Barnett floated the idea to lenders and intermediaries at the Council of Mortgage Lenders evening dinner, held at Warwick Castle on 29 September, part the Council’s two-day seminar examining home buying and selling, and valuation issues at The Heritage Motor Centre. He said:
“As consumers we can buy a car in one hour, get a £25,000 loan within three days and in some cases, get divorced using the Internet. So why can’t we buy a house within a week or, perhaps even more radically, change your mortgage provider within two hours?
“I believe it is possible but obviously it can only happen if everyone within the industry signs up to the concept. With the advent of e-conveyancing, developments in technology, and more to the point, reforms in the legal industry, we should be able to achieve something that consumers, lenders and service providers want to see happen.”
Barnett stated the only barrier to seeing the two-hour mortgage take place, is the current ‘out moded’ system but commented e-conveyancing should see the start of a big shake up for the mortgage industry. He concluded:
“If a remortgage could take two hours then current levels of activity within that already dynamic market will be drastically increased, not forgetting improving competitiveness amongst lenders.
“It is only a matter of time before it happens whether we like it or not – either through consumer demand or pressure from supermarkets as they gear up to provide ‘off the shelf’ legal advice. I am sure ‘TESCO LAW’ will want conveyancing to be one of the main areas of law available to customers quickly and without error. All that is left to do is encourage the industry that it is both feasible and possible.”
