D-I-Y Home Information Pack?

cleo1299

not_loaded wrote: »

Don't forget to get adequate insurance cover in case of any errors.

Isn't the insurance cover only needed if you're acting for other people?

If I stick to the government's own instructions as published on their website, I don't see how I could be in danger of getting sued over any errors in my own HIP pack. I've thought this over pretty thoroughly now.

Most of the stuff in the pack comes from other people, not from the vendor, and most of it is just exactly the same information that your solicitor would have needed to give to a buyer anyway, in the pre-HIP days. (The EPC is new, but that's done by a DEA so I'll let them worry about their insurance.)

The only real difference is that now the information is being handed out in advance, to potential buyers as well as to the one who eventually actually buys. I can't see that there's any more legal liability for the vendor than there was before -- i.e., you have to give accurate information to the buyer and not try to deceive them. Same as with any sale.

The only risk I can see is if you might get the wrong search done, and then you would have to pay another search fee to have it redone. But that should be easy to avoid.

cleo1299

G_M wrote: »

EG you can for title, you can NOT download Official Office Documents (reqd) online from the Land Reg unless you have an account with them. You can get a 'copy' online, but it is NOT an 'Official Office Doc.'

You can however order a paper 'Official Office Doc' from the Land Reg.

That's a good tip. If I'd downloaded the unofficial copies, I'd have had to pay a second time, to get the official documents. Thanks.

Richard_Webster

Whether you can do it cheaper than some of the HIP companies depends on what kind of local search you do and what it costs.

Given the cost of the Drainage/water Search and the cost of the EPC you have got to get the cost of the local search down to £100 or less to begin to make it worthwhile.

For instance if the property is in Southampton the local Council have put their charge for official searches down quite dramatically - it got up to £192 a couple of years ago, came down to £165 and is now £67.11! I assume private search companies will be prepared to deal with individuals wanting a one-off search, rather than on a regular basis and might quote a figure around £100. If not, for instance, in some London Boroughs the official search costs over £200 on its own!

Remember it has to be a full search - you can't just go the Council and pay their fee for the LLC1 information and wander round the various departments doing your own "personal" search for the CON29R information because it will not have any insurance backing which is vital for private searches from search companies to be acceptable in a HIP. You either have to pay them or pay the Council. Some HIP companies may get discounted rates from search companies for volume which may not be available to you.

cleo1299

Richard_Webster wrote: »

Remember it has to be a full search - you can't just go the Council and pay their fee for the LLC1 information and wander round the various departments doing your own "personal" search for the CON29R information because it will not have any insurance backing which is vital for private searches from search companies to be acceptable in a HIP. You either have to pay them or pay the Council. Some HIP companies may get discounted rates from search companies for volume which may not be available to you.

I don't really understand about these private searches. The website of my local council (Sutton) quotes a price of £75 for LLC1 and CON29R. Is that not sufficient?

Richard_Webster

If your Council only charges £75 for the LLC1 and the CON29R then that is quite cheap. That is fine and you would probably be able to do your own HIP for under £200.

If the Council itself charged £200 for the search on its own, then when you add the cost of the EPC, the drainage search and the Land Registry Official Copy Entries, it is going to cost £300 or more.

cleo1299

Richard_Webster wrote: »

If your Council only charges £75 for the LLC1 and the CON29R then that is quite cheap. That is fine and you would probably be able to do your own HIP for under £200.

If the Council itself charged £200 for the search on its own, then when you add the cost of the EPC, the drainage search and the Land Registry Official Copy Entries, it is going to cost £300 or more.

My Council seem to have lowered their prices quite a lot since 2005 when I bought the property. I was looking through the conveyancing file and came across the local search that was done at the time of purchase. The fee charged for LLC1 was £208.

I wondered what led to the reduction in the charge.

From another thread in this forum ("Extortionate "local search" fee??", 16-02-2007) I learned that in 2007 another London Borough, Barnet, was charging a whopping £288 for a "Full Search". However, nowadays Barnet's website states:

"Currently our fees are being reviewed in light of new legislation that will come in to affect on 6 April."

The review seems to have been completed, and Barnet's current fees document now quotes £165 for a "Full Search" (which seems to mean LLC1 + CON29). That's a reduction of £123 - very similar to the Sutton reduction. Bet this is not just a coincidence.

The HIPs legislation requiring HIPs for all properties came into effect on 6 April 2009, so it's not hard to guess that that is the legislation that is referred to on Barnet's web page.

A website at http://www.propertyrelated.co.uk/news/government-confirms-changes-to-home-information-pack-legislation comments that:

"From 6th April, the searches in HIPs must no longer rely on insurance for information they are unable to get freely from the Local Authority, and the Local Authority must make all information available. However the Local Authorities can charge a fee for this information, and this fee will vary depending on the particular Local Authority."

Prior to HIPs, it was the purchaser who paid for the local search, as part of the conveyancing process. Now it is the vendor, who has to pay for the searches before he can even try to market the property. I'm guessing that the powers-that-be needed to make it easier and cheaper for the required local search information to be obtained, in order to help lower the new costs that were being imposed on potential vendors. The result is lower search fees, at least in some cases.

That's what I reckon, anyhow.

Richard_Webster

Prior to HIPs, it was the purchaser who paid for the local search, as part of the conveyancing process. Now it is the vendor, who has to pay for the searches before he can even try to market the property. I'm guessing that the powers-that-be needed to make it easier and cheaper for the required local search information to be obtained, in order to help lower the new costs that were being imposed on potential vendors. The result is lower search fees, at least in some cases.

That's what I reckon, anyhow.

I think the explanation is different. Up until April this year personal searches could be accepted in a HIP with certain information,e.g. about building regulations, missing. Councils were finding that if they charged too much for their searches they simply weren't doing enough of them to keep their offices running and they were spending all their time supplying information to personal search agents, who were undercutting them price wise.

In April the government altered the law and said that all searches in HIPs had to contain all the relevant information but that the Councils could charge a fair rate to the personal search providers for the provision of the extra information. This meant that is many cases the personal search providers had to charge more. It also meant that the Councils had the added hassle of having to provide the information, so some have obviously decided that it was better to put their prices down to attract solicitors etc to use their searches rather than those of the private search companies.