Home Information Packs (HIPS)
The Government has introduced a new scheme aimed at improving the process involved in buying and selling your home. From the 14th December 2007 the Government made it compulsory for properties marketed for sale to produce a Home Information Pack (this does not apply to properties marketed before 14th December 2007).
Q. What is in a HIP?
A. The HIP must contain:-
- Index
- Energy Performance Certificate
- Sale Statement
- Evidence of title. If it is leasehold, a copy of the lease
- Searches - Local and water/drainage
Q. Are HIPs required for all residential properties?
A. Essentially yes. The rules will apply to all residential property situated in England or Wales irrespective of whether the seller is a trustee, is deceased and executors are selling, whether the property is repossessed, or is a new build. There are a few key exceptions which include:
- Holiday homes
- Mixed commercial and residential use properties
- Properties marketed subject to existing tenancies
- Unsafe properties scheduled for demolition
- Property marketed for conversion to commercial use
- Property sold as part of a portfolio of properties
- Property sold with 5 or more hectares of land used for horticulture, grazing or woodland
Q. How much will the HIP cost and who has to pay for it?
A. The majority of the documentation required to be contained within a HIP is legal information and we therefore consider that we, as specialist property lawyers, will be best placed to produce your HIP in conjunction with your appointed Estate Agents. It is, however, the seller's responsibility to pay for the cost of the HIP. The average cost of a HIP for a typical urban property is expected to be approximately £300, but increasing for leasehold or unregistered properties and more complex properties. Some Estate Agents may consider advanced funding on the basis that they recover the cost when the sale eventually completes although this may tie you in to that particular Estate Agent and prevent you from changing Estate Agents. We can provide a HIP for you and ensure it is tailored to your needs. We currently charge £175 plus VAT for the preparation of the HIP which is in addition to the cost of the Required Documents. The average cost of a Dawson Hart HIP will be £400, but may vary depending on the local authority, whether or not the searches are expedited, the size of the property and whether the search is official or personal. If you are instructing us to handle the conveyancing on your sale then we will discount our fees by £100 to £75 plus VAT.
Dawson Hart is among the leading Sussex firms in the provision of residential conveyancing services. We will be able to provide you with a timely and cost effective Home Information pack. Our aim is to produce a HIP in readiness for dealing with your conveyancing when your property sells. It is hoped that once your property is sold, we can seamlessly continue with the conveyancing process and thereby avoid unnecessary duplication of time, effort and cost.
Q. How do I order a HIP?
A. Simply contact any member of the Residential Property team with your property details and we will progress the HIP from there. We will need a cheque from you payable to "Dawson Hart" to cover the cost of the HIP. We will order the HIP as soon as your instructions are confirmed. We can, at the same time, provide you with an estimate of the conveyancing charges for the sale and any associated transaction. We can also provide you with an overview of the conveyancing process.
It is our aim at Dawson Hart to provide a high quality client based service and we pride ourselves on being one of the leading Sussex firms in the provision of residential conveyancing services.
Please contact our Residential Property team on:
Tel: 01825 762281
email: ResProperty@dawson-hart.co.uk
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Glossary
The unconditional agreement to an offer. This creates the contract. Before acceptance, any offer can be withdrawn, but once accepted the contract is binding on both sides. Any conditions have the effect of a counter offer that must be accepted by the other party.
Failure by one party to a contract to uphold their part of the deal. A breach of contract will make the whole contract void and can lead to damages being awarded against the party which is in breach.
Where parties act together in a contract as partners they have joint and several liability. In addition to all the partners being responsible together, each partner is also liable individually for the entire contract - so a creditor could recover a whole debt from any one of them individually, leaving that person to recover their shares from the rest of the partners.
A person or business deemed liable is subject to a legal obligation. A person/business who commits a wrong or breaks a contract or trust is said to be liable or responsible for it.
Where one party to a contract makes a false statement of fact to the other which that other person relies on. Where there has been a misrepresentation then the party who received the false statement can get damages for their loss. The remedy of rescission (putting things back to how they were before the contract began) is sometimes available, but where it is not possible or too difficult the court can award damages instead.
Is often included in long-term contracts and contracts of employment to stop the parties working with competitors during the period of the agreement and for some time thereafter. However, unless carefully written the courts will see them as being a restraint of trade and not enforce them. In property matters it is a provision in a deed limiting the use of a property
Words used on documents exchanged by parties during contract negotiations. They denote that the document is not an offer or acceptance and negotiations are ongoing. Often the expression without prejudice is used when subject to contract is meant.
An agreement to do or to refrain from doing something usually found in a lease or registered against land at the Land Registry
An arrangement to release cash from the value of your home by way of lump sum, income or both.
Two or more persons own land together each of whose interest passes on death automatically to the other not under their wills.
Two or more persons who own land in shares which pass under the terms of their wills or intestacy.