Essential Information about HIP’s
The Home Information Pack has been around for a while now but many haven’t had any experience with them as moving house isn’t something we do very often, so it pays to know what to look out for. Here are some tips about HIPs…
A Home Information Pack should bring together the key information needed by both buyers and sellers at the start of the home buying and selling process, it should ensure that important information about the improvement of the energy efficiency of a home is made available every time a property changes hands.
As a buyer you should always:
• Ask to see the Pack on a property you are interested in, and check that it is complete and contains al the necessary details and information.
• Check that none of the compulsory documents such as the Energy Performance Certificate, Sale Statement, Evidence of Title, Standard Search Documents or the Home Information Pack Index are missing, and if they are, that there is a satisfactory explanation and an assurance that those missing items will be provided as soon as possible.
• Establish whether a Home Condition Report was commissioned as part of the Pack (A Home Condition Report contains information about the physical condition of a property, which sellers, buyers and lenders will be able to rely on legally as an accurate report. The Report is an important part of the Pack and can be included by sellers on a voluntary basis.
• Ensure a copy of the pack is given to your solicitor, it could well save you time and money.
New Homes:
• A HIP for a newly built home must have a certificate (or interim certificate) showing the rating that the home has received in line with the Code for Sustainable Homes or a nil-rated certificate showing that the home has only been designed to meet current Building Regulations.
• However, up until 1 January 2009 it is possible to market a property without all of the compulsory documents (we will advise you in what circumstances)
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