HOME INFORMATION PACKS
A Home Information Pack, otherwise known as a HIP is a legal pack containing essential information about the property you are selling. Anyone marketing a property after 14th December 2007 (whether privately or through an estate agent) is legally obliged to provide a HIP, otherwise there is a penalty enforceable by the local authority Trading Standards Office civil sanction regime.
There are many organisations, including estate agents, who advertise that they can prepare a HIP on your behalf, but given that the pack is a legal one, it will need to be checked by a lawyer to ensure that the contents of it is correct, before it can be used for marketing.
In some situations, for example, where the property is unregistered, only a conveyancing lawyer would have the expertise of preparing a document, known as an Epitome of Title. We recommend that you streamline the procedure, and let us arrange your HIP, check and/or prepare all the legal components, and undertake your conveyancing once you secure a buyer. The HIP will belong to you, and this means that it can be used even if you change estate agents.
Please note some recent/imminent changes:
For those properties on the market prior to HIP requirement, you should be aware of two important dates:
From 1st October 2008 an Energy Performance Certificate is required for the sale of all homes . We can arrange this for you at a very reasonable price.
After the 31st December 2008 all properties will require a HIP.
The market price of a HIP can differ considerably, and can depend upon the tenure and size of the property. We are extremely competitive, and prices start from as little as £275 including vat.
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