Article by Katrina Rowe

The PropTech sector is booming, hitting £1.6bn in 2021, an annual increase of 360%. But while a myriad of platforms have looked to streamline individual aspects of buying and selling a home, the overall process has remained a daunting, complex and stressful task for the nation’s homebuyers and sellers.

In fact, a previous study found that 67% of first-time buyers incorrectly identified the surveyor or the estate agent as the one to carry out local searches on a property, 36% didn’t realise they bear responsibility for paying for a survey and 24% wrongfully believed that Stamp Duty is paid by the seller.

Over half of first-time buyers are confused by property market jargon, while the RICS found a quarter of all buyers don’t know the difference between a market valuation, an agent’s appraisal and a survey.

Another piece of research by the Building Societies Association (BSA) reaffirms the idea that buyers lack understanding about certain aspects of buying a house, with 43% confused about the benefits of the government’s Help to Buy scheme.

Merge is on a mission to change that, offering a packaged solutions that is as much about education as it is reducing the time and cost of buying a home.

Merge is the first product launched by Stipendium, a platform designed to make life’s major events simple, with future offerings set to cover the world of investment, as well as other life events such as making a will.

Merge brings every aspect of the property purchasing journey under one roof, not only aiming to halve the time it takes to sell, but also reduce the cost while giving homebuyers a full view of their purchase – all with step-by-step guides, jargon busters, checklists and more to help educate them along the way.

From mortgages, property searches, selling a property, valuations, conveyancing, surveys, home services, utility deals, and insurance, Merge will also provide real-time updates and notifications when a task requires attention.

Merge is accessible for a fixed one-off fee of £395, with no subscription costs thereafter and just needs the voucher code from purchase to unlock the user journey. Merge will also offer a lifetime remortgage service, for no extra charge, whenever a customer needs it.

Like all Stipendium products, Merge will be accessible directly to individuals; as a gift; or as an employee reward. It is ideal for families who want to help younger generations onto the property ladder with a complete house-buying package and will also sit on several of the UK’s largest employee benefit platforms, allowing employers to easily offer it as a benefit and invest in the wellbeing and security of their employees.

In fact, there’s so many benefits to using Merge, that it’s impossible to fit it all in one article – Check it out for yourself at https://www.stipendium.io/our-products/all/merge.aspx

Christina Melling, CEO of Stipendium, commented:

“Buying a home can be an overwhelming experience, both financially and emotionally, and this drawn out, uncertain practice is particularly alien to those embarking on the journey for the first time.

“Merge will streamline and defragment this journey as we know it, making the process less daunting, more cost-effective and informative. It will also minimise errors and delays by giving house-buyers direct access and visibility over their sale, which in turn better empowers other stakeholders in the transaction such as estate agents, developers and mortgage advisers.

“Merge is a comprehensive house purchase journey in a box, as not only do we take care of everything under one roof, but you can put a bow on our platform and gift it to someone you know to help them when they come to buy.”

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