Home Information Packs (again!)
Posted by Justin on Nov 25, 2009 in Abaddons Musings, conveyancing, estate agents, HIPs, lawyers, legal system | 0 commentsI know I keep banging on about this, but it is my view that a combination of inadequate consultation by government, vested interests in the property industry trying to stifle change and competition on price rather than value resulted in a huge missed opportunity. Home Information Packs, properly prepared, can be of great benefit in streamlining conveyancing, to the benefit of all concerned: buyers, sellers, agents, solicitors.
However, the crucial term is “properly prepared” – HIPs that take no account of the individual property and its idiosyncracies are almost useless – basically a waste of paper. On the other hand, a properly prepared and comprehensive HIP enables the buyer’s solicitor to report on a very large part of the transaction at a very early stage, highlighting potential problems and outlining the scope of further investigations that might be needed
With a good HIP, we are usually waiting only for the draft contract and full property information form (both of which could, in my view, be included in the HIP in the same way as for an auction) or the mortgage offer (or both!) before a buyer client can exchange contracts
HIPs have the potential to do almost everything the government claimed for them, but they need to be properly prepared, not prepared on the basis of the cheapest that complies with the regulations.
I have revisited this subject because Rob Hailstone of HIPAG (Home Information Pack Action Group) fame is forming The Bold Group to campaign for “proper HIPs”, and so I have been stirred to post again