HIPS In Bristol

Description:

Click here for HIPS Providers. Click here for Domestic Energy Assessors.

If you are thinking of selling your property you might not be aware it is now the law that you must have a Home Information Pack in place or HIP prior to marketing. They were introduced in late 2007 to improve the process of buying and selling a property.

Home Information Packs contain both compulsory and optional legal documents and they are compiled to provide potential buyers with key information about the property they want to purchase. By having this available at the beginning of the process they help to avoid costly delays and surprises traditionally encountered towards the end of the conveyance process.

HIPs are designed help both parties within the sale. They assist the buyers to quickly see if the property is suitable and how energy efficient it will be. They also help the vendor if the buyer pulls out for any reason. When a new one enters the chain of transactions they can quickly catch up with the process.

A study by Connells recently established that HIPs did actually increase the speed of property transactions. The study tracked transactions between August 2007 and March 2008 and showed that transaction times were on average twelve days quicker when compared to properties without a HIP.

When selling a home people often give a great deal consideration to which estate agent to use as they are key to the whole process of marketing and selling the property. Choosing the right HIP provider is also a key part of that process as the document will be relied on by everyone involved in the transaction. Making the right decision about what HIP provider to choose can be a little more difficult. Many vendors go with the advice of their agent or look to a trusted solicitor. Others are increasingly looking for their own using the internet to find a supplier.

Whatever your choice it is important to consider the impact of your decision. You might be able to find what seems like a bargain on the internet but within this new industry the quality and accuracy of the HIP can vary greatly.

If you go with the HIP provider recommended by your estate agent they will be a trusted supplier and the agent will be confident of the robustness of the HIP. Using a solicitor will provide a solid HIP but the process can sometimes be a little slow and relatively expensive.

Sourcing you own HIP from the internet can be problematic as it can be difficult to be sure of the quality of the pack you will receive. It can be almost impossible to determine the quality and robustness of a product by just by looking at a website, so more often than not the vendor is swayed by price. This can be a risky strategy as with many of the cheapest HIPs corners are cut and less care taken in their compilation. What seems like a bargain at the outset can introduce delay and additional costs further down the sale process as missing or inaccurate documents are corrected and replaced.

Cheap HIPs from the internet can also be problematic for the following reason. One of the legal documents included within a HIP is an energy performance certificate or EPC. This is one of the first documents in a HIP and is delivered following a survey conducted by a domestic energy assessor or DEA. They visit the property and look at how it is insulated and heated to produce the report.

This element of the pack is the only face to face contact the vendor will have during the whole process of the HIP, so it is important that they are able to take the time to assess the property properly and answer any questions you may have. The relationship the energy assessor has with the HIP provider is crucial to the care and attention they will take whilst in your home. The cheaper the HIP, the more they need to fit in each day, so less time is taken and mistakes can be made or questions may go unanswered.

Finally, perhaps the most important issue to consider when buying over the internet is where the company is located. If they are based on the other side of the country it is unlikely they will have actually met the energy assessor they are sending into your house. They will have no idea how experienced they are or how accurate their survey results will be.

A local HIP provider will have developed a close relationship with the assessor and will know exactly who is coming to visit your property to conduct the survey. Above all they will have a reputation to maintain locally. Service levels will be very important to them throughout the whole process. When they enter your house they will take care to ensure the job is done properly, so that you will recommend them to others in the future.

Peter Kay is Managing Director of Horizon, a local supplier of HIPs and EPCs, as well as being EPC supplier to Bristol city council. He is an Executive Member of Pro DEA, a professional body for energy assessors working to improve standards within the energy assessment industry.

Click here for HIPS Providers. Click here for Domestic Energy Assessors.

The views expressed are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Guide2Bristol.