Home Information Packs have been suspended with effect from 21st May 2010. Homes marketed for sale on or after 21st May 2010 will no longer require a Home Information Pack. The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) has been retained. Sellers will still be required to order an Energy Performance Certificate although it does not need to have been received before marketing the Property.
Current Position:
Home Information Packs are therefore voluntary. At Ford Banks Irwin Solicitors we have taken the best cost effective elements of the Home Information Pack and provide these to sellers for free provided we are instructed to handle the sale.
All the benefits of the Home Information Packs without the cost was the aim of our all new HIP.
Please telephone 0161 866 8999 for a free no obligation quote.
Before 21st May 2010:
We were able to provide Home Information Packs for £300 inclusive of VAT. (approx. £255 + vat).
We supplied Home Information Packs at cost price if we were also instructed to handle the conveyancing. This means for most properties the Home Information Pack would havel cost around £260 inclusive of vat (approx. £225 + vat).
The Home Information Packs would have included:-
1.
Local authority search;
2.
Water & drainage search;
3.
Energy performance certificate;
4.
Land registry title deeds and documents;
5.
Property Information Questionnaire.
In our view
Home Information Packs should have been voluntary from the outset. They should have been
allowed to stand on their own merits and it should have been up to each
individual seller to decide if they want one. The government
thought otherwise and made them compulsory by law. You may
find the government website useful.
The website link is www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk (Please copy and paste in a new browser window).
Main
advantages of using
a Solicitor to prepare your Home
Information Pack:
1.
The pack belongs to the client and is not tied to a particular
estate agent. You would still be free to pick and choose your
estate agent.
2. Solicitors are able to
answer any questions you have and clarify
any
queries which arise from your
Home Information Pack.
3. Solicitors have been
collating title deeds and documents for many
years and have significantly more
experience in this
field. All the
additional relevant documents not
normally in the
Home
Information Pack such as the Contract
can be
prepared and
available to send to a prospective buyer.
Please telephone 0161 866 8999 for a friendly informal chat
or Contact
Us.
Review of Home Information Packs : One year on . . .
A year has passed since the implementation of Home Information Packs and very few people believe they are value for money although some think they have very limited benefits. Most Buyers do not understand the Home Information Packs when they decide to make an offer. The millions of pounds spent by the Government could have been better spend showing Sellers how to produce a DIY pack. Energy Performance Certificates could easily be created using computer software and multiple choice pro forma questions. It would also be easy for Buyers to verify the contents of the Home Information Pack.
The idea is for each Home Owner to have an A4 folder containing all the details that accumulate over the years, starting with the deeds showing them as the owners of the Property. This could be shown to prospective Buyers when the Property is sold. This is in effect a Service History Log of the Property and easily recognisable as a different version of a Service History book for a car.
It has been reported that Birmingham Trading Standards randomly selected some Home Information Packs and inspected the searches provided therein. Many of the searches in the Packs were found to be unsatisfactory and misleading. (Law Society Gazette, 30 October 2008)
In summary, Sellers do not like paying for Home Information Packs and Buyers have little regard to them when making an offer.
The Review process continues. If you would like to influence the debate please write to your Member of Parliament. Your MP can be found using the following link . . . House of Parliament. (Please copy and paste http://www.parliament.uk/directories/directories.cfm in a new browser window).
Please email your views on Home Information Packs to Ford Banks Irwin Solicitors to info@FordBanksIrwinSolicitors.co.uk. Thank you.
Additional Information:
Property Auction Solicitors (for information on bidding at a Property Auction or preparing a Seller's Auction Pack click here)
Solicitors Home Information Pack (Sample)
Solicitors Information in Home Information Pack Index
Solicitors Information in Home Information Pack Sale Statement
Solicitors Information in Home Information Pack Title Deeds
Solicitors Home Information Pack Sample Lease
Property Lawyers and Conveyancing Solicitors in Manchester- Evidence of Identity