Pressure on the conveyancing system and property sellers need for security has led to the creation of reservation agreements, according to Gazeal.
Pressure on the conveyancing system and property sellers need for security has led to the creation of reservation agreements, according to Gazeal.
The transaction technology platform outlined that the new product category for the homemoving process solves a range of complex problems for agents and consumers.
It noted that reservation agreements provide buyers and sellers with certainty through a legally binding commitment, which requires any party pulling out without good reason to pay a fee.
According to government estimates, approximately a third of property transactions fall through before completion.
Bryan Mansell, co-founder of Gazeal, said: "Understandably, an agent's focus is often getting the instruction and then launching the vendor's property on the market.
“However, more emphasis on getting people moved provides benefits for all parties.
"Being able to tell vendors that you are the safest agency to sell with in the local area due to the processes you have in place is a powerful message that holds weight with consumers.”
Furthermore, Gazeal believes that reservation agreements do not fit into an existing category in the moving process, however provides agents and movers with increased certainty and a guaranteed way to reduce the chances of transactions falling through.
Gazeal noted that once a sale is agreed, a reservation agreement guarantees a meaningful financial commitment by each party.
Mansell said: "Agents currently have a range of products and services to help them complete transactions, including CRM software, prospecting, conveyancing partners, sales progression and so on.
"However, a reservation agreement is a new tool in their armoury that helps to progress sales securely, contributing towards faster exchanges and fewer fall-throughs.
"It's clear that consumers and agents are at the point where they want to try new things as the moving process is too slow, cumbersome and, in many ways, broken.
"The last year has shown us just how many transactions there can be, but also how fragile the current process is.
"If the market continues to thrive following a successful vaccine rollout, tools like reservation agreements can restore consumers’ faith in the moving process and mark the first step in creating a more effective system of buying and selling properties.”
