HIPs on reposessed houses?...

david29dpo

Agent HAVE to give a paper copy (with a few exceptions) to anyone interested. They can charge a fee.

Rebchappers

The last two properties we were interested in ( both of which we put an offer in on) we had problems with the HIP. On both occassions, the EA REFUSED to let us see the HIP, stating that it would be sent to our solicitor. What is the point??? If there was something in the HIP that i didnt agree with or wanted to look into, i couldnt until i had racked up a solicitors bill.

I did contact CAB and Trading standards about this, and they both said the EA should have let us have a photocopy at least (with a max £5 fee for the photocopying charges). Afterall, if they are allowed to send a copy to your solicitor, they can give it to the potential purchaser.

If you have read my previous posts, you will realise that the whole HIP thing is a big bug bear of mine!! I dont see what the EA has to gain by not letting you see the HIP... all of the info is publicly available and is not confidential. IMHO it is a money making scam!

david29dpo

All agents have to show you the HIP. Some will delay the HIP so the searches wont go out of date etc. but they shouldn't.

Richard_Webster

I think the trouble is that the agents don;t have the HIP in an electronic format. If it is a PDF they can easily e-mail it. I hate getting hard copy HIPS because it means I have to scan them in so I can provide copies of parts of it to my clients. As it is we have to create our own PDFs of the bits from the big PDf often provided

Alternatively they can provide a link to a website where it sits. If I prepare a HIP I simply give me clietns and the estate agents a link to the web page and they can then pass that on to anyone who is interested. If a buyer wants a hard copy then if the agents want to charge £20 for providing a printed copy that is up to them.

What happens sometimes is that the seller arranges a HIP himself and and thinks he is being helpful by providing a hard copy! Or the estate agents just don't understand how to provide a link or how to e-mail a PDF!

Frankly if an agent said I could look at it on screen at his office I would say I wanted it e-mailed or a link provided and if this was not doen and I would threaten the agent with Trading Standards.