Useful Info
Residential Conveyancing
Home Info Packs
Home information packs (HIPS) The goverment have now scrapped Home Information Packs, so they are no longer required.
Currently our homes are marketed from day one, and once an offer has been accepted, we instruct our Solicitors who gather all of the legal paperwork on our behalf to complete the transaction.
As many of us have found out, problems can occur at this stage, for example structural deficiencies, defective title deeds etc, which can all serve to slow the process down and increase the chances of the transaction not completing.
In an attempt to speed up the house buying process the Government has introduced Home Information Packs. It is their intention that the preparation of these packs prior to putting your house on the market will in fact speed the process up.
Home Information Packs may contain
- Terms of sale.
- Evidence of title.
- Replies to standard preliminary enquiries made on behalf of buyers.
- Copies of any planning, building regulations consents and approvals etc.
- New properties, copies of warranties and guarantees.
- Any guarantees for work carried out on the property.
- Replies to local searches.
- A home condition report based on a professional survey of the property, including an energy efficiency assessment.
For leasehold properties
- A copy of the lease;
- Recent service charge accounts and receipts;
- Building insurance policy details.
- Regulations made by the landlord or management company; and
- Management company details
The survey will need to be compiled by a Home Inspector, sellers or their agents will have to prepare a Home Information Pack before they can put the property on the market.
The estimated cost of a Home Information Pack is estimated to cost around £600 to £700 however it may be significantly more depending on the content and area that you live in. There is also some confusion as to how long the various searches will be valid. If the property has taken six months or more to sell then the searches may have to be redone.
So, there is still some confusion as to what exactly will need to be in the Home Information Packs, when they will be formally introduced!
Anyhow, until June 2007 the house buying process will remain as it is now so if you are looking to sell, then please contact us for a low fixed fee.
