8th October, 2009 - Mori survey reveals what consumers think of HIPs

The Ipsos MORI survey, commissioned by the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP), reveals the following:

Six out of seven of those surveyed (85%) say that the need to obtain a HIP did not influence their decision about whether or not to sell their home.

60% said the information provided by the seller in the Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) is useful to buyers, with nearly three quarters (73%) saying it took less than 20 minutes to complete and 75% finding it easy to complete

A majority (57%) agree that home buyers should be provided with more upfront information about the condition of the property that they are buying.

Only a minority (30%) disagreed that providing home buyers with more information about a property before making an offer would improve the buying and selling process.

Around four out of five (82%) agree that the process of buying and selling properties takes too long.

13th March, 2009 - Property Information Questionnaire

The latest addition to the Home Information Pack, the Property Information Questionnaire comes into force on 6th April 2006 along with the end of the first day marketing dispensation.

From 6th April it will be a requirement to have the HIP available prior to marketing commencing, at this point the HIP must contain at least the Index, Sale Statement, Title Information (If the property is registered), the Energy Performance Certificate, and the Property Information Questionnaire.

We will be providing facilities for clients to complete the PIQ online to make sure that the process is as swift as possible so that marketing is not delayed.

Here is a link to a sample PIQ to give you a flavour of the ype of questions asked http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/propertyinformationquestionnaire

10th October, 2008 - Discount HIPs

MyLocal HIP are pleased to announce that now EPCs are valid for three years they can provide a discounted Home Information Pack if there is a valid EPC which they can use for the HIP - please contact us for details.

10th October, 2008 - EPCs Required For All Properties On The Market

Since the 1st of October all properties on the market regardless of whether they need a Home Information Pack or not ( Apart from a few exceptions ) now require an Energy Performance Certificate to be provided to the prospective buyer. This is the responsibility of the seller and not the Estate Agent.

The good news is that the EPCs are now valid for 3 years and not 12 months as before this means that the EPC from when you buy a house may still be valid to go into the new HIP when you come to sell.

MyLocal HIP are able to offer a discount on any new HIPs they produce if there is already a valid EPC in place, please contact us for details.

12th May, 2008 - First Day Marketing Remains

The Government has announced that the existing exemption from having to obtain a HIP prior to putting your home on the market, which was due to expire at the end of May 2008 is to remain in place until the end of december 2008.

This means that you can still market your property as soon as you have confirmation that a HIP has been ordered and a payment method put in place. There is still no requirement to have the EPC and Land Registry documentation in place prior to marketing.

On a different note, April was our busiest month in terms of visits to the web site since Home Information Packs were introduced last August, thank you to everyone who has been and had a look, and especially to those who have used the site to place a HIP order.

4th March, 2008 - Housing Market Latest

Despite what you might read and what anybody may tell you we are finding that the demand for Home Information Packs is increasing significantly since the beginning of 2008. Some of the increase is due to the requirement for all properties coming on to the market to have a HIP regardless of how many bedrooms they may have, however, we are seeing more three and four bedroom properties becoming available.

We are all hoping that the renewed supply of properties will tempt buyers out to look at the new stock and get the market moving through the spring.

11th January, 2008 - The Year So Far

Now that we have been providing Home Information Packs for all properties for about a month and as we enter a new year it seems a good time for an update.

Despite all the gloom and doom in the newspapers over the Christmas period and even on the television in the last week our experience of the new year has been very up beat. The estate agent clients with whom we work are reporting good levels of activity and certainly plenty of properties are coming onto the market.

We are now dealing with more HIPs than before and have had experience of both unregistered and leasehold properties, turnaround is good with the delays relating to delivery of the Local Authority Searches.

22nd November, 2007 - HIPs for all properties

The Government have announced today, 22nd November, that Home Information Packs will be required for all properties coming onto the market from 14th December 2007. MyLocalHIP are pleased that the uncertainty has been lifted and believe that this will bring considerable benefits for first time buyers who will now get free access to information about their new home which they would previously have had to pay for.

8th November, 2007 - Two Bedroom Roll Out

Whilst it is quiet in the housing market there has been not formal news from the Government about the rollout of HIPs to all types of property. However, there are rumours that confirmation of the roll out to cover one and two bedroom properties may be given before Christmas. We await further news with interest.

10th October, 2007 - HIPs Beat The Postal Strike

Using MylocalHip to provide your HIP means that you will not suffer any delays due to the postal strikes.

You can select which components you want to put into your HIP and order it  directly online using our secure payment website.

The Information to go into the pack is all collected electronically (unless the property is not registered or is a leasehold) and the pack is distributed by courier if you have printed copies, or electronically.

We are even able to put authorised documents which are faxed, or scanned and e-mailed to us, into the Home Information Pack.