Auctions ‘upfront information’ initiative rolled out for estate agents

Datarooms, which have 'transformed' the auctions process over the past 17 years or so, are now being offered to private treat vendors and agents.

A digital 'upfront information' initiative first introduced within the auctions market is now being offered to estate agents and vendors selling via private treaty, promising to improve sales progression in a way not achieved before.

Free-to-use 'datarooms', where all the property information needed for transactions are stored digitally, have been use within the auctions market since 2007 and have 'transformed and streamlined' this sector because they enable easy access to legal documents for buyers and solicitors.

"It is exciting to now be able to offer this service to the private treaty market, with the benefit of digital Property Information Forms to assist estate agents with their compliance," says David Sandeman of the Essential Information Group, the major supplier of datarooms to the auction industry and a founder and director of PIP Limited.

"Within auctions, which account for just 2% of all property transactions that take place, EIG has supplied over 270,000 datarooms into which over three million documents have been uploaded – and over 37 million documents downloaded by 1.45 million users."

The ability of datarooms to improve the conveyancing process has been backed by senior industry figure Ed Mead, who says: "With this there's little excuse for agents not to be showing willing when it comes to providing upfront information in a way that also massively improves communication between all parties – it's the law and will be ever more strongly enforced.

Tim Main, CEO of PIP Ltd says: "With benefits for all parties involved, this is a natural progression for all estate agents offering their own versions of a property information form. Agents can be offering these services to their clients, less than five minutes to register."

The launch is also backed by one of the industry best-known tech innovators, Robert May, who adds: "In the often complex and emotionally-challenging journey of selling a property, keeping track of the documents and certificates required for the conveyancing process is vital.

"PIP Datarooms provide a secure and streamlined solution, allowing all necessary documents to be collected, stored, and accessed in a single location.

"This not only alleviates the burden on vendors or grieving executors trying to gather paperwork under pressure, but also ensures a smoother, more efficient conveyancing process. I highly recommend PIP Datarooms as a practical and sensible tool for anyone preparing for a property transaction."