We just need to ask you a few questions to then provide you with a quote.
What is a HIP?
The Home Information Pack contains important information that buyers and sellers need to know. Home Information Packs including Energy Performance Certificates have been implemented on a phased basis which started on 1 August 2007. Packs are now required for the sale of three bedroom properties and larger. Smaller properties will be phased in as soon as sufficient energy assessors are fully qualified.
For sellers, providing a Pack upfront should reduce the likelihood of any nasty surprises in the selling process that could delay the sale, as buyers will be able to make more informed decisions about purchasing their home.
For buyers, the Pack provides essential information about properties they are considering buying, free of charge.
Do I need a HIP?
HIPs will not be required when selling the following:
Non-residential property
Mixed commercial and residential property
Sales of tenanted properties
Properties with leases of less than 21 years
Private sales where the property is not marketed
Unsafe (uninhabitable) properties and properties for demolition
What does a pack contain?
Compulsory documents
Home Information Pack Index
The compulsory documents include a Home Information Pack Index, listing the documents contained in the Pack.
The sale statement should provide some basic information about the property, including:
The address of the property being sold
Whether the property is freehold, leasehold or commonhold
Whether the property is registered or unregistered
Whether or not the property is being sold with vacant possession
Standard Searches
Including:
The local land charges register relating to the property being sold. Once a search is completed, which can be carried out by a personal search company or a local authority, you will receive an official search certificate.
Other records held by the local authority on matters of interest to buyers, such as planning decisions and road building proposals. These are referred to as local enquiries in the Home Information Pack regulations. A local authority or a personal search company can be used.
The provision of drainage and water services to the property. The local water company or a personal search company can be used (however, the search must comply with the HIP Regulations).
Evidence of Title
These documents prove that the seller owns the property and therefore has the right to sell it.
Optional Items
Some documents in the Home Information Pack are optional. These include:
Home Information Packs will contain some complex documents that can be difficult to understand. The optional summary of the legal content of the pack could therefore be very helpful to buyers, although it will not remove the need for buyers to take their own legal advice as well.
Home use/content forms
Home use and home contents forms let sellers give buyers information on a range of matters relating to the property.
These include information on boundaries, notices, services, sharing with neighbours, planning permissions and other matters of interest to potential buyers.
It is usual for sellers to declare which fixtures and fittings and other contents of the property are included in the sale, are excluded from the sale, or are subject to negotiation.
Other documents
Sellers could speed up the sale if they include non-standard searches in the Home Information Pack where appropriate.
For example, it's standard practice to obtain a mining search in areas where coal mining has taken place. Sellers in these areas will save time if they provide this search in the Pack.
Other searches cover rights of way, ground stability and actual or potential environmental hazards such as flooding and contaminated land.
Sellers will also want to include guarantees and warranties for work already carried out on their homes.
How much?
The Government state that "The cost to sellers of Home Information Packs will be set by the market.". PROinspect feel that pack prices will probably be hidden in extra commission charges. However the advantages of this will be heavily offset by paying far over the actual cost of the pack and being tied to an Estate Agent.
Using a network of Surveyors and Inspectors our target is to be the cheapest supplier of EPC's, HCR's and HIP's to the private purchaser.
Examples
An example of an Energy Performance Certificate can be downloaded here (directly from the government website):
Data from this page comes from the Governments website on HIP's
