House Surveys-Home Information Packs

Until recently, to make sure that the property you were buying was in the best possible shape, you would have had a survey done to discover any possible structural faults in it, with the price of it depending upon the surveyor.

However, the government has recently implemented measures which could radically alter this process, by introducing Home Information Packs (HIPS).

If you are selling your property HIPs will make it compulsory for you to compile a portfolio of information about your home, including a home condition report and copies of any planning approvals. The packs, which are expected to cost between £650 and £1,000, become compulsory in June 2007, with the government having undertaken a test run of the packs throughout the country in 2006.

Attitudes towards the planned HIPs have been mixed. The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) believes that HIPs will “give the purchaser a lot of information that they would otherwise have had to wait for”, with many prospective buyers having wasted money by their transactions falling through. However it has also been speculated that HIPs might deter people you from putting your home up for sale, slowing down the market in the process.

HIPs potentially speed up the purchase of your home as well as lowering the chances of you being gazumped. If you are a first time buyer, the home condition report will provide more information on your prospective purchase.