Home Information Packs (HIPS) have come under fire from many directions but Christian Harper of Oliver Finn explains why he’s a supporter.
Anyone selling property in England and Wales has been obliged to provide a HIP to accompany their property since December 2007. The pack must contain an energy assessment certificate, local searches and legal documents, and an optional Home Condition Report.
Home Condition Reports should be mandatory according to the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) and Christian Harper agrees: “If buyers and sellers are to benefit further from HIPs, the physical condition of the property should be clear in advance.” AIPPS is currently lobbying the government to make this information obligatory rather than optional.
Christian is a qualified surveyor and HIPs inspector. “I completed the course last year but I don’t want to do my own HIPs. I just did it to broaden my knowledge. In the Chiswick property market I haven’t come across a single buyer changing their purchasing position based on the content of the reports.”
A local search of the area is included in the pack and should give buyers enough data to make an informed decision: Has it got planning permission? How about building regulations? Will the motorway be extended into the garden? “I valued a property a few days ago and of the five agents that visited, I was the only one to mention that the property didn’t comply with building regulations, and consequently this would be declared in the pack.
“If vendors have this knowledge up-front, they can take steps to comply with the regulations earlier rather than later when the buyer is half way through the conveyancing process and likely to be put off.”
There is the potential for some of the work previously carried out by solicitors to be duplicated in HIPs says Christian: “I question why some HIPs inspectors provide searches using unapproved firms fuelling the demand for a further search by the solicitor. It all adds more time to the process and means sellers can end up paying twice for the same information. There needs to be further integration between The Law Society and HIPs providers to agree on best practice.”
Save energy but not at the expense of comfort
Although firmly in favour of HIPs, Christian has yet to see the advantage of having the energy assessment certificate – at least locally. With the density of Edwardian and Victorian housing stock in Chiswick it is difficult and costly to improve energy ratings. For example, in the conservation area, homeowners can’t install plastic double glazing even if they wanted to. And many buyers wouldn’t want this either.
Primarily, people buy homes on aesthetics not ratings. “We are all increasingly aware of the need to save energy but most buyers in my experience are not prepared to sacrifice comfort. People who are prepared to cycle to work to cut down on their emissions, would not give up their 24/7 underfloor heating - so it’s quite a contentious issue.
“My fear is that in future, once the local authority has a big enough database of neighbourhood properties, the council tax will be linked to energy assessment. I don’t see this as an advantage for either seller or buyer frankly. However the rest of HIPs offers nothing but benefit”, says Christian.
A recent report from Which?, reveals that in some regions HIPs can vary in price and be difficult for homebuyers to get. The cost of a pack from Oliver Finn estate agents is £349 plus VAT, though the average cost locally is around £400 + VAT.
It is also possible, not to mention cheaper, to do-it-yourself. Visit www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk to find out how. If you haven’t got time for the DIY approach then shop around. Estate agents may offer you a ‘special deal’ but don’t accept until you have compared what other providers charge. Even Tesco offers HIPs now.
Anything that speeds up the sales process, and reduces the risk for buyers, can only be a positive thing.
