It cannot come as any surprise that the effect of HIPs so far, has been to initially create a small rush of people trying to get their properties on the market before HIPs came into effect in August (4 bed or more) and September (3 bed), only to be followed by a slow down in new properties coming onto the market as people are put off by the need and cost of having them!

Whether we like it or not, people do put properties on the market ‘on spec’ as low costs of doing so mean it is relatively easy and low cost. HIPs require effort and cost and so seem to discourage this and whilst some may argue that this creates a market with only ‘serious sellers’, it is difficult to know whether this is a good thing.

Despite the Government arguments about the value of full HIPs, as things stand at the moment, most people seem to be only doing the items that are compulsory and not paying for the additional ‘optional’ items. This is consistent with the fact that many buyers in the past have only chosen the minimal ‘homebuyers survey’ rather than getting detailed or full structural reports which are more expensive.

Add to this the fact that the argument of time and cost saving for the buyer is being undermined by lenders duplicating some of the work ‘for their own peace of mind’ and it seems that the initiative is an expensive ‘burden’ rather than value added initiative.

It can be all too easy to ‘rain on the parade’ so maybe time will prove the detractors wrong. However, the signs so far are not promising.

Compulsory items
• Home Information Pack Index
• Energy Performance Certificate
• Sale statement
• Standard searches
• Evidence of title
• Additional information for leasehold and commonhold sales, where appropriate.

Optional items
• Home Condition Report
• Legal summary
• Home use/contents forms
• Other documents