All in Property believes that guidance and regulation should be extended to ensure that costs and activity relating to properties taken into possession are transparent and fair.
There remains a duty of care from a lender to the borrower to realise the greatest possible price when selling a property in possession and this will be affected by costs relating to a sale. Such costs could be fees charged by contractors which do not currently fall under any regulatory or voluntary framework.
All in Property has a nationwide team of contractors who provide lenders and asset managers with a range of building services for properties in possession. They believe that there should be a code of conduct to regulate the contracting section of the possession process that should adhere to a governing body.
John Boardman, managing director of All in Property, said: “With the MMR drawing attention to the entire spectrum of mortgage advice and management now is the perfect time to look at the contracting sector.
"We firmly believe in the professionalism of our industry but in order for that to remain we need to be wary of non professional contractors springing up, trying to make a quick profit at the expense of both borrowers and lenders.
"A code of conduct for contractors will also help lenders with their 3rd party supplier controls as each company adhering to the code will have met the strict criteria such as SLA timescales, competent/knowledgeable and trained staff, and TCF awareness.
"This would demonstrate that all participants in the process are being professional, transparent and supporting the principles of Treating Customers Fairly.”
