HIP out of date.. fees?

Degeneratemoo

We're in the process of buying our first home together.

We've sent the paperwork to our solictor and have now received from them the HIP, contents listing, energy suppliers etc etc.

We also had a second letter from the solicitor stating that the local search and the water survey are out of date and that we have a choice of what to do.

We can either pay £70 & £47 to have the local search and water survey redone (which they state will be a requirement for our mortgage) or pay £33 for indeminity insurance for our mortgage provider. Not really sure what do to? Is it likely that anything significant will have changed in the 6 months since the last checks were done? Also, I thought that everything to do with the HIP had to be paid for by the seller, not the buyer?

david29dpo

Firstly,the insurance should be fine but its up to you. Secondly, it is always worth asking the seller to pay, but legally, there don't have to.

westv

Not sure why searches for HIPs can't be done after a property is SSTC rather then when it's first on the market. Then at least there is less chance of them expiring. If I was being cynical I'd say it was a sneaky way of getting twice the fee if a house is on the market long enough.

david29dpo

Because it was a idea from the government!!

Mike43

My solicitor is charging £90 for the insurance, which insurance company is offering your insurance?

Degeneratemoo

The solicitor sorted it out... so dunno!

Richard_Webster

£90 would be very expensive for asearch vlaidation insuarcne - for most proeprties it would be raound the £20-£30 mark but if it was an expensive houses - up round the £1million mark then this is possible.

Also some solicitors charge maybe £50 plus VAT for arranging such policies, so that might account for £90.

I never really understand why the water search is so vital. If an old search shows the house is connected to the public sewerage system then what are the chances of the owner deciding to disconnect from mains drainage and install a cesspit in the garden?

Whilst sometimes the information is useful e.g. that a public sewer runs through the back garden close to the back of the house and thereby rules out a rear extension without a lot of extra cost, that's useful but not an issue that put a lender off lending. Maybe someone can explain this to me?

Personally I think the Water companies persuaded the government it was vital so they could earn more money form doing one for every single HIP. When HIPS started Southern Water was overwhelmed and their searches initially took 2-3 months until they took on and trained more staff!

timmyt

david29dpo wrote: »

Firstly,the insurance should be fine but its up to you. Secondly, it is always worth asking the seller to pay, but legally, there don't have to.

that is just an annoying practice that ignorant lawyers try, as they misunderstand the HIP rules. The Seller is not obliged to, and is not an apporriate question to even ask.

insurance is not ideal, as i have yet to come across a lawyer who has ever had to make a claim, and wait for the press attention when they start to be asked...god we all hope they pay out.

the searches should be done again as not all (most do) accept insurance and if the hip searches were personal ones, I would never get insurane on top of a personal search.

personal ones have a worse track recod for errors compared to official searches done by the LA, though solicitors are not negligent to accept personal ones - as the government chose not to outlaw them in hips -so that is not an advert for then having insurance on top of one.

however, i would take issue with redoing a drainage search. hardly likely that te property is suddenyl going to go from mains to private, despite being out of date, so I don't...bit of common sense is left with some lawyers thank goodness.....and it is my PII insurance at stake and I still will sign off on an out of date one

Richard_Webster

however, i would take issue with redoing a drainage search. hardly likely that te property is suddenyl going to go from mains to private, despite being out of date, so I don't...bit of common sense is left with some lawyers thank goodness.....and it is my PII insurance at stake and I still will sign off on an out of date one

I agree with this.

lucyg1974

I'm confused by this too. We are being asked by our solicitors to pay for HIP insurance at £150 (no mention of an arrangment fee/VAT so this could be on top) or to get another HIP done. They are an online shower who charge extra for everything but it's too late to back out. Have you taken out HIP insurance? If so, what was the final cost and can you arrange this independently without the solicitor's involvment? We are already going to be paying them for indemnity insurance for our windows (no FENSA) which will no doubt cost a bomb. I don't want to pay them more than I have to!

timmyt

Richard_Webster wrote: »

£90 would be very expensive for asearch vlaidation insuarcne - for most proeprties it would be raound the £20-£30 mark but if it was an expensive houses - up round the £1million mark then this is possible.

Also some solicitors charge maybe £50 plus VAT for arranging such policies, so that might account for £90.

I never really understand why the water search is so vital. If an old search shows the house is connected to the public sewerage system then what are the chances of the owner deciding to disconnect from mains drainage and install a cesspit in the garden?

Whilst sometimes the information is useful e.g. that a public sewer runs through the back garden close to the back of the house and thereby rules out a rear extension without a lot of extra cost, that's useful but not an issue that put a lender off lending. Maybe someone can explain this to me?

Personally I think the Water companies persuaded the government it was vital so they could earn more money form doing one for every single HIP. When HIPS started Southern Water was overwhelmed and their searches initially took 2-3 months until they took on and trained more staff!

I agree Richard, I won't redo a water search if there is mains water and drains, for your very example.

And yes I heard that about water companies.

However, I am glad lawyers do not rely on water bills, as the drainage plan to a search is crucial to identify mains pipes preventing an extension as you say, or even identifying an extension that is there that may (i think their arepowers to knock down an extension certianly to dig through it)have to be knocked down as being over a mains water pipe (where you never get consent to build over due to the high pressure of the water being pumped through the mains - like a fire hydant in the USA when it shoots in the air)