Home Information Packs - What You
Need To Know
Introduced in August 2007, Home Information Packs
(HIPs) were intended to reduce the number of property sales that
fall through by providing important information on properties to
potential buyers before they made an offer.
HIPs are currently required for all residential properties with
3 or more bedrooms that are being sold on the open market. In
other words, if your property is available for anyone to buy, it
needs a HIP. (If you arrange a private, unadvertised
sale to a family member, for example, you wouldn't need a HIP).
You are required to provide a valid HIP for your property as soon
as it goes on the market - whether you are selling through an estate
agent or advertising it yourself.
But What Exactly Is A HIP?
A HIP is basically a booklet containing the following compulsory
documents:
- A HIP index - describing the purpose of each
document in the HIP
- A Sale Statement - describing the property
and land that is for sale
- An Energy Performance Certificate - an officially-issued
document rating the energy efficiency of your home. This might
seem a bit irrelevant but our badly made houses are responsible
for up to 70% of our carbon footprint so this is a move in the
right direction.
- Evidence of Title - an official copy of the
Land Registry documents that prove you own and have the right
to sell your home
- Legally-required searches - the results of
searches that are a compulsory part of a property sale
There are some optional extras, but these are the compulsory elements.
At first sight, the list above might look a bit confusing, but
it isn't really that bad.
Most of the information - the 'Evidence of Title' and the search
results - was already required to sell a home. The only difference
is that now the seller provides it before the sale - previously,
potential buyers had to request it after they had made a successful
offer.
How Much Do HIPs Cost &
How Do I Get One?
Perhaps the biggest downside of HIPs for sellers is the cost.
Costs vary depending on your local authority and the type of property
you have, but you should expect to pay somewhere in the region of
£400 - £800 - not small change.
Unsurprisingly, many estate agents are offering to prepare a HIP
for properties they sell 'for free'.
But beware - 'free' is likely to mean one of two things:
- They add the cost of the HIP into their fees
- You don't own the HIP - if you choose to change agents, you
will have to have another HIP prepared
There are other choices, however:
- Independent HIP providers - these companies
will prepare a HIP for you for a fixed fee, with no catches or
ties.
- Solicitors & Conveyancing agents - since
the information required in the HIP is usually gathered by solicitors
or conveyancing agents anyway, it's quite easy for them to produce
HIPs for a fee
- DIY - that's right, you can compile your own
HIP and will only have to pay for some of the documents and searches
you need doing. This should save you at least £100 and is
not that difficult. To learn more, see 'Preparing
your own HIP'
