistent problem. “The lenders are doing everything they can,” he said. “But what we’re not seeing, unfortunately, is solicitors make many changes on how quick they can do things.” He noted that delays in obtaining management packs and responses from solicitors can stretch the process by weeks, undermining efforts to speed up transactions.
Both brokers identified repeated anti-money laundering (AML) checks as a source of unnecessary duplication and delay in the process. “I’ve got examples of cases on my desk where I literally have just done the AML check myself, then the solicitors doing their own AML checks... then the customers, they’re saying, ‘I got to fill this in for like the third time’ because even estate agents now have to do AML checks as well,” Foligno said.
When asked whether Project 28 would have a direct impact on their day-to-day work, Macdonald suggested that the main benefit for brokers would be faster payment of procuration fees if completions occur more quickly. Foligno, meanwhile, said that brokers would need to adapt their own processes to keep pace with a faster system. “I think it would speed us up, but what we’ve got to be careful with is we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the admin support to cope with it because if they’re saying 28 days, we’ve also got to be quicker,” he pointed out.
Implementing Project 28’s vision will also require overcoming significant obstacles, particularly in achieving industry-wide cooperation. “Finding a framework that everyone agrees to, especially the solicitors and local councils for searches, which can take a while,” Macdonald said. “The charter is relying on a lot of data and information gathering systems that will be interoperable and we all know how long that takes.” Foligno echoed these concerns, highlighting the need for government investment in land registry systems and the potential role of artificial intelligence in streamlining processes.
Despite their reservations, both brokers acknowledged the potential benefits of Project 28 if its core aims can be realised. “While I think it’s a very good idea, but in reality, I think that they are looking at so many initial moving parts, it will probably fade away or take years to implement,” Macdonald said. “I personally would take the initial good ideas, starting work on the legals as soon as possible, building legal packs as home owners, and as I said, a pre contract to stop gazumping.”
“I think the whole point of this charter is that it will aim to speed up the average transaction time,” Foligno stressed. “They’re not saying they’re going to fix it overnight.”
He added that even incremental progress would be welcome. “So even if we aim for 28 days and we end up with 60, I think most people would be happy,” he said.
Latest data from digital brokerage Mojo Mortgages reveals homebuyers in the UK face an average wait of 87 days from receiving a mortgage offer from their lender to completion on their mortgage.
“This lengthy process can be a significant source of stress and uncertainty for aspiring homeowners,” said John Fraser-Tucker, head of mortgages at Mojo Mortgages. “While mortgage brokers can help speed up the conveyancing process by proactively managing paperwork and communication, for now, buyers need to be prepared for this timeline.”
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