Home Information Packs: the key events

Hang on- people are talking about searches and surveys, but the HIP price does NOT include these things! You still have to pay separately for the LA searches with your solicitor and for a survey AND a mortgage valuation IN ADDITION to the £300+ for the HIP. All they actually are is a glorifed energy rating, which is mainly irrelevant really. I am actively looking to buy a house and have spoken to several estate agents in my area, all of whom stated HIPS were a waste of time, paper and money and are actually slowing down sales, because sometimes the HIP is not available when a property has a quick sale. So the sale has to wait for the HIP. I have just paid £320 for a HIP on my 2-bed modern flat, and the assessor stated that for a building "of thia age" it would be a lower rating. Hang on- it was built in 2005- what age??? He was convinced the building as a renovated version of the old previous building, but it isn't. They knocked that down and built a new modern building. He had no knowledge of this area, and I had to tell him most of the information. So what did I pay him for? To make mistakes, clearly. HIPS are a waste of time, effort and are simply another tax to recoup the revenue lost when stamp duty thresholds changed, in my opinion.

Hips
Load of rubbish. Its pretty obvious its all about creating false work which in turn creates more tax and national insurance for this government to spend on anybody or anything other than the working man in this country. Why don't they just take the lot and may be give me an allowance each week. You cant even sit in your house without the government getting a wedge out of you. Utility companies make billions in profit how much goes to the tax man. Council tax another money grabbing scam. Hips another. Wake up and ask yourself what are they doing with all this tax? Chavs are better dressed though.

The survey doesn't comment on the whether the house is in good condition actually, it does include details on the amount of loft insulation as this affects the amount of heat loss - money you are spending to heat your home could be saved if you knew the correct level of insulation - not everyone does. I also own a 200 + year old cottage, post 2002 double glazing shouldn't cause condensation, it doesn't on my walls as the windows are fitted with trickle vents to prevent this problem. Also the cottage is correctly ventilated, as is necessary for a building of its age. The use of energy saving bulbs is for guidance on how this can help save the householder money on their electricity bills and subsequently reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels. An informed person will view the EPC as a guide to how energy efficient their potential new home may be and use the information therein to improve this, if of course they wish to.

EPC's are here to stay for the forseeable future - lose the hysteria and take the information for what it is.

I am currently selling my house for which I had to have a HIP compiled at a cost of £350, the house I am buying also has a HIP, both my solicitor and my buyers solicitor have said these are irrelevant and both myself and my buyer have had to pay around £150 for all the searches to be done again, even though both HIP's are less than 6 months old (my sellers HIP is only a month old)

I am angry that I have had to pay twice for the same search (which surely is going to extend the buying/selling process if twice as many searches are now being done than before the introduction of HIPS) and therefore time to complete is not going to be reduced at all

In my solicitors words, 'HIPS are not worth the paper they are written on, they are just another expensive government paper exercise)'

Also, if the home I am buying is not energy efficient, does this mean I have to expect the buyer to make it so before I buy?, I don't think so, yes we need to be more energy efficient to stop gobal warming but as a country we seem to be the only ones concerned, more pollution comes from the US and China, what we produce is insignificant compared to these two

I'm going to stick my 3 bed mid terrace on the market in a few weeks time what the chain of events with the HIP ,do I really have to have one ,do they provied any information to the buyer ,do the save me anything as the seller,I'm finding this all the more confusing to what is allready a very f###up selling prosess of a house
I own it
It's not falling down
the electrics are safe
the plumings good
boiler working no leaks
the buyer wants to live here
can afford it
it is so basic it's bad enough solicetors charging nearly as much as a dentist the goverment want to make it easer not more confusing

I am a qualified Home Inspector who switched to take a DEA role when the Government pulled the Home Condition Report HCR from the HIP pack in July 2006. However....
Since the 1st May 2007, I have been employed as a DEA by a team of highly succesful solicitors, within their conveyancing team. We have completed in excess of 170 HIPs since 1st August 2007 and work with 47 out of the 56 local Estate Agents in our area.
We have had nothing but praise for the standards of our work from both the sellers and the agents alike...this is because so many people have the wrong impression of the EPC and the HIP pack caused by both the Government and the press!
In our experience, the HIPs packs have REDUCED the time taken to sell properties, have speeded up the searches and has helped us grow our conveyancing business. Who says that HIP is a waste of time and money? You have to have searches done so these are completed at the start of the selling process rather than at the end and the EPC is a European Directive, not the Governments, so by not complying with this we would incur fines which no doubt would increase our tax...so lets just get on with it!
Most of the homeowners I have done EPC for have been really surprised and interested in the final report which is what this is all about...raising awareness of the environmental issues.
So, you anti-HIPs moaners out there, get of your high horse, smell the coffee and wake up to reality! We need to work together to reduce global warming!

Hrmphh,
If all you can find fault with is one or two words spelt wrongly then the statement from DEA Merseyside can't be wrong. What type of spelling is Hrmphh anyway its not even a word. It would appear that you have dual standards.

I fully agree. I would not buy any property on the basis of a HIP assessment. The only thing I would accept is a full survey of which energy efficiency is a small part. Also I would not trust the other parts that are provided by the seller, I would want them checking - "buyer beware".

So the unfortunate sellar is left with paying for a package that most buyers and it seems mortgage lenders do not accept.

I am a property lawyer. When HIP was first proposed it was to include a full survey and it sounded great. It would speed up the mortgage application and thus the transaction. Then the Mortgage Lenders said they would not accept the survey report for lending assessment so it was dropped from the HIP. In every transaction I have handled since the introduction HIP's the HIP or delay in it arriving has slowed down the speed of the transactions And as for the Energy Report most clients who are buying say 'So what!'
The sooner the government has the bottle to see it got it wrong the better and scraps this expensive nonsence the better. When the Mortgage Lenders said no the government should have shelved the whole idea.

I am just about to sell a flat (I will just miss the deadline for 1-2 bdrms of 14 Dec) and would like to know more about self-certification. I agree with the general sentiment that it is a misguided government initiative. The concept is great - checking home energy efficiency, however the reality is, from what I hear, not. I hope it evolves into something worthwhile. Any tips on self-certification most welcome.
PS I'm sure like with any job there's a cross-section of people who are DEAs, some nuclear physicists, some not. Aim your frustration at a useful target, i.e. your local MP. Bending the ear of the DEA - regardless of literacy or competency - will achieve nothing.