One thing buyers in Britain are lumbered with is having to pay for a surveyor to check a property after they put in an offer on it. But in Sweden, it is on the estate agent to check the technical standards of the property, such as the electrics, the roof condition and any potential upcoming renovation needed over the next ten years.
It is an agent’s duty to inform potential buyers of this in writing, and if a buyer neglects it then they forfeit their rights to claim defects against the seller afterwards.
Carola Russmark, chief executive of the Real Estate Agents Association, which oversees the registration of all agents in Sweden, said: “The buyer is compelled to actively participate in their own home purchase. The more engaged, convinced, and secure the prospective buyer is in the bidding process, the more dedicated they become to their purchase in the end and reducing the risk of changing their mind.”
On costly conveyancing costs, in Sweden lawyers are not involved in the sales process. Instead, the agent can handle everything – including the transaction at the very end.
But perhaps the clincher is this: if you want to buy a property in Sweden, you have just one week after agreeing terms to put down a 10pc non-refundable deposit.
‘Two years of drop outs’
Philip Sheppard, 57, is from the UK but lives in Sweden. He has been trying to sell his parents’ home in Warwickshire for over two years but buyers have continued to drop out at the last minute.
Mr Sheppard, who works at a Swedish bank, said: “During the bidding process in Sweden, if you win it you have four or five days to pay a 10pc deposit and that’s standard. You have to be committed to the process.
“Banks trust the Land Registry here too. This means you don’t need a lawyer to confirm the title, that’s a given – the current owner owns the property, period.”
Recent market movements in Sweden have also made it harder for buyers to pull off an eleventh hour offer.
Joakim Lusensky, of brokerage firm Maklarsamfundet, said: “Throughout the pandemic, the Swedish real estate market was very hot and in many areas bidding wars have been more the norm than the exception.
“That means a strategy of gazundering rarely works, as there is almost always another keen buyer in line ready to buy for the same price or more.”
In England and Wales, organisations which oversee the house buying process have tried to change it for the better – but it will take time for cultures to shift.
Late last year, National Trading Standards (NTS) told estate agents that more details need to be included in property listings and disclosed upfront at viewings in order to avoid buyers discovering “nasty surprises” midway through transactions, which can collapse deal chains.
It is hoped the changes will also save would-be buyers losing money on wasted home-buyer surveys and legal fees.
Failure to comply, according to NTS, could be in breach of the law, despite the measures being issued as guidance only.
NTS says it is an offence to omit information which could impact the decision of the average consumer. Failing to comply could also trigger a complaint against the agent, and lead to them having to pay out redress.
