HIP Packs - Is there a cheap way?

angel_nicx

Hi Guys- We're in a pretty terrible situation at the moment. We are one of the poor souls on a Northern Rock Together mortgage :eek:.. I'm keen to put our house on the market (we are desperately close to negative equity and on an interest only mortgage). Our mortgage will go up by £200 a month in August and so I'm keen to just bite the bullet and rent for a while (save some money for debt-repayment too!)

HOWEVER- I have done all the thing suggested - haggled with estate agents etc etc and although I am happy to get it on the market, we need to instruct a company to do provide a HIP Pack before the estate agent can market it. They've said £300 but hubby :cool: isn't happy to pay this as 1) we don't have the money and 2) he is hoping that we won't have to sell and we can absorb the mortgage hike elsewhere (MSE is being scoured every night for ways of saving pennies!:A )

So does anyone have advice on HIP Packs and whether you can order one yourself? Any places that give you money back if we decide we don't want to sell?

Thanks so much in advance!!!:beer:

xx

LindseyM

I've just ordered mine through HIP Team 1
http://www.hip-team-1.co.uk/index.html
Mine's a leasehold so was £263 inc VAT, but freehold are £233 inc VAT, cheaper than £300.

If you go to the HIP website, it gives you details on how to build your own pack - http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/consumer/65_How_do_I_compile_my_own_Pack.html

Good luck!

angel_nicx

Thank you thank you thank you!!!

The whole thing is terrifying me!

bo_drinker

Give you your money back if you decide not to sell??? How would they make a living if everyone decided not to sell after all. Not being funny if you are close to negative equity as lots are and if you can keep paying then I wouldn't even consider selling. If you don't want to pay £300 for a hips and you say you don't have £300 have you looked at fees required to sell a house. Whatever the agent values it at this week it will be worth less in 3 months time when it hasn't sold. How much closer would you be to neg equity then ?

geordiescouse

LindseyM wrote: »

I've just ordered mine through HIP Team 1
http://www.hip-team-1.co.uk/index.html
Mine's a leasehold so was £263 inc VAT, but freehold are £233 inc VAT, cheaper than £300.

If you go to the HIP website, it gives you details on how to build your own pack - http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/consumer/65_How_do_I_compile_my_own_Pack.html

Good luck!

Please keep us updated with how you find this company I am about to sell my property and am keen to find a cheaper alternative to the £425 +vat quoted by the estate agent. Would like to have done it myself, but am a bit confused between the different types of searches ie CON 29, LLC1 and personal searches. If yours proves OK then I may follow your route.

adr0ck

slightly cheaper through nethouseprices

http://www.nethouseprices.com/

LindseyM

geordiescouse wrote: »

Please keep us updated with how you find this company I am about to sell my property and am keen to find a cheaper alternative to the £425 +vat quoted by the estate agent. Would like to have done it myself, but am a bit confused between the different types of searches ie CON 29, LLC1 and personal searches. If yours proves OK then I may follow your route.

Will do

I ordered it yesterday through the website - they send an email straight away which you reply to and then it was about 30 mins later, another email comes which is enough for you to start marketing the property (great for me as I'm sellin privately). They've called me today to arrange for the energy efficiency guy and he's coming tomorrow evening. So far, so good - i'll definitely keep you updated with how it progresses tho :money:

Jorgan_2

Make sure any cheap HIP deal doesn't tie you into an expensive conveyancing deal, some firms do this, I haven't checked the links posted above.

I measured a property up yesterday & the vendor had purchased a HIP from some company, the EPC was wrong as they had stated the property wasn't double-glazed when it clearly is, no cavity wall insulation when it has and that was just in a two minutes flicking through the HIP. The vendor wasn't pleased to say the least.

curly_cabbage

LindseyM wrote: »

I've just ordered mine through HIP Team 1
http://www.hip-team-1.co.uk/index.html
Mine's a leasehold so was £263 inc VAT, but freehold are £233 inc VAT, cheaper than £300.

If you go to the HIP website, it gives you details on how to build your own pack - http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/consumer/65_How_do_I_compile_my_own_Pack.html

Good luck!

Thanks LindseyM this looks really interesting, i too am selling my house a done want to pay any more than is really required. Please keep us posted on how you get along.

CC

angel_nicx

bo_drinker wrote: »

Give you your money back if you decide not to sell??? How would they make a living if everyone decided not to sell after all. Not being funny if you are close to negative equity as lots are and if you can keep paying then I wouldn't even consider selling. If you don't want to pay £300 for a hips and you say you don't have £300 have you looked at fees required to sell a house. Whatever the agent values it at this week it will be worth less in 3 months time when it hasn't sold. How much closer would you be to neg equity then ?

I very sorry if I've asked a stupid question - but I thought the point of MSE was that there are NO stupid questions? No sale no fee applied with Estate Agents and so I just wondered if the same was true for HIPs.

We're on interest only at the moment and so the lower house prices go the worse we get. If we sold at the moment we could make £3000 which would pay for the fees etc.

The problem isn;t so much in the negative equit as we could sit tight IF we could afford the repayments of the mortgage.. But thats the point... £200 a month EXTRA for interest only is huge! :eek: Hubby is retraining at the moment too so they won;t take his temp wages into account and therefore we can't remortgage.. Nightmare

angel_nicx

adr0ck wrote: »

slightly cheaper through nethouseprices

http://www.nethouseprices.com/

Thank you :beer: - I think this is the way to go.. Just need to convince hubby now that selling is probably for the best!