Home Information Packs | We will be providing a professional Hips service to conveyancers and Estate agents. Email us

Developments Hips will provide Home Information Packs in the Yorkshire area to Estate Agents, Conveyancers and Vendors in line with the code of conduct laid down by the hips code of conduct. Manchester, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds and Skipton.

Our packs are fully warranted and adapted to meet the individual client requirements.
Our packs will be available in paper and CD formats and the EPC will be registered on an electronic data base. We will provide the full service including the Home Condition Report as a 'one stop shop'.

Volume pricing is available to all Estate Agents. Branding in the Estate Agents logo is available.

The Home Information Pack Regulations 2006 stipulates the requirements for the pack. The pack consists of “required” and “authorised documents“. The “required“ documents are compulsory and so MUST be included in the pack.

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1) Wasn‘t the Home Condition Report (HCR) going to be a required document?

Yes, but the Government has now decided that the report need now only be an authorised document. It is still the Governments view that these will prove beneficial to both buyers and sellers and they will be monitoring the report take up. We can provide a HCR to help with the marketing of your property. With the market becoming more competitive over this year. The vendor who makes their property a more saleable item will be the more likely to make a successful sale.

2) What is a HCR? Why would it be a good idea to have one?

The Home condition report (HCR) is a survey of your property at the time you place it on the market. It is a non invasive survey and gives a condition report on all aspects of your property. It will allow the buyer to have full confidence that the property you are selling is sound and has no major defects. If however, You find their are defects that were previously unknown to you. It will allow you time to remedy those and save your sale from falling through. 1 in 4 property sales fall through due to unknown defects with a sellers property.

3) How does a HCR compare to a home buyers survey?

A HCR gives an unbiased survey of a property and is like to become a mandatory part of the Hips pack. It sticks to a mandatory text grading the property. It does not give any advise as to how any defects if found should be rectified and does not include a valuation. The Home buyers survey gives an unbiased survey of a property but will not be part of the Hips pack. It does not stick to mandatory text and may include suggestions for remedy of defects and will include a valuation.

The average cost of a home condition report on a property valuation of around £100,000 will be £190 on top of the cost of a Home information pack and will be paid by the seller. While The Home buyers survey will cost the buyer around £330 for a property valued at £100,000 and If the reports proves to be a negative. Then the seller has lost that sale.

4) Why HIPS?

It is estimated that 1 in 4 transactions fall through due to information coming to light after a formal offer has been made. The Government’s intention is that it will make the buying and selling of a property a much simpler process and will reduce the number of transactions that do not proceed to exchange and completion, Nearly 9 out of 10 consumers are unhappy with the current Conveyancing system. The packs will also assist first time buyers in the sense that it will be less expensive for them to get a foot on the property ladder. It is anticipated that the packs will speed up the Conveyancing process.

5) Sellers Questionnaire?

It is not part of the Hips pack but your convancer will need one for the sales pack that they generate for the sale of your property. It will include items that you will be included in the selling with the property and the items not included in the sale. It will be of interest to the buyers of your house and give a clear indication what will be included in the sale.

6) Who is responsible for supplying the pack if the property is being purchase under a Right to Buy?

RTB properties are excluded from the legislation due to the fact that the property is not being openly marketed. The possibility of adopting the HIPS principals for RTB properties is currently being examined. Shared Ownership properties will require a Home Information Pack.

7) Will Home Information Packs be required for Auction Properties?

Yes.

8) How long will the pack be valid for?

The pack will be valid for as long as the property if marketing for sale. The Regulations allow for a period where the property might be taken off the market due if, for example, the seller is changing Agents or the property has previously been under offer. The only time sensitive aspect of the pack is the local search which only have a shelf life of 6 months. The Regulations make no provisions for the local search to be renewed.

9) What is an Energy Performance Certificate?

The EPC will contain energy ratings for homes. It will outline the cost of heating, hot water and lighting in homes and will give practical advice on how to cut these costs and reduce carbon emissions. It will also provide sellers and buyers with an A-G rating on their homes. By acting upon the recommendations, it is anticipated that the average homeowner will save £300 every year on fuel bills. Recommendations could include information as to who to insulate your loft better through to the use of solar panels.

10) Who is authorised to carry out the Energy Performance Certificate and Home condition reports?

These must be carried out by a properly trained Inspector. The Government are currently identifying those parts of the Home Inspector Qualification that are likely to be required to enable prospective Home Inspectors to qualify as Energy Inspectors. As the Home Condition Report may still form part of the HIP (albeit as an authorised rather then required document), those Inspectors who have already completed the relevant part of the Home Inspector Diploma will, once certified, be able to practice as an Energy Inspector. In the meantime, the Government are devising an interim qualification to enable Home Inspectors to carry out EPC without having to complete the full Home Inspection qualification.

11) Are all properties marketed before 1st June 2007, exempt from providing a HIP?

Although the Regulations to provide a HIP apply only to those properties marketed after 1st June 2007, the Regulations also provides that all homes for sale will need to have a HIP by 31st December 2007 – this is irrespective of the date the property was put onto the market.

12) Is it necessary to have a complete pack at the time the property is marketed?

Yes, the seller must have a complete pack at the time the property is marketed. The exception to this is if a particular document cannot be obtained in time. In this instance, the seller can market the property 14 days after the outstanding document has been requested. The seller must have taken all reasonable steps to obtain the outstanding document and must include the outstanding document in the pack asap.

13) Will any penalty be payable for sellers who do not provide a HIP?

Local Authorities will have the right to decide on what action to take against a seller in breach of the regulations. The Local Authority may do one on of three things:
1. give advice
2. give a warning
3. serve a fixed penalty notice.