29-11-07, UpMyStreet ©
From December 14, Home Information Packs, cause of so much controversy in 2007, will be compulsory for all property sales in England and Wales. Despite this, 51% of sellers putting their home on the market don't realise they need one when contacting an estate agent, according to property website Propertyfinder.
In a recent poll, 84% of UpMyStreet users blasted HIPs as an unwanted complication. It seems they're here to stay however. So we're looking into the cost, and effort, of compiling your own Home Information Pack. You'll save time and money if you're proactive about getting one in place when you come to sell.
1. Write the terms of sale
This is a document outlining the terms of the sale, with an accurate description of the property. You can write this yourself - use the sample sale statement on the government's Home Information Pack website as a guide.
2. Obtain the title deeds
You will need an official copy of the title plan and individual registry for your property. Contact a solicitor to obtain a copy of these items, or buy online from the Land Registry - the documents cost around £15 to download.
3. Arrange for an energy inspection
Arrange for a qualified domestic energy assessor to inspect your property in terms of its energy efficiency. You will receive an Energy Performance Certificate, a key element of your HIP, giving your property an energy rating of A-H. The certificate will cost around £150.
4. Get a water and drainage search
Ask your water company to carry out a water and drainage search for your property. They will provide you with a document that includes your home's water connection status, information on the drainage systems and a plan of the local sewers. This will cost around £40.
5. Obtain planning and building forms
You will need to arrange for your local council or a private search company to complete the appropriate planning and building regulation searches for your property. The two forms you'll need completed are LLC1 and CON29. This service will cost you around £150 - £250, depending on your property.
6. Write your HIP index
Your HIP index should list and describe each of the documents contained in the pack. The government's Home Information Pack website has examples of this document. It's also a good way to ensure that you have all the necessary documents.
7. Consider optional items
A home condition report, a legal summary and home use forms are optional items. In certain locations, such as flood plain areas, you will need to include additional environmental searches. If in doubt, check with a professional.
8. Get a professional to look over it
Once the pack is complete, get a solicitor or estate agent to go over the pack to ensure that all the compulsory documents are present. It's your responsibility to provide the correct information to prospective buyers. And a word of warning from Dominic Toller of HIP providers LMS:
"Some estate agents will not accept an independently compiled pack - so consumers should be sure to check their agent's rules before they start to market their property."
Costs and savings
Creating your own HIP will cost around £100 less than the average ready-made pack. You will need to pay all fees and costs upfront, unlike special offers with estate agents and solicitors who build the cost of a HIP into their final fees. As it's your own HIP, you won't need to pay for another one if you change agents or solicitors during the process.
Timescale
The time taken to compile a HIP shouldn't differ much from a professional service if you plan ahead and organise each step of the process promptly. The average HIP takes seven to 10 days to compile. Water, drainage and property searches take around five days to prepare while an energy performance certificate will take two to four days after your inspection.
The alternative: use a professional
If you don't want to get your hands dirty, there are many ready-made HIPs available, from estate agents, solicitors, mortgage providers and specialist HIP companies. We've got the basics covered in our guide to using a professional to compile your HIP - including information from a HIP specialist.
› Next: guide to using a professional HIP provider
More about HIPs
› Extended to three-bedroom homes
› Energy performance certificates
Inside a HIP
Terms of sale: a description of the property and why it is being sold
Title deeds
Replies to standard preliminary enquiries made on behalf of buyers
- Details of planning permission granted for building work
Details of approval to build or change a listed building
Copies of warranties and guarantees for new-build properties
Commonhold information, including commonhold community statement or New Homes Warranty
Energy Performance Certificate: a rating and five-page report on your home's energy efficiency
Home condition report: voluntary as of July 2006
Plan ahead...
- HIPs take an average of seven to 10 days to prepare
- The majority of property and drainage and water searches are delivered within 5 days
- Energy Performance Certificates are prepared within an average of two to four days
- The average cost of a pack is £300 to £350
Source: DCLG, November 2007
Costs
- Title deed from Land Registry: £15
- Energy assessment / Energy Performance Certificate: £150
- Water and drainage check: £40
- Property forms relating to planning and restrictions: £150 - £250
Maureen (Barnsley), on 06/06/2008 at 10:41
Advice please - we bought our house 2 years ago, pre HIPs but have kept masses of information sent to us pre purchase by solicitor relating to numerous searches, surveys etc. It looks to me as though most things are there apart from energy efficiency stuff. Our house is less than 10 years old so I presume it was built post strict energy efficiency regulations - we've certainly found it to be highly efficient. Will there be energy rating related to original construction? How long are these documents regarded as current? Can any of them be 'recycled' for current HIP?
Bates (Manchester) (Stockport), on 09/05/2008 at 10:30
Dennis (Wokingham), on 05/05/2008 at 12:14
Drew01 wrote:
Well actually the majority of us are qualified. I have gained a level 4 diploma and taken a year out of my life to train. I am a professional person with all the insurance and support that you would expect, Some people are not as qualified, as they have only bothered to learn the EPC side. Where a lot of us have under taken the full Home Condition education. May I suggest the you contact a fully qualified Home inspector, and not a sub qualified Domestic energy assessor.
