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New changes to the property market now dictates that anyone selling a property must, by law, have a Home Information Pack (HIP). Starting with four bedroom properties, and rolled out to three bedroom properties on the 10th September 2007 and all other properties from December 14th 2007, the benefit is to speed up the selling process and cut the chances of any sales falling through. This is because the pack provides the buyer with all the important information they need about a property, such as legal details, searches and likely energy costs.

The buyer should then be able to make a quicker decision and will not face any unwelcome surprises that could potentially cause a deal to fall through. For property sellers, the acquisition of a pack should reduce any delays in the sale, as buyers will be able to make informed decisions on purchasing the property.

What documents are needed within a Home Information Pack?

Index
Energy Performance Certificate
Sale Statement
Evidence of Title
Local Authority Search
Drainage and Water Search
Leasehold information (where applicable)

What does a HIP mean for sellers?

This means that by law, from December 14th, sellers must now obtain a Home Information Pack for their property. That may not sound like an advantage to sellers - but it's expected to speed up the selling process and sometimes even cut the chances of the sale falling through. That's because the pack provides buyers with all the information they need up front, including legal details, searches and so on. There are several payment options available to you which will be explained to you by your account manager.

What does a HIP mean for buyers?

HIPs are now applicable for all properties. When you are looking at a house to purchase then you must be presented by the estate agent with a HIP for the property. By law this will be available to you within 14 days of your request and will be funded by the sellers of the property. This ensures that the seller is serious and not just 'testing the market'.

Some important HIP features for buyers: energy efficiency is key. The packs include the property's energy efficient rating and environmental impact rating graphs, allowing the buyer the chance to see the damage the property will do on both their bank balance and the environment. Local searches are carried out as part of the pack. This means no more delays while they are carried out. Your Solicitor can use these as long as they are valid, up to three months from ordering the HIP. If they are out of date, though, is it up to the buyer to order and pay for the new searches.

The Conveyancing aspects remain unchanged. You still need a Conveyancer or Solicitor to act on your behalf but if instructed at the same time of ordering the pack's upfront legal information results in the whole process progressing much faster and with greater efficiency.

What is an EPC?

The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) provides information on the official energy efficiency, heating costs and carbon emissions of a property. These ratings are recorded in a graph from A to G, with A being the most efficient and G representing a very inefficient property. It also contains recommended ways to improve the building's energy performance. The EPC is a required component of the HIP packs required by law for your property.

All EPCs are produced by licensed Domestic Energy Assessors (DEAs) or Home Inspectors and in order to join an accreditation scheme a candidate must first gain an approved qualification.

The EPC certificate looks similar to the certificates you find on your domestic appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines. The certificate displays two graphs. The energy-efficiency rating is a measure of the home's overall efficiency. The higher the rating, the more energy-efficient the home is, and the lower the fuel bills are likely to be. The other graph is an environmental impact rating and is a measure of the home's impact on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. The higher this rating is, the less impact it has on the environment. The ratings also list the potential rating of the building if all cost-effective measures were installed. At the foot of the table the fuel costs required to run the property are displayed.



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