Contact us on 01638 500063 or email enquiry@aprilhomes.co.uk
| |
| home |
| property search |
| our services |
| buyers guide |
| sellers guide |
| HIPS |
| terms & conditions |
| latest news |
| services / links |
| contact us |
| register your details |
 |
| HIPS |
|
The Home Information Pack (also known as the HIP) is compulsory for all homes on the market in England and Wales. It is a set of documents that provides the buyer with key information on the property and must be provided by the seller or the seller's agent. As from April 6, 2009 sellers must have a HIP in place for their property before they can sell their home. As a result of this change to the legislation we cannot market your property until a HIP is in place, as to do so without a HIP would be to break the law. We can arrange a HIP if you do not currently have one. Contact us to find out more. In addition to the scrapping of the first day marketing concession, the revised legislation also includes a new Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) to be completed by the seller and included within the HIP. This document is a mandatory document - it must be included. It is a legal requirement to have a HIP and you cannot market your property without one. The HIP lets buyers see important information on the property at the start of the process, free of charge. This means there is less chance of buyers suffering any unwanted surprises at the end of the process that may cause delays and extra expense to the buyer and seller. The HIP is made up of required (compulsory) and authorised (optional) items. There should not be any marketing or advertising material in the pack, so make sure it contains official information only. Listed below are all the compulsory documents that need to be included. The following documents must be included in your HIP: Other documents can be included within your HIP but these are optional. If they are included it could help to speed up the sale and ensure that the process goes more smoothly. These include: other documents such as specialised search reports (for example, the seller may choose to include a mining search in a mining area) If you are buying a property, just ask whoever is advertising it for sale for the Home Information Pack. This is usually an estate agent, but could be another business or individual. They must give you a copy of the pack free of charge (although they may make a reasonable charge to cover the costs of copying and posting it). The person responsible for marketing a property (in most cases, the estate agent) must have commissioned a HIP by the time that the property is on the market. You can compile it yourself or you can hire an estate agent, solicitor or HIP provider to do it for you. Always make sure that your HIP provider is signed up to a code of practice, such as the HIP Code. The seller is responsible for the cost of a HIP. The cost of the HIP can vary so make sure you check the market rate. Some HIP providers may offer free packs, or a no-sale, no-fee arrangement, but you should always check the terms and conditions of your contract. There is not a standard 'look' for a Home Information Pack. The only requirements are that it includes all of the compulsory ('required') items and that certain important documents were no more than three months old when the property was first marketed. There are two types of document included in a Home Information Pack: required (compulsory) and authorised (optional). It is up to the seller whether they include these optional documents. This could include a Home Condition Report, a legal summary or a contents form. A Home Condition Report contains information about the physical condition of a property, which sellers, buyers and lenders will be able to rely on legally as an accurate report. It is similar to a Homebuyer Survey and can let the seller and buyer be aware of any works or repairs that are needed to the property. The report: You have an early opportunity to carry out repair work on the property or get quotes before marketing your property. By giving buyers a clearer idea of your property, it reduces the risk of a buyer pulling out later in the process due to an unforeseen problem and gives your property an additional selling point. If the seller has included a Home Condition Report, you can use it at the beginning of the home-buying process to reduce the risk of being faced with unexpected repair bills and other surprises when you buy the property. Buyers and their mortgage lenders have a legal right to rely on the report, so you can give the report to lenders when they make their valuation. This means they may not have to repeat a detailed site inspection at your cost. HIPs may contain some complex documents that can be difficult to understand. The HIP can contain an optional legal summary, which is just a simple summary of all the legal documents. A solicitor or HIP provider will be able to produce a legal summary. Home use and home contents forms let sellers give buyers information on a range of matters relating to the property. This includes information on: It is usual for sellers to declare which fixtures and fittings and other contents of the property are: The standard searches need to be included in HIPs, but they can also contain non-standard searches. This can often speed up the sale of the property. For example, it is standard practice to obtain a mining search in areas where coal mining has taken place. Sellers in these areas could save time if they provide this search in the HIP. Other non-standard searches cover rights of way, ground stability and actual or potential environmental hazards such as flooding and contaminated land. Guarantees and warranties for work already carried out on your home, such as damp proofing, may be included in the HIP. Check the required documents that must be included in a Home Information Pack |
