Lloyds Banking Group, Connells Group and LMS have teamed up to launch a fully digital home buying service.
The duo say the launch will change the way homes are bought and sold in England and Wales.
The service is intended for residential sales and purchase transactions in England and Wales involving Connells branches, LMS panel conveyancers and Lloyds Banking Group as a lender.
LMS will use its National Property Transaction Network for ownership, identity and financial information so that it can be captured once and then reused by all parties involved in the transaction.
The network is already operational and built on agreed standards aligned with the Property Data Trust Framework (PDTF).
The service is also supported by Moverly, Novus Strategy, Credas, TM Group and Armalytix.
The digital homebuyer service is designed to eliminate points of frustration and take weeks of waiting and uncertainty out of the process.
The new service ensures sellers are ‘digital selling ready’, with ownership, ID and material information pre-captured by Moverly. Armalytix source of funds checks will be performed earlier in the process and will require fewer steps to complete.
Additionally, searches are offered on the property listing and the conveyancer gains access to important information, reducing paperwork and speeding up the process.
Chris Rosindale, Chief Operating Officer of Connells Group, said: “Society needs a faster, more reliable, fully digitalised housing transaction system that increases certainty, reduces attrition and supports housing mobility. We believe in reforms that make the system faster, more transparent and more reliable and are excited to be part of the sector’s transformation.”
Frances Cassidy, head of strategic and technology partnerships at Lloyds Banking Group, comments: “Transforming the homebuying journey is about making one of the most important transactions in a customer’s life easier, faster and more transparent. Our work with Connells Group and LMS shows what is possible when brokers, conveyancers and brokers work closely together, creating a more collaborative experience and greater certainty for everyone involved.”
LMS chief executive Nick Chadbourne explains: “The industry has been diagnosing the problem for years. NPTN is the infrastructure that delivers the solution. This initiative signals a serious move away from siled processes and towards real market-wide reform.”
Housing Minister Steve Reed added: “Too many people who have bought or sold a home will know this feeling all too well: months of waiting, chasing and worrying, with the sale potentially falling through at any moment. It can quickly become a living nightmare.”
“It doesn’t have to be that difficult and that’s why we’ve made bold proposals to turn the home buying and selling process upside down.”
‘I’m glad to see it Lloyds Banking GroupConnells Group and LMS are showing what is possible by getting the right information to the right people sooner, reducing the delays and uncertainty that make moving so stressful.”