The Home Condition Report (HCR) is a legal document which contains information about the physical condition of a property and associated factors, which sellers, buyers and lenders will be able to rely on as an accurate report. The HCR is an authorised, optional part of the Home Information Pack. Brief details are given below. For a comprehensive guide to HCRs and HIPs please request our free guide via our Contact Page.

A visit to the property by a qualified, accredited and regulated Home Inspector is required. The inspection is non-invasive which means there is no physical damage of any kind to the property. The inspector will also make enquiries about radon, flooding, mining subsidence risk, etc. This inspection is normally done at the same time as the energy assessment inspection required to produce the mandatory Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

Although optional, the HCR can be an important part of the Pack. We advise home sellers to consider carefully including Home Condition Report in their HIP. Yes, it costs more money, but the benefits may considerable outweigh the additional costs. Consider the following;

• Everyone is telling us that house selling is going to get extremely difficult and that house prices may fall by as much as 10% in the coming months. This is mainly due to the increased difficulty in getting a mortgage. However, people are still getting mortgages. The houses which will sell and retain their value best are those which can offer something extra. You need to make sure that your house is one of these houses. How? By including a Home Condition Report in your Home Information Pack.
• Consider the situation where a prospective buyer requests the HIPs for two properties. One contains a Home Condition Report, the other doesn’t. The HCR indicates that there are no minor or major defects. You need to consider how a buyer might be influenced by this.
• · It makes sense to reduce the risk of delays, last minute withdrawal, or attempts to re-negotiate the price, due to factors arising out of the condition of the property. Sellers will be one step ahead with a cost effective selling advantage if an HCR inspection is done at the same time as the mandatory energy performance certificate inspection.
• · Sellers who provide a Report will have an early opportunity to carry out repair work on the property or obtain quotes prior to marketing.
• · Buyers can use it at the beginning of the home-buying process to minimise the possibility of being faced with unexpected repair bills and other surprises
• · Lenders can benefit by using the Report to inform their valuations, reducing the need to repeat a detailed onsite inspection at the buyer's expense.
• · The Buyer should be appreciative that the presence of a HCR is likely to mean that it will not be necessary to pay for the more expensive Homebuyers Survey. More crucially the Seller will not have to wait the additional delay time for the prospective Buyer to commission and receive the survey report. (in the absence of a HCR the Buyer or Buyer’s solicitor may require a survey to be undertaken).

• The report’s main aim is to highlight any defects that need urgent attention or are serious on the date the property was inspected. It also tells you about things that need further investigation to prevent damage to the structure of the building.
  
  The report gives ‘condition ratings’ to the major parts of the main building (it does not give condition ratings to outbuildings). However, the report does not mention minor defects that do not need building work to put them right.
  
  The report does not estimate the market value of the home or cover some items that will be considered when a valuation is undertaken such as schools, or availability of public transport etc.
  
  Click here for an example of the HCR. (You will need a PDF viewer installed to see this report. Get it here. (If you are unsure about this use our enquiry form on the contacts page to ask our advice)
  
  Home Inspectors responsible for preparing Home Condition Reports hold a qualification at NVQ Level 4 (equivalent to degree level), and require in-depth knowledge and practical understanding of residential building construction and defects across a range of properties as set out in the approved National Occupational Standards for Home Inspectors. In addition, Home Inspectors are required to be accredited and regulated by an Accreditation Scheme.
  
  The Government and ‘Full HIP’ believes there will be significant benefits to home sellers if they elect to include full Home Condition Reports in their HIP. ‘Communities and Local Government’ is working with interested parties to facilitate the voluntary take-up of the HCR, and has invested resources in promoting and developing it for consumers.
  
  If you are likely to consider putting your house on the market during the next year then you should consider our Pre-Market Inspection. This provides all the benefits of a full HCR in terms of a physical examination of the property and advice on improving the Energy and CO2 rating at a reduced cost. Further more, most of the cost is refundable if you subsequently order a HIP from Full HIP. Further details here - Pre-Market Inspection.

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