Estate agents Countrywide and property portal Rightmove say they have seen a 35% increase in new properties for sale since the coalition governement announced HIPS were suspended, on 21 May.
Speculative Sellers Return, Hip Hip Hooray
June 15th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in HIP News, Home Information Packs, Property Market, UK Property News 2 Comments »
Lack of Consultation on HIPs Causes Backlash
May 26th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in HIP News, Home Information Packs 1 Comment »
Grant Shapps would have hoped that the contentious issue of Home Information Packs would have quietly slipped away into the background. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
Yesterday, both Hywel Williams MP and the Institute of Domestic Energy Assessors slammed the coalition governments handling of the HIP suspension.
How to kill an entrepreneur
May 24th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Information Packs, Local Authority Searches 6 Comments »
In 1999 a father and son were so frustrated with the delays from local councils in providing local searches to enable them to buy a house they went to the council and searched the records to produce their own search. Realising there was a business potential there the father and son contact a couple of solicitor friends and with their help started a personal search company.
Home Information Packs (HIPs) are suspended and pickled
May 20th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in EPC, Energy Assessors, Home Information Packs, Property Conveyancing 8 Comments »
Eric Pickles has finally granted Mr Shapps’s long held desire to suspend HIPs this morning, though it remains unclear on what basis. Grant Shapps who has increasing appeared to be on personal crusade to scrap HIPs has seemingly suceeded and issued a statement shortly afterwards.
Abolishing Home Information Packs (HIPs) – Facts & Fiction
May 19th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in HIP News, Home Information Packs, Property Market 29 Comments »
Despite recent rumours and ill informed articles to the contrary, it is still ‘business as usual’ in the HIP industry – for now at least. Since the new Government confirmed that they planned to scrap HIPs whilst retaining the Energy Performance Certificate (they have no choice in this – it’s required by European Directive), there has been constant talk about if and when the requirement for a Home Information Pack will be abolished.
Scrapping Home Information Packs – Ins & Outs
May 13th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in EPC, HIP News, Home Information Packs, Property Conveyancing 12 Comments »
The Conservative and Liberal Democrats have published their initial coalition agreement which will be followed in due course by a final coalition agreement.
The Lib-Con Coalition Agreement published makes reference to Energy Performance Certificates and Home Information Packs under section 11 on the environment.
Grant Shapps responds to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) policy
March 24th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in EPC, Home Information Packs, Property Market 7 Comments »
After a recent article ‘Grant Shapps to change Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) delivery?‘ where we discussed the changes Grant Shapps and the Conservatives have suggested that they may implement within the EPC regulations, we can publish the response we have received.
Interview with chairman of IPPA Colin Smithson-Connelly – Part 2
March 16th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Information Packs, Interview, Property Conveyancing 10 Comments »
Part 2 of 2 of our indepth interview with the chairman of the Independent Pack Providers Association (IPPA) Colin Smithson-Connelly discussing Home Information Packs.
If ‘they’ do remove HIPs, what affect will this have on your members and the wider domestic energy assessors in your opinion?
Interview with chairman of IPPA Colin Smithson-Connelly – Part 1
March 15th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Information Packs, Interview, Property Conveyancing 10 Comments »
Colin Smithson-Connelly, Chairman of the Independent Pack Providers Association (IPPA) joins us to discuss the finer points of Home Information Packs, their future and what more they could offer property conveyancing.
What areas of the property buying and selling process has the Home Information Pack positively changed and which areas could be improved and how?
NAEA reconciliation with HIPs as OFT report is questioned?
February 25th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Information Packs, Property Market, UK Property News 6 Comments »
The recent OFT report into estate agency has led Gary Smith, president of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) to write an open letter to the Office of Fair Trading regarding possible loosening of regulations to further facilitate the involvement of Tesco in the property market.
Estate Agents – Damned if you do and if you don’t
February 22nd, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Information Packs, Property Conveyancing, Property Market 5 Comments »
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has carried out a year long investigation into standards in the industry and reported largely positive findings, which has surprisingly been responded to with negative comments from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA)? Estate Agents have picked up an unenviable reputation over time which has stuck with them for sure but is it really still justified?
