Why bother? Home Information Packs will be discontinued by a future Government.
Most buyers and sellers are very dissatisfied with the current system for house buying and selling. The introduction of HIPs and the other parts of the Housing Act 2004 were introduced precisely to start the process of radically overhauling the conveyancing process and bring the legislation into the 21st century.
The introduction of HIPs is new and radical and no doubt many alterations and changes will take place over the coming years. It has taken since 1997, yes it's 10 years, since the reforms were first mentioned in the Labour manifesto. The wheels of Government very rarely move fast. I think it’s safe to say that HIPs will be with us for some time to come. Also if, and when HIPs are ever withdrawn, do we seriously want to go back to the current system?
The Home Information Pack (HIP) will cost an enormous amount more than under the present system.
Incorrect. The group of buyers, most in need of a financial saving will benefit most - the first time buyer. They will no longer have to fork out for a survey and searches - it’s all in the Home Information Pack.
Most sellers are also buyers of another property. Many of the costs are necessary at some stage in the transaction. The costs have simply been transferred to the seller from the buyer. In some cases the cost will reduce as it will no longer be necessary for duplication of activities by potential buyers on the same property.
It is true that the Energy Certificate is a new additional document required however, in practice, this should not add anything to the overall costs compared to the old system.
In addition the HIP and associated legislation was formulated taking account of the modern electronic age we now live in. It is anticipated that with the increasing use of electronic conveyancing, costs are likely to reduce.
The production of HIPs will introduce an unnecessary delay of 3 or more weeks before the property can be put on the market.
Incorrect. In this modern age of electronic information retrieval and transfer there is no reason why the HIP cannot be compiled in little more than 5 days for the majority of situations. Pack Providers will not survive if they take much longer than this. In practice this means that there will be virtually no delay as the HIP should be available at about the same time that the Estate agent has his marketing material available.
Mortgage Lenders will not accept the ‘Local’ Search information contained in the HIP.
Incorrect. “Around 90 major mortgage lenders already accept personal local searches as part of the home buying process including 9 out of the top 10 lenders, who alone provide nearly 75% of all mortgages in the UK.” This quote is from a COPSO newsletter dated 22nd August 2007 (Council for Property Search Organisations).
In the vast majority of situations the HIP ‘Personal’ search will be perfectly acceptable to lenders and the Buyer’s solicitor. For an explanation of the different Local Authority searches see our FAQ.
There are a few situations when the Search provided in the HIP will have to be either repeated or an ‘Authorised Local Authority’ search carried out. Some of these are common sense. One such instance might be that the house has been on the market for a long time, say longer than six months and the Lender feels that in a particular case it’s too long since the search was carried out (A buyer’s solicitor may suggest another search for the same reason)
HIPs will not prevent long drawn out chains or gazumping.
Whilst it is true that HIPs will not eliminate troublesome chains or gazumping they are likely to reduce the occurrence because, by speeding up the process, these are less likely to occur. There will be nothing like the opportunity for the old type of excuse, such as awaiting the searches, claiming the title to the property is defective or other legal enquiries. The window of opportunity within which gazumping can take place should be very significantly reduced.
