Calls for simpler house-buying process

Kay Worthington thinks the Guernsey property process was "very complicated"

A call for change is being made for the property buying and selling process in Guernsey.

Estate agents and locals said delays throughout the process were becoming a deterrent for people to get on the property ladder.

Local resident Kay Worthington recently sold her home on the island to buy in the UK and said Guernsey's system was poor.

She said: "I've never had such a terrible experience in my life."

The current buying process means, once a bank has been informed that a property is under offer, the bank can arrange for a surveyor.

It is at this stage that delays happen and purchasers have issues flagged to them that they were not aware of.

Ms Worthington said the process in Guernsey seemed "very complicated".

She said: "Considering that Guernsey is so small, all you have to do is run up to the cadastre and get all the information."

'So drawn out'

A Guernsey estate agent has also expressed their frustration and took to social media to share.

Nathan De Carteret, a negotiator at Cranfords, said there were "a lot of unnecessary and stressful hoops people have to jump through to buy or sell property on the island".

The process can currently take up to 12 weeks.

Mr De Carteret said: "Everyone looks forward to buying a house, getting on the property ladder, selling and moving on to the next challenge.

"But at the moment it seems like it's very much the opposite where people are actually avoiding looking or selling because it's just so drawn out and long and difficult"

Sarah Gaudion, from Swoffers, also said the current process took too long.

She said: "We need greater on-island support, I think, within our banks to be able to expedite the process.

"What we need as well is for their legal representatives and our on-island legal representatives to also work in tandem alongside that process to make things move quicker."

What is the solution?

Local estate agents said the solution to the delays was simple and vendors should be required to provide a surveyor's report when putting their property on the market.

Having a report earlier could mean a buyer could determine whether or not they could take on any works that needed doing.

This is already the case in areas such as Scotland.

Scottish property expert Brian Gilmour said: "It is a bit like getting a full MoT on the house before you buy it.

"So, instead of multiple people going for a property and they all get a survey done on it, before the property goes onto the market, there is one complete survey done on the property - which includes the value of the property and various aspects within the quality and maintenance of the property - graded on a scale."

Karen and Colin Langlois said their experience was a lot more smooth sailing

Not everyone has had the same experience with the selling process.

Locals Karen and Colin Langlois said their experience of buying was quite smooth sailing and it was more so that the housing landscape at the time that made it difficult rather than the buying process itself.

They said: "The last survey was a bit late in coming... [adding] a week or two, so that's not not too bad."

Steve Williams, President of the new Committee for Housing, said work was continuing to deliver actions within the Guernsey Housing Plan to address the housing pressures.

He said the committee remained open to discussing any ideas that could potentially deliver improvements.