Libraries replacing estate agents

Michael Joseph

Michael Joseph, a former conveyancing solicitor, has suggested something similar to the previous item in the Guardian - his scheme uses libraries rather than computers, as the following extract explains.

Make it obligatory for the seller to supply the local librarian with four photographs of the house, front, back and outlooks  as well as details of the address, price, number and dimensions of the rooms, and size of gardens.

'Photographs and particulars would be displayed on boards in the public library; cheapest houses on the left, more expensive on the right'

These photographs and particulars would be displayed on boards in the public library; cheapest houses on the left, more expensive on the right. A detailed map of the area is also displayed.

With a bit of luck, the seller could save L500 to L2,500 in estate agent's fees while the purchaser avoids innumerable wild goose chases.

Alongside the house details on the board would be displayed the information normally obtained by a conveyancing solicitor through a 'preliminary enquiries' form to the seller's solicitor, and 'local search' questions to the local council.

This would provide the few items of fixed information about the property which a purchaser needs to know, plus a comprehensive map supplied by the council on which it marks those few houses and areas where it has issued a notice or has a proposal.

After agreeing the price of the house with the seller, the purchaser is given a copy of the land certificate.

He or she then simply checks on the council map that the local authority has no designs on the house.

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