Thank-you Home Information Packs, you’ve given me the opportunity to quote Huey Lewis and The News in a blog title.
Actually, I was at a Huey Lewis concert in Florida earlier this year and the wait before they came on stage was not dissimilar to all this waiting for HIPs we’re doing now. First, they were supposed to come out full flow in June (the HIPs not Huey Lewis), then 10 days before the start date it was announced they’d be put off until the 1st of August, and even then it would only be 4 bedroomed homes that would need a HIP as they gradually phased them in. All this mucking about with the HIPs has lead some to wonder whether they will even come into effect at all, but in two days time we will see. Some estate agents even have countdown clocks on their sites so you can watch the dawning of HIPs get closer by the second. Hmmm.
So what on earth are these HIPs?
I know when I first saw ‘HIP INFORMATION’ as a link on an agent website I clicked thru expecting to find out some really ‘funky’ info, but no. HIP means Home Information Pack, hip just means darn cool, and a hip bone is the bony projection of the femur.
Ok…but what is a Home Information Pack?!?!
It’s a pack of documents that is supposed to make selling and buying easier for everyone. The Government reckon that £350 million a year is currently lost through house purchases that do not go ahead because of problems found by buyers during the house-buying process. Not only is this lost money, but it’s broken dreams. One person changing their mind can cause problems for the whole chain, so it makes sense for there to be some sort of set of documents to ensure people are making informed decisions before putting in an offer.
And what documents are in the pack?
For freehold properties…the requirements are thus:
- Index
- Energy Performance Certificate
- Sale Statement
- Official copies of the Registers
- Official copy of the Title Plan
- Where part of the property is let or will become let on completion of the sale, copies of any lease or licenses to which the property is subject (sounds like HIP provider jargon to me)
- Local land Charges Search
- Local Authority Search
- Drainage & Water Search
- Home Use Form
- Home Content Form
For leasehold properties the requirements are slightly more extensive, they must have the above documents plus:
- A copy of the lease or leases, any deeds of variation and other leases or licenses that are relevant to or affect the title.
- Any rules and regulations in force at the time made by the managing agent or landlord
- Statements or summaries of service charges relating to the previous three years
- The most recent request for payment of service charge, ground rent and insurance relating to the preceding 12 month period
- The name and address of the current or proposed landlord, of the managing agents or proposed managing agents and of any other person who might be likely to manage the property
- Any alterations to the proposed lease or regulations
- A summary of any works being proposed or undertaken that affect the property
Opinion is very much divided about the whole subject, there has certainly been a lot of HIP Hype. The energy efficiency part of things can’t be bad, not only will our grandkids benefit but following advice from the energy performance certificate is supposed to save the average home-owner £300 a year. That’s nice for the purse strings and for the polar bears.
And to anyone who thinks they can get around the cost of a HIP then the good news for them is they can. If you’re selling a 4 bedroomed house this summer and don’t want to shell out a few bob on a HIP then just market your house as a three bedroom property with a study. But don’t say we didn’t warn you that the average price that a 3 bed fetches is around £160,000 less than a 4 bed. You might want to order that HIP after all…
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