Home Information Packs (HIPs)
As a result of new legislation, most homes in England and Wales will require a Home Information Pack (HIP) sometimes called a “Home Sellers Pack", when they are put on the market. The Government have introduced the HIP to speed up the home selling process and gives buyers information that is provided by the seller or seller’s representative. This Pack will give key information that has not been available before to either buyers or sellers until a sale is agreed and this will now be given upfront to any potential buyers. They will now be able to make an informed decision about the property that they intend to purchase. The HIP is useful to the buyer as it saves paying and waiting for searches, this should speed up the transaction.
The Home Sellers Pack (HIP) will be compiled by the seller or HIP Provider. For more information on the HIP please go to the Government website www.homeinformation.gov.uk. The seller, the buyer and the mortgage lender will be able under the law, to rely upon the HIP.
Part of the HIP will be the EPC or Energy Performance Certificate which is a required document, carried out by a Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA). Failure to obtain a HIP before marketing can result in a fine.
The pack will contain the normal legal documents and searches relating to the property and its sale. The pack must contain.
- Home Information Pack index
- Energy Performance Certificate ( EPC )
- Sale Statement
- Standard Searches
- Evidence or Title
- Additional information for leasehold and common hold sales, where appropriate.
The Home Information Pack is aimed at reducing the ‘last minute’ problems and delays that can occur during the conveyance process.
The seller’s cost of providing the HIP on their own property will, in most cases, be offset by the fact that most of the searches and title enquiries will have already been carried out on the house they are intending to move to. It will not solve all the problems of buying a home, but it will remove or minimise many of them by.
Making sure the buyer is fully informed at the earliest possible stage, about the legal title.
Giving the buyer with useful information on the likely energy costs of the home and suggestions on how to improve the energy efficiency in the future. See my page about EPCs.
Eliminating the need for the buyer to pay for searches on several properties, if a sale does not progress through to completion due to issues around title.
Enabling a realistic timescale to be put on the transaction process, without concerns about how fast (or slow) the legal process may be.
Enabling a significant reduction of time between a sale being agreed and exchange of contracts.
Increasing the likelihood of the transaction being successful, due to the reduction of potential reasons for delays or renegotiations or frustrations, which can result in sales in a chain falling through.
Ensuring that those sellers who come to the market are more likely to be committed to sell and thus avoid distortions in asking prices and failures of chains.
Reducing the anxiety and stress due to a lack of awareness and reliable information in respect of the progress of a transaction.