It's taken a while, but change is finally here for house-hunters; The

Plans to overhaul the Scottish house buying system will be published early next month, and are expected to call for the introduction of a single survey to replace the current antiquated arrangements that can leave would-be buyers shelling out on a whole succession of reports.

However, nothing is to be done to change the single most-hated feature of all, the "offers over" system that leads to such frustration and heartache for so many would-be buyers.

The Scottish housebuying system evolved during many centuries when home ownership was the privilege of a financially fortunate few. But the process is now badly creaking at the seams and looks increasingly incapable of coping with the recent explosion in home ownership Graham Waddell, Nationwide's head of mortgages for east Scotland, explains: "It is as much a question of supply and demand as it is a problem with the system. There are areas where the demand for homes vastly outstrips the supply and this is what is causing the difficulties."

Yet when problems with "systems" translate into real life experiences, they can cause great distress for the individuals involved. Also, crucially, they can fester until they have spawned a major housing crisis for the country.

With this in mind, the Scottish Executive established a task force two years ago to examine how things could be improved. It will deliver its findings to Minister for Social Justice, Margaret Curran early in March, after which it will be up to the Scottish Parliament to decide on the timetable for legislation.

Overall the Scottish system is thought to be comparatively fair, quick, efficient and cheap, when compared either with English arrangements or those elsewhere in Europe. Certainly, it has avoided the blights of gazumping and gazundering, common south of the Border, where sometimes the hope of ever completing a sale seems almost an impossibility.

And while the demand for homes in Scotland remained relatively subdued, the system cranked along uneventfully. However, the explosion in home ownership has thrown up major shortcomings, all of which are closely related.

The biggest thorn in a buyer's side is the "offers over" bidding process, where estate agents set a price and purchasers are invited to put in bid above this sum, without knowing the details of any other bids on the table.

There have been accusations that estate agents artificially suppress the asking prices, to encourage as large a number of bids as possible, thereby incurring all the potential purchases in substantial costs.

Clydesdale Banks Gordon McMillan suggests: "There have been suspicions that in order to justify their fees by getting as large a number of people through the door to view as possible, the estate agents have been setting the prices too low. This will inevitably mean more people being disappointed, if they were never in with a realistic chance of success."

This legacy of disappointment, though turns into real financial hardship, because under the Scottish system everyone who bids for a property must have first commissioned a survey, as acceptance effectively clinches the deal.

As HBOS's Duncan Movassaghi reports: "There is no doubt that you see people who have commissioned survey after survey and still have no home. It is supposed to be a relatively cheap system, but if you get caught up in these bidding wars, it can become a very expensive system indeed."

Under the new system which will be proposed to the Executive, those selling a property must themselves commission a survey which they pay for, the costs of which can be recouped from the final successful buyer. The survey will also crucially include a valuation, which should restrict any unscrupulous estate agents from putting the offset price too low.

Vendors will also be asked to put together an purchaser's information pack which will typically include any planning or listed building matters, land certificate, any guarantees relating to the property, management arrangements and coal authority reports.

But the task force decided against attempts to change the "offers above" system, primarily because was it not only well-established and understood, but it would be extremely difficult to outlaw through legislation.

Furthermore, alternatives already exist. Anyone can sell their home for a fixed price. In fact, the task force's research indicated that only four out of 10 homes were sold subject to the "offers only" system, although anecdotal evidence would suggest this figure was a touch low.

Dunfermline Building Society's David Chalmers, who is chairman of the Council of Mortgage Lenders and a taskforce member said: "We hope including valuations will go a long way towards solving the problems with offset prices being too low."

But he acknowledged other problems remained to be tackled: "The main issue will be how to create confidence," he added.

"Can legal liability be given for the report to be relied upon by the purchaser and the purchaser's lender? How do we ensure that there has been no undue influence by the seller? Will surveyors be able to get their professional indemnity insurance amended in this uncertain insurance market?"

However, none of these issues are thought to be insurmountable and while debate continues a pilot is expected to get off the ground shortly.

JOIN THE DEBATE ON HOUSEBUYING The debate over Scotland's housebuying system is moving to its penultimate stage. Yet there are no plans to tackle the 'offers over' issue.

The Sunday Herald invites readers to take part in the debate, before the closing chapters are written. It is vital that the new system eradicates many of the shortcomings of the current process. If you have strong feelings about what is wrong with the current system, please e-mail us here. We will pass it on to both the Scottish Executive and its task force.

I personally will also be discussing seller surveys and answering questions on the subject when I join Good Morning Scotland presenter Waseem Zakir on BBC Radio Scotland on Tuesday morning's regular show. If you have any questions, contributions or stories, please email me, [email protected], or Waseem at [email protected]

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