HIPs

Money_Saving_Mandy_2

I just had mine done via HIPmasters (google it) for £258 for a leasehold, so when you add all the above costs in for the searchs, title plan, epc, etc etc it comes in not too much different (especially if a freehold).

So would you rather save £25-30 and stress about if you're doing it right, or pay that for someone to take the worry out of it for you. Thats the question I asked myself and got someone in to do the job!

markandjayne

Hi
does anyone know if it matters if the HIP contains 'personal' or 'official' searches? Some of the online HIP providers offer personal but I am not sure about the implications - can anyone help please?
thanks

Richard_Webster

Where I am at the moment if I am acting for a buyer and I am not happy with a search (usually because it is out of date) I am not getting sellers solicitors offering to repeat the search and my buyer clients have not got sufficiently cross about the extra cost that they have complained to the seller about it. This might change, but I think the supposed issue is greatly overrated.

Unless the Council search is actually cheaper than the personal search (which needs in any event to be with a recognised company that offers backup insurance) you might as well have the personal search done.

DO NOT do what someone selling a house to a buyer client of mine did, which was to go himself to the Council Offices and ask to do a personal search as if he was buying the property. He provided a list of planning decisions as the search in a HIP he prepared himself which had been photocopied by the Council but nothing else and no answers to all the various questions contained in the standard forms.

Another reason for possibly doing the search with the Council can be speed. Sometimes the personal search agents are held up in getting appointments in the Council offices so in some cases the official search may come back in say a week, whilst the personal search might take 2-3 weeks. However the property can be marketed as soon as the searches have been ordered so (especially int he present market) this time difference is not usually critical.

Doozergirl

Richard_Webster wrote: »

DO NOT do what someone selling a house to a buyer client of mine did, which was to go himself to the Council Offices and ask to do a personal search as if he was buying the proeprty. He provided a list of planning decisions as the search in a HIP he prepared himself which had been photocopied by the Council but nothing else and no answers to all the various questions contained in the standard forms.

Sorry. I didn't quite get this. You're saying not to get it wrong like he did or not to carry out your own personal search at all?

Depending on the time I have available when I come to sell next, I am seriously considering carrying out a personal search myself. It cuts the cost from £95 with my LA to £11. My last searches (official) were out of date and not a word was said, no one asked us to pay for anymore (actually, the Land Charges man had said he would update for me for free!) so I just can't see the point of having an official search again if the buyer isn't going to benefit from it either.

Richard_Webster

Originally Posted by Richard Webster
DO NOT do what someone selling a house to a buyer client of mine did, which was to go himself to the Council Offices and ask to do a personal search as if he was buying the proeprty. He provided a list of planning decisions as the search in a HIP he prepared himself which had been photocopied by the Council but nothing else and no answers to all the various questions contained in the standard forms.
Sorry. I didn't quite get this. You're saying not to get it wrong like he did or not to carry out your own personal search at all?

Don't do either.

A buyer needs to be able to rely on the searches in a HIP. Therefore they either have to be those carried out by the Council or by a personal search agent with adequate indemnity insurance cover. If you took the LLC1 and Con29R forms to the Council they might give you the information and you would write down the answers that you heard them give you to each question, but the Council would not authenticate the document and therefore it would not be acceptable in a HIP. A buyer needs to be able to sue either the Council or the search provider if they get it wrong and suing a search provider is pointless if they are not insured.