Help! Bought HIPS pack then was made redundant!

glennj22

I do hope anyone can help. 6 months ago we were on the market looking for a bigger property. We chose to go with the Estate Agent with regards to the H.I.Ps which was 299 plus VAT upfront or 399 plus VAT upon completion.

This was all well and good as we had quite a bit of equity in our property.

But now I have been made redundant and our plans to buy bigger have now been postponed due probably never finding a unskilled job with the good salary I was on.

After all that my question is: Is there any way of getting out of this HIPs pack contract as I cannot afford to pay the HIPs £399 plus VAT now Im redundant?

I'm not sure if there was a way of negotiating bearing in mind I think the HIPs pack only last for a year and it is due for renewal in November. Basically the Estate agency would have to renew our HIPs pack in November which would be at cost to them until completion.

I hope this makes sense.

Glenn

g_attrill

What does the contract say about what happens if you take the house off the market? I assume the higher price is because you don't pay anything if you don't sell the house, so you might not have anything to worry about.

david29dpo

Firstly, the HIP does not go out of date as long as the house stays on the market. Most if not all deferred HIPs are paid for on completion, taken off the market or after 6 months. You will have to pay.

Richard_Webster

Most if not all deferred HIPs are paid for on completion, taken off the market or after 6 months. You will have to pay.

I agree. Check your agreement, but it is likely you will have to pay.

not_loaded

They didn’t pay out anything like that amount for the HIP of course. If you are in a corner over this, it’s almost certainly worth negotiating it down if you can.

Mention the loyalty of coming back to them when the situation is better for you.

I’ve been made redundant four times in thirty years, and each time within a job or two, I’ve made it back to where I was financially.

A PITA overall, but don’t give up too easily!

poppysarah

Did you not plan for moving expenses before deciding to sell?

Do you have any savings you could use?

david29dpo

not_loaded wrote: »

They didn’t pay out anything like that amount for the HIP of course. If you are in a corner over this, it’s almost certainly worth negotiating it down if you can.

Mention the loyalty of coming back to them when the situation is better for you.

I’ve been made redundant four times in thirty years, and each time within a job or two, I’ve made it back to where I was financially.

A PITA overall, but don’t give up too easily!

Worth a try but a deals a deal.

GDB2222

A word of advice for the future to the OP. Read a contract for a HIP just like any other document. The smaller the print, the more carefully you should read and understand it. You really need to understand your obligations under the contract before signing up, and all contracts are negotiable.