Home Information Packs or HIPs are a set of documents which relate to a property which is on the market for sale. These need to be created by the property owner, their solicitor, their estate agent or a dedicated HIP provider. As from 6 April 2009 there are compulsory documents which need to be in a Home Information Pack from the first day that they are put on the market.
Before Home Information Packs were first introduced it was standard practice for buyers not to be able to see any essential information which related to a property until they had put in a formal offer on it. In addition to this buyers would usually have to pay for this information, now thanks to the Home Information Packs potential buyers can see all these documents prior to making an offer, free of charge. So if you are interested in the property you should ask the estate agent or the seller for a copy of the Home Information Pack.
Each home information Pack contains compulsory (required) and authorised (optional) documents, the pack should only contain official information and should not have anything relating to advertising or marketing within it. Here are the compulsory documents that need to be included within a HIP:
• An index which shows all the documentation within the Home Information Pack.
• A PIQ – Property Information Questionnaire (this was made compulsory on 6 April 2009)
• An EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) which shows the energy efficiency rating of the property that is up for sale. Or a PEA (Predicted Energy Assessment) for newly built homes.
• New build homes also require availability information.
• Sale statement.
• Evidence of title.
• Standard searches which include any water and drainage searches and any local authority searches.
• The leasehold properties a copy of the lease.
• Where applicable commonhold document.
There are of course optional documents which can also be contained within a Home Information Pack and these include:
• A Home Condition Report.
• Warranties are guarantees on any work that has been carried out on the property which are still valid.
• Home use and home contents forms.
As you can see the introduction of Home Information Packs is an excellent idea for buyers of properties. Being able to see such detailed information on a property that you are interested in will help the buyer to make decision on whether or not put an offer in on a property. Too many times during the sales process a buyer will find out something negative about a property which will either cause them to withdraw their offer or which will slow down the sales transaction significantly.
Now thanks to Home Information Packs a potential buyer is able to see everything relating to the property, including its energy efficiency, so they are better informed when they make an offer on a property. So if you are a buyer who is interested in a particular property make sure you ask to see the Home Information Pack and find out everything you need to about the property you might put an offer in on.