Such as: http://www.hiphiphooray.com/
http://www.hipassociation.co.uk/home.aspx
Sorry..going to school for 3 days and doing a home study does not qualify a person to be skilled, any idiot could do that. Anybody who has no building skills or apprentice trained related skills should have anything to do with EPC. I would suggest a corgi registered engineer look at the boiler and the controls and the hot water tank and the thermostat.
If you need an EPC then check out the qualifications.
dennis (Wokingham), on 05/05/2008 at 12:05
Jim, Shropshire wrote:
Drew01 seems to think that a qualification as a Domestic Energy Assessor is inferior to a Home Inspector.
As a DEA, I would like to reassure people that we are as equally qualified to provide an Energy Performance Certificate as a Home Inspector.
A Home Inspector is also qualified to provide the voluntary Home Condition Report, which a DEA is not.
I decided not to waste money and qualify to do something which will not take off!
As a building professional for 40 years, I do not regard myself as inferior to a Home Inspector - only less qualified!
Drew01's attitude is pure professional snobbery!
I had a HIPs and being an engineer myself it was obvious that the EPC guy had no idea. I caught him out a few times. My advice..make sure you know the full employment history and if not a fully qualified engineer then chuck him out.
Antony (Kingston upon Thames), on 12/02/2008 at 22:54
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Jim, Shropshire (South Shropshire), on 12/02/2008 at 17:39
Drew01 seems to think that a qualification as a Domestic Energy Assessor is inferior to a Home Inspector.
As a DEA, I would like to reassure people that we are as equally qualified to provide an Energy Performance Certificate as a Home Inspector.
A Home Inspector is also qualified to provide the voluntary Home Condition Report, which a DEA is not.
I decided not to waste money and qualify to do something which will not take off!
As a building professional for 40 years, I do not regard myself as inferior to a Home Inspector - only less qualified!
Drew01's attitude is pure professional snobbery!
homevolution (Birmingham), on 19/01/2008 at 14:07
In response to DREW01 - I'm a qualified Domestic Energy Assessor with over 10 years experience as a Building Surveyor. I'm sorry that you feel that Energy Assessors are less qualified than yourself but taking a Year out to study, in my opinion, does not constitute a 'qualified Surveyor'. May I retort to your statement by saying that with all due respect, the EPC IS the most difficult part of a legal HIP pack to perform and the rest IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!!! My company (homevolution) advises its clients to undertake their own searches (much cheaper), and we help if they need it. Perhaps you feel cheated because you've spent an inflated amount of money training to perform the HCR which seems to be unneccesary so far??
Ian (Walsall), on 13/01/2008 at 12:25
JR, Cheshire wrote:
Colin McCleery wrote:
I think there is quite enough evidence that the energy performance certificate is a complete waste of money. Recent energy bills would be much more informative. Similarly, the water searches for a property with septic tank drainage are a waste of everyone's time. A water company bill showing the meter size tells the complete story. And who in their right mind would rely on a survey commissioned by the vendor. Most lenders wouldn't, for a start. HIPs are an ill-thought through solution to a non-problem, like most of the headline-grabbing "initiatives" of this completely commercially-illiterate government. They (HIPs and the Government) should be scrapped
A recent water bill wil not suffice in terms of protecting the buyer of a property. Only an officail search (called a Con29DW) will reveal the psoition of water mains, drains etc. and the responsibility for maintenance thereof. Any solicitor who is prepared to allow a client to buy a property without a full Con29DW is not really acting in the best interests of the buyer nor the lender.
Oddly, I haven't seen anything to suggest that Energy Performance Certificates are a 'waste of money'.
It is now fairly standard to compare energy efficiency ratings for appliances, and EPCs now appear on cars.
EPCs are not going to be the sole determining factor when buying a house and it is facile to suggest it; however it becomes a factor.
Furthermore, you wouldn't buy a car without 'full service history' and car sellers routinely provide bills, receipts and guarantees.
Apply this sound practice to a transaction with more zeroes on the end and it makes very good sense indeed.
Drew01 (Chelmsford), on 04/01/2008 at 18:26
Well actually the majority of us are qualified. I have gained a level 4 diploma and taken a year out of my life to train. I am a professional person with all the insurance and support that you would expect, Some people are not as qualified, as they have only bothered to learn the EPC side. Where a lot of us have under taken the full Home Condition education. May I suggest the you contact a fully qualified Home inspector, and not a sub qualified Domestic energy assessor.
Such as: http://www.hiphiphooray.com/
http://www.hipassociation.co.uk/home.aspx
Dave J (Stockton-on-Tees), on 11/12/2007 at 19:33
There used to be a principle in this land commonly referred to as 'buyer beware'. This promted a certain sceptism whereby a buyer considered carefully what information was proferred and made him use that grey matter commonly found between the ears.
Unfortunately, like the man who trips in the the street because he can't be bothered to look where he's going and blames everyone but himself, there must be blame attached to poor decision making.
The invention of HIPs is a logical consequence of an attitude that says 'I can make whatever decisions I want but I expect someone else must do all the work and carry the can if I get it wrong'.
However, in the case of HIPs, the buck stops with the seller. I don't see the water companies or energy assessors being culpable for bad surveys.
And as for estate agents not accepting HIPs prepared at home, I would ask, what has it got to do with them?
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