https://www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk/main-news/mortgage-process-described-stressful-40-consumers/

Dated May 2018
The above article sets out interesting research in which 41% of homeowners have described the process of getting their mortgage as stressful. When remarking on this to a colleague, she firmly placed herself in the “stressed” category also after a recent house purchase, and this seems to be a widely held belief that purchasing a house and obtaining a mortgage is automatically going to be stressful. But why must this be the case?

I appreciate that the upheaval of moving and the packing and organising side of things is always going to be a headache, but as a conveyancing solicitor I am horrified at the thought that a large proportion of clients coming to me assume the process will be stressful.
The experiment referred to in the article may however go some way towards explaining the source of the stress. They found that the average homeowner had to deal with 219 pieces of paper in order to purchase their home 219!! Not only is this an overwhelming volume of paper for anyone to deal with, the environmental impact of this is huge!

At Spectrum Solicitors, we always prefer to email rather than post letters out. Email is far quicker to reach its destination and prompt a response than posting paper letters. We also find emailing reports on title and searches etc much easier for our clients, as they can go through the documents at their leisure, only printing those sections they feel they need rather than all 42 pages of an environmental search! Emailed copies can also be saved to ensure a permanent record, rather than paper copies that can easily be lost.

For once, the government seem to be keeping up with the times and progress towards Digital Conveyancing seems to be slow but sure. The Land Registry are hoping to offer digital signing of all conveyancing documents eventually, which should speed up the process and be more secure, thereby reducing stress. They are starting with digital signing of mortgage deeds, and 5th April 2018 marks the historic date that the Land Registry have registered the very first electronically signed mortgage deed. If the rest of the documents required to complete a purchase can be rolled out digitally, less paper must surely mean less stress for buyers and sellers.

The article also assigns some of the stress in obtaining a mortgage itself, and the issues with jargon being used and the process being too complicated. Unfortunately getting the mortgage itself is not something we can go out and do for you. However, with the right mortgage adviser to assist you, they should be able to guide you through the process and explain any technical terms and processes etc.

From our point of view, reducing stress is our number one priority, as stressed out clients make for an unhappy experience all round. There are a number of ways we have found can assist with this, and we would be happy to chat through our process if you are thinking of buying or selling. Out top tips would be as follows:
Preparation

Instruct the right solicitor as soon as possible, even before a buyer is found for your sale or you have found the property you want to buy. Believe us, it helps!
Communication

If you have any unusual circumstances or plans in mind, please do communicate with us and let us know. Equally, we do our best in return to keep you up to date so you know where you are at every step of the way. We also explain everything in plain English so you won’t be baffled by any technical terms.
Organisation

Whether buying or selling, there is quite a lot of input needed from you. As a seller, if you can get your property forms completed as soon as possible and your certificates and guarantees gathered up, this will help speed up the process. Equally, as a buyer the sooner you arrange your survey and mortgage offer, and instruct us to order searches, the easier the process will become.
If you would like any information about buying or selling and how we can reduce your stress levels, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01653 916606 or email amy@specsolicitors.com