SecureSale, the UK's first ever service to address the staggering £350 million a year loss the public suffers from aborted house sales, is to be launched this week by ParTake. SecureSale and Partake's unique Multiple Listing System are just two of a range of services to the UK property market, that aim to make buying and selling houses secure and simple.

Currently, one in three house sales collapse between offer and exchange and that's usually because people know almost nothing about the property they are buying. Based on the Government's estimate that there are 450,000 aborted sales each year, and on average, each aborted sale costs buyers £680, this means that more than £350 million are lost in aborted house sales in the UK each year.

In addition, gazumping is another major hazard in the house buying process because it takes so long to get from offer to exchange. This leaves buyers open to a 'danger period' of as much as 12 weeks while they're finding out about the property they want to buy. And it is during this danger period that they are likely to be gazumped.

SecureSale puts an end to all that uncertainty; it can reduce the 'danger period' to as little as one day, and in averting lost sales, could save UK buyers over £227 million.

SecureSale is a revolutionary new way of selling properties that takes the stress out of moving house by eliminating delays, gazumping and re-negotiations. SecureSale turns the order of the house buying process on its head. It means that buyers know everything about the property they are buying right from the beginning, so there are no nasty surprises further down the line for either the buyer or seller, to make the sale collapse. This means complete transparency and a greater level of commitment at a far earlier stage of the house buying process than is currently possible.

After potential buyers have viewed the property, and before they make an offer, they must purchase a copy of the SecureSale pack. The pack is prepared on behalf of the seller by Partake, in conjunction with their legal adviser; the seller pays £175 inc. VAT to have the pack prepared. (Leasehold properties cost £235 inc VAT as there is more work involved). The interested buyer pays £175 inc. VAT to purchase the pack (leasehold or freehold).

The SecureSale pack includes copies of a fully independent pre sale survey (which includes a mortgage valuation certificate, acceptable by all major lenders); title deeds; land registry and local authority searches; guarantees, warranties and planning permission, and quotes for the cost of any work recommended in the survey. All the information is digitised and supplied on an easy to use CD.

What are the benefits?
There are a number of benefits that have a positive effect for both the seller and their agent:

• The buyer and seller both demonstrate they are committed to the transaction.
• The offer price will not be reduced at a later date - all negotiations can take place before the offer is made, as there is nothing that will subsequently come to light about the property that affects the price a buyer is willing to pay.
• The time between offer and exchange is reduced considerably - once an offer has been accepted on a SecureSale property, there is effectively nothing to delay exchange and completion of contracts as all the work has already been done.
• The sale is unlikely to collapse as there will be no nasty surprises further down the line to cause either party to pull out. If an event beyond the control of either the buyer or the seller causes the sale to collapse, both parties are covered by SecureSale's indemnity insurance.
• The buyer will only lose £175 if, having studied all the facts, they decide NOT to proceed with the purchase.

A Totally Independent Survey
The survey is totally independent and is NOT prepared on the instruction of the seller. It is prepared through SurveysOnline, on the instruction of ParTake, by a nominated local surveyor, who guarantees to have no connection with the seller or their agent. A mortgage valuation certificate is included in the cost of the SecureSale pack. It is available to the mortgage lender only, on request from the surveyor and is accepted by all major mortgage lenders.

The eventual buyer meets the cost of the survey. They will be advised of this cost when they purchase their SecureSale pack. If the property remains unsold after 6 months, the seller is liable for the cost of the survey.

Multiple Listing is a brand new way of selling homes in the UK. It is the first ever service that allows estate agents to work together to find the best buyer for a property. ParTake's service is based on the American Multiple Listing model that has been operating successfully for over 30 years.

The mechanics of Multiple Listing are simple. You deal with just one agent, the Lead Agent, who manages the house sale on a day to day basis. Every agent in the area can list the property, and channels their buyers through the Lead Agent. Every agent in the country can also access the property details and is entitled to introduce their buyers, so that any one of the UK's 13,500 estate agents could find the best buyer for a property even if they're hundreds of miles away. On completion the commission is split between the Lead Agent and the agent who finds the buyer, and a portion is retained by ParTake.

ParTake has developed a sophisticated web based database that effectively links every estate agent in the country to the MLS. This means that every agent can access all ParTake's services and all multiple listed properties through the website. It also means agents can be updated with new developments.

What Are The Benefits?
The public get far greater exposure for their property than a normal sole agency agreement can achieve and the reassurance that they have exposed their property to the entire market rather than just a portion of it. This should ensure that the property is sold as quickly as possible and that it achieves the best price.

Multiple Listing is available through every estate agent in the UK.

David Johnston, Chairman of ParTake comments: "It's a well-recognised fact that moving house is one of the most stressful events of anyone's life - along with marriage, divorce, redundancy and death. We believe that it should be an exciting, rather than an anxious time! The services ParTake offers will, we believe, revolutionise the way that we buy and sell homes in the UK.

SecureSale takes the stress out of moving house by speeding up the time between offer and exchange of binding contracts. By doing all the work in advance and making all the title information and survey available to interested buyers before they make their offer, there are no nasty surprises for buyers or sellers further down the line and the chance of gazumping and gazundering is virtually eliminated. In recent pilots we carried out for SecureSale, every property exchanged in a maximum of 7 days and was completed within 14 days. And no buyers were gazumped!

The Multiple Listing System is a genuine alternative to sole agency or joint agency arrangements. It's the first ever service in the UK which allows estate agents to work together to find the best buyer for your home, and to achieve the best price! This IS the future of buying and selling houses in the UK."

For more information, please click the links below:

Partake Multi Listing Service
SecureSale