HIP - Home Information Pack

HOUSE-SELLERS face being forced to pay for a second £800 home information pack if they take their property off the market, even for only a month, it emerged last night.

Government is taking action to transform home buying and selling in England and Wales and boost consumer rights and benefits, Ministers announced today.

On the day the Government unveiled the detailed contents of Home Information Packs, Housing Minister Yvette Cooper and Consumer Affairs Minister Ian McCartney set out a three-way strategy to overhaul home buying in England and Wales, involving Home Information Packs, local searches, e-conveyancing and stronger redress against estate agents and others when things go wrong.

Energy ratings similar to consumer-friendly fridge ratings will have to be produced for every home bought and sold in England and Wales from next June, the Government announced today. Housing Minister Yvette Cooper today launched the new Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) which will be an essential part of the Home Information Packs to be introduced next year.

Home information pack provider HIPsHomes has gone live with its online HIP software solution. The white label service is aimed at financial advisers, surveyors and inspectors wanting to capitalise on the introduction of the home information packs (HIPs) in June 2007.

Extra £1,000 bill for new home information packs Melanie Wright
SELLING your home is an expensive business when you add up what you pay estate agents and solicitors - before you even call in the removal men.

Results from a survey of over 1,800 home sales in England and Wales show that despite its high cost the Home Information Pack, due to made mandatory from June 2007, will fail to prevent deals falling through.

Leading anti-pack campaign group, SPLINTA (Seller Pack Law is Not the Answer) analysed 1,870 property transactions set up in February 2006. By the middle of May 1,272 (68%) had successfully proceeded to exchange of contracts. 352 (18.8%) sales had fallen through, leaving 266 (14.2%) properties