Home Information Packs (HIPs) The Facts

drummer_boy_2

Home Information Packs - The Facts

With so much negativity in the press in respect of Home Information Packs (HIPs) we thought it might help those who wanted a clear idea of the facts to provide a summary of what they are, what they include and the relevant dates before their implementation in June 2007:

The Home Information Pack will contain a set of documents that will provide important information in respect of the property you are selling/marketing, the documents will include copies of deeds, information about searches and information relating to the property's energy efficiency.
The pack will be divided into two parts, these are "Required" and "Authorised", required documents must be included where they are appropriate and authorised documents can included at the seller's discretion
Looking at the pack more closely the "Required" documents are:
• An energy performance certificate (This will be the first document in the pack after the index)
• An index listing the contents of the pack
• A sale statement which will summarize the terms of the sale
• Evidence of Title
• Standard searches which will include local, water and drainage searches
• Commonhold information where appropriate
• Leasehold information where appropriate (to include a copy of the lease, plus information on service charges and insurance)
• A new homes warranty, if appropriate
• A report on a home that is not yet built, ie new build (this has been defined as a predicted energy assessment)
The "Authorised" documents include:
• Warranties and guarantees
• Other searches
• Home Condition Report*
* Home condition reports are no longer compulsory although there use is being encouraged, this will help to identify any problems and will enable the buyer to take the properties condition into account prior to making an offer.
An authorised document can be included within the pack by the seller if they feel it may be of interest to any potential buyers, this could in turn increase the marketable value of the property.


Do I need to have a Home Information Pack before I market my property?
From the 1st June 2007 you will be required to have an Home Information Pack before you market your property for sale. You will still be allowed to market your property where you are waiting for your local authority searches and where relevant leasehold information to arrive, these rules are defined within the regulations.
How long will my pack be valid for?
Your pack will be valid for as long as you continuously market your property, the regulations put in place will allow for short periods of time when your property is no longer on the market, examples of this could be when your property is under offer or you have decided to change the estate agent marketing the property for you.
Part of the pack contents will be local searches, these are generally valid for a period of six months, currently most property purchases are completed within this time and with the Home Information Pack being designed to streamline the house buying process it is unlikely that this should cause too many problems.
What if I have marketed my property before the 1st June 2007
If your property is on the market before the 1st June 2007 you are allowed to continue to market your property without a pack until the 31st December 2007, you will be required to obtain a pack from the 1st January 2008.
If you would like more information visit the government's dedicated website at http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/ or click here for a printable version of this summary.

mags24

You can see a .pdf version of a sample HIP here:
http://www.sell-your-home.org.uk/hips.php

nelly_2

no one gives a crap about energy performance all they care about is price of house!

Saving 15 quid a year cos its got an extra inch of stuffing in the loft versus 10% price inflation per year?????

prudryden

nelly wrote: »

no one gives a crap about energy performance all they care about is price of house!

Saving 15 quid a year cos its got an extra inch of stuffing in the loft versus 10% price inflation per year?????

My house doesn't do energy efficiency - why should I have to pay something for nothing?

Canucklehead

Good evening: A good rating on an Energy Performance Certificate can be used by the vendor as a marketing tool whereas a low rating gives the buyer leverage: there are people out there who would take the cost of heating/lighting a property and the potential outlay for energy improvements into consideration before committing to an offer/purchase...and others with deeper pockets might not give a fig either way!

Canucklehead

nelly_2

Canucklehead wrote: »

Good evening: A good rating on an Energy Performance Certificate can be used by the vendor as a marketing tool whereas a low rating gives the buyer leverage: there are people out there who would take the cost of heating/lighting a property and the potential outlay for energy improvements into consideration before committing to an offer/purchase...and others with deeper pockets might not give a fig either way!

Canucklehead

Really?

Two similar houses one at £220 really good insulation etc

one at £200 no insulation!

Which one is everyone gonna buy?

So you will probably now say The difference wont be that much, it'd be much closer like say one or two grand

Then I'd say - Like the cost of insulating the place?

So it still comes down to money at the outset.

ANYONE can insulate a house themselves. At todays prices it all comes down to how much the house costs not how much stuffing is in the loft.

Canucklehead

nelly wrote: »

Really?
Two similar houses one at £220 really good insulation etc
one at £200 no insulation!

Which one is everyone gonna buy?

So you will probably now say The difference wont be that much, it'd be much closer like say one or two grand

Then I'd say - Like the cost of insulating the place?

So it still comes down to money at the outset.

ANYONE can insulate a house themselves. At todays prices it all comes down to how much the house costs not how much stuffing is in the loft.

Good morning: Interesting points...I agree that the bottom line can drive decisions (as many tradespersons can attest to eg. potential customer selects the cheapest quote but doesn't necessarily get the best outcome)...but I didn't say that saving money doesn't motivate a purchase but in fact agreed that it did...however there are still people who will consider a high or low EPC rating as advantageous ( http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/home_improvements/moving_home/selling )
...obviously not you or me (my OH and I have been able to drive down the price we paid for property because of the works required and benefited because the cost of remediation is much lower when you're in the trades).
Unfortunately, the original premise for HIPS seems to have fallen by the wayside as it won't make the home buying/selling process any faster/easier as the system is presently constituted.

It will interesting to see how it all plays out.

Canucklehead

Mrs_pbradley936

How do you find out how much energy your house uses?

sanfrancisco

The energy ratings will be used by the Government in years to come to tax inefficient houses more, imo. I also believe that in a few years the better the energy rating the more desirable the house will become.

Mrs_pbradley936

Just did a search and found this

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/proxy/view/full/165/homeenergycheck

you put in your postcode and answer a few questions then they email your the result within a couple of minutes. I suppose you can print it out and put it in these packs.

courtjester

pbradley936 wrote: »

I suppose you can print it out and put it in these packs.

It wouldn't be acceptable as only authorised registered inspectors can produce the energy certificate required for the pack.