HIP Buyers
What do I need to do to obtain a HIP for my new home?
If you're a buyer, what we would suggest you do is - even before you view a house, if you're serious about the property - ask to see the home information pack. The estate agent can decide to give it to you before or after, depending on how serious they think you are. But we would certainly suggest that you make sure you've had a good look at the HIP before you make any offer on the property.
Are HIPs good tools to barter with?
I suppose that one of the points of the Home Information Pack is to strike a price between buyer and seller which is going to stick. If you know what you need to know about the house right at the beginning, you are less likely to be coming back trying to change the price later on. Use the HIP between buyer and seller to get a realistic price that is going to stick throughout the course of the property transaction.
Who else needs a copy of the HIP?
Outside of the buyer and the seller and perhaps the estate agent, nobody needs a copy of the Home Information Pack at all.
What is the cost to the buyer?
Buyers pay nothing for HIPs, unless, of course, the seller asks for the price of the copy of a HIP. The regulations allow for raising a charge for paper copies of packs, but you're talking about a few quid. I would suggest that most sellers would not go to those lengths. Buyers can expect to get the Home Information Packs absolutely free.
Who do I get a pack from?
Generally, you'll get your Home Information Pack, if you're a buyer, from the estate agent who is looking to sell a house. If you're buying directly from the seller and there's no agent involved, ask the seller for a copy of the pack right at the beginning of the transaction.
Will I have to pay for a pack?
You as a buyer will not have to pay for a Home Information Pack.
What questions should I ask when looking through the pack?
I think when you're looking through a Home Information Pack, you want to make sure that the title of the property is good. I think what you'll find with packs is many will come with a legal summaries. If this is the case, read the legal summary. If you have any questions about the information in the HIP then ask questions. But really what you're trying to establish is, does the person who's selling this property own it? Are the boundaries where I think they are? Are there any planning approvals which are going to affect to property? If it's an EPC, what's the carbon footprint like? How much is it going to cost me to run this house and what can I do to affect that? If there's a home condition report, what condition is the house in? Indeed, if there's other information, like environmental information, take a look at that too. All of that is going to help you in the buying decision.
What is in a pack?
Within the Home Information Pack, there is an index, an energy performance certificate, a search of the Land Registry and Local authority searches and, if it's leasehold property, the leasehold documents. What can you also have in a pack? A home condition report, environmental searches, sellers forms (the forms that you'd fill in normally for your lawyer) and any document that you think may be useful and of interest to the buyer.
Can HIPs prevent Gazumping?
In a word: Yes. HIPS can prevent gazumping. Gazumping happens more, the longer it takes for transactions and for you to exchange your contracts. HIPs reduce the time to exchange your contracts, so reduce the chances of Gazumping.
What will a pack tell me?
I think a simile is useful here. If you're buying a car, you know quite a few things about it. If it's got an MOT, it tells you if it's new, how many miles it does to the gallon, what the guarantee on the car is, what the size of the engine is, how big the fuel tank is, how fast it goes, etc. Does it have good safety equipment in it? Are the brakes power-assisted? You know all of this stuff before you buy a car, before you'd even think about putting a price in on a car. Why on earth would you not have that information on the largest single asset you typically will buy in your lifetime. And in effect, what the Home Information Pack gives you is all the information about the house.
Should I ask for a pack on a new build property that has never been lived in?
You should ask for a HIP on a new-build property. What you need to know is that the boundaries are where you think they are, and that the warranty from the NHBC, or other warranty provider, is there and covers everything you think it should provide. You get an Energy Performance Certificate so you know how much it costs to run the house. A lot of the information you are getting on a new build is exactly the same as you would get on an old house. I think it becomes even more germane when new-build houses are sold on for the first time. Because, particularly if you had a home condition report, you would know all the things you can claim on the warranty for in the first ten years.
Once I receive the HIP, what should I do?
Once you receive a HIP, what I'd do is look at it, try to understand the contents, and if you have any questions, ask those questions. This is all about you having the information in your hands that helps you make a very big buying decision. Use it, read it and ask any questions that arise.
