Comments on: Benefits of Home Information Packs (HIP)

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:24:38 +0000

You are correct Sharon, HIPs were supposed to remove speculative sellers and I’m sure they’ve made sellers think twice before actually putting their home on the market. Some Estate Agents are against this of course and a lot of negativity has been written about it (see SPLINTA in the article), even Phil … from “Location Location Location” has raised concerns about it. I’ve never fully understood that argument,and maybe someone can enlighten me, but I would have thought putting time wasters off selling was a positive.

Personally I think most Estate Agents are complying with the HIP because it’s a valued piece of revenue and nothing more.

It’ll be interesting next year, with an election in June, and a party saying that they’ll ban HIPs as part of their manifesto, to see how that affects the market. I can see a few sellers holding back until after the election to save £300.00 on a HIP.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:28:03 +0000

Forgive me if I am wrong as this is not my area of expertise but wasn’t one of the ideas behind HIPs the removal of speculative sellers from the market? And if estate agents are not complying with the legal requirement to provide a HIP then are they directly contributing to skewing the true state of that market?

By: TIm

TIm — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:54:28 +0000

Wow. they wrote would of once instead of would have, big deal. How about entering into sensible discussions, possible? probably not

By: Disgusted

Disgusted — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:46:40 +0000

I am completely disgusted that you display that sort of attitude. In fact i am quite shocked the site has actually allowed your quite frankly disgraceful comments to be published, shame on you.

Have you nothing constructive to add?

How serious can you be in selling if a £300 HIP puts you off?

Tyre kickers, are they helpful to the property market.

By: Steve York

Steve York — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:23:41 +0000

Biggest con ever inflicted on the home seller ever invented. Money for absolutely nothing except to line the pockets of a few riding on the back of this scam.

It certainly put me off selling.

The sooner it is scrapped the better. Roll-on the election.

And I agree with Mark Walker. The author of the original post would appear to be of rather poor educational standards. To think I would be forced to pay such people upwards of £300 just to put my house, MY HOME, on the market.

Completely unbelievable and totally unjustifiable absolute rip-off.

By: Mark Walker

Mark Walker — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:10:14 +0000

It is “would HAVE”.

By: Conservative Home Information Pack policy to stall property market?

Conservative Home Information Pack policy to stall property market? — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:36:37 +0000

[...] have promoted ; that Home Information Packs cost sellers more to move (which we disagree with, see Benefits of Home Information Packs for a different view point), how many people will put off placing their property on the market [...]

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:46:03 +0000

I have been reading your blog with interest as I am returning to the UK from Texas next year. I am considering home inspection in the UK but from what I have read on the web it’s a bit of a lame duck if not completely dead. Am I correct?

We have had Home Inspection in Texas for 30 years and today it is heavily regulated by the state. However, it is not mandatory to have a Home Inspection but 99% of homes bought by families have one. The driving force is the Agents (we call them Realtors) and the Mortgage companies; they insist on Home Inspections to protect themselves from

(1) litigation if you are a realtor
(2) the value of the property against which the loan is being offered if you are the mortgage provider.

Every buyer I inspect for are pleased to have an unbiased opinion of the property which is far more detailed than they would get from a Structural Engineer (surveyor) and lower in cost. I shall watch with interest what is develops in the UK.

By: Ben Harris

Ben Harris — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:04:24 +0000

Yep, I agree, it is illogical to say they are a main contributing factor. As I said, I think they may have had some negative impact but are certainly not a main contribution.

From what I see, many agents don’t offer the deals you are talking about, largely due to switching off from the HIPs market and so not listening to some of the deals available. Many of them don’t understand the process so don’t go to the trouble of explaining the benefits to their vendors either, which leads to more negativity.

I also think that agents will be quick to bemoan the lost income if HIPs were to be pulled.

If the housing market hadn’t had the downturn we are experiencing then it is highly likely HIPs would just be seen as a part of the process by now and we’d all be getting on without the debate

The sooner they start lending again the better!

By: HIP-Consultant.co.uk

HIP-Consultant.co.uk — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:57:40 +0000

Hi Ben

I note your comments and your experiences are of interest even if as you state anecdotal.

I do question whether the market needs speculative sellers who are testing the market.If a £300ish HIP (and we also offer a 9mth deferred payment option) puts them off entering the market how serious are they? Does the property market need speculators at present or stability?

On a basic economics point of view; I would imagine if supply is low as most would agree at present that wil help increase prices or decrease the level of downturn and help with stability in the market which everyone wants.

As stability returns this will help increase the supply of properties on the market. When the supply increases we need the exchange to take place quickly, efficiently and smoothly. The HIP is helping to secure this will happen in our opinion.

I find it hard to comprehend comments from some that HIPs are a main contributing factor of the property down turn. Blaming a product which is required and useful to the property market is illogical. Is it not more realistic to look a the financial climate at present and the fact mortgages are much harder to come by?

As lending resumes to adequate levels we will surely see improved movement and more instructions coming onto the property market.