UK Landlord Forum / Life

Home information packs (hips), from today, are now required when putting a house on the market. It's the sellers responsbility to buy the reports. The packs are going to cost £400 in average.

What are HIPS?
It's a rating system that will measure energy efficiency, and general condition of a home. The process is meant to improve the buying and selling process. New home owners can cut back on energy bills by purchasing energy efficient homes (apparently).

I'm still not sure how useful they'll be, and if anyone will actually pullout of buying a house because of the data on the reports.

Anyhow, they're here now. For more details on the packs, go here:

http://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/2007/03/27/home-information-pack-quick-guide/

wooooooooooooo !! 

Damn I forgot to buy some party blowers.....

HIP reports are interesting to read but wouldnt change your opinion on a small house .... They are  only important if your buying a big house .


Imberseals. 

You'll need to add that to your expenses when you sell now

haha why the smile ... you should be sad for me .

I told you to sell ages ago!

According to a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors survey, only 1% of potential buyers are asking to see HIPs:

QuoteJames Scott-Lee, a spokesman for RICS, said: "The survey results clearly show the complete apathy potential buyers have for Hips. They are seen as an unnecessary added tax on the selling process that you can't even give away."

The argument for including "green" info on house surveys is a good one, but its been used as a dodgy justification to get Gordon's mates some extra work. He should've just made "green" info mandatory on all house surveys.

No buyer in their right mind is going to trust a survey put together by a vendor. I sure as hell wouldn't. So all its achieved is doubling the work available for skilled surveyors.

Who happen to be the same people who were excempt from IR35, funnily enough.


V

Anyone watch the news tonight?

It takes 12 weeks to get a pack. But during that time, you can market the house, get a buyer and exchange contracts. The packs aren't even needed!

Haha, sweet.