Is a HIP different to a survey or home buyers report?
A HIP is very different to a surveyor's or home buyers' report and indeed a lender's valuation, and I think there's a lot of confusion around this. Typically, at the present time, 80% of people rely on the lender's valuation when they're buying a house. That tells you absolutely nothing about the condition of the property. Only 18% or so bother to go and get a home buyers' report from a surveyor. And only about 2% get a structural survey. It is why we're so strong on suggesting that home condition reports should be a mandatory part of a HIP. The idea that we buy houses blindly without knowing the condition of the house is crazy.
What should I do if I have a query about the information in the pack?
If you have a query about the information in the pack, remember that every pack that is produced in terms of what we call a HIP code of practice - and for all buyers we would suggest that you make sure that the HIP you are looking at is covered by the code of practice. There's a little code HIP logo that you can see on the pack if it complies. Providing the HIP is being provided by somebody who is co-compliant, inside you'll find a telephone number or an email address, or probably both, which you can then address any questions you have.
What are my rights as a buyer?
Your rights as a buyer include the right to rely on the information that's in the HIP. For buyers again, what we would suggest you do is look to see that the pack carries the HIP Code logo. It's a code of practice for pack providers - voluntary, but by which they are underwriting the quality of the information you have in the pack. Look for that: it means that pack, apart from anything else, carries professional indemnity insurance by the pack provider. It also means that there are question facilities, so if you have any queries there will be a number for you to ask those. This HIP also has a consumer address, which means if something goes wrong, and you have a complaint which doesn't get resolved through standard complaint procedures with that provider, you can access a free and independent redress service.
What if I am unhappy about information on the Energy Performance Certificate?
What if you are unhappy about the information in the HIP? Does that mean because you don't think its right? If you don't think it's right then I suppose you could always go and ask a domestic energy assessor independently to take a look at the property and do another assessment. If you don't like what it's telling you because it means that the property is inefficient or has a big carbon footprint, look at the recommendations to see what you can do to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint, because those would be within the EPC as well.
Can I make recommendations based on the information in the pack?
I think one of the great things about HIPs is that the information that you have, you can use it as a bargaining tool with sellers. For instance, you may say, "If you fix that dry rot and produce a certificate to show that's been done, I'll keep my offer at the same level or I'll improve the offer" and so forth. Or, "Because I found out about that rising damp, I'm reducing this by two or three thousand pounds." The information allows you to come to an agreed position with the seller much, much earlier in the transaction than you otherwise would do, if this information became known later on.
Do I get to keep the pack?
As a buyer, if you've got a copy of the Home Information Pack, I don't see why you wouldn't keep it, but you can't use it when you go to sell the house; you've got to get a new pack before putting the house on the market. As a record of the information upon which you bought the house, perhaps it's wise to keep the HIP.
Can I use the pack when I sell the property on?
You can't really use the Home Information Pack when you sell the property on - you have to get a new pack because you're a new seller and it's a new event of marketing, so whenever you do go to sell the house, you'll have to procure a new pack. It is possible, though it's not clear yet, that the regulations may change over time and, for example, may allow you to use the EPC for a period of up to three years or something like that. Having said that, I think it's probably well worthwhile getting a whole new set of documents for a HIP, because the buyer is going to be so much better informed before they make an offer.
Are HIPs regulated by anyone?
Home Information Packs are not regulated as such by government, for example. The government does regulate part of the pack, which is the Home Condition Report or the Energy Performance Certificate, and they can do them and address arrangements and so forth. But the HIP industry has got together and put in place a voluntary set of regulations, a voluntary code of practice: the HIP Code. We would heartily endorse this code to consumers. The reason is that it protects you and not only you; it protects estate agents and anybody else who relies on the information in the pack, such as the conveyancers and the lenders. What it means is if something happens down the line in the HIP and you've been damaged by that, you can go back to the pack provider, claim those damages and the professional indemnity insurance will kick in. For consumer protection to know that you have a quality product right up front, only use packs that have got the HIP Code logo on them.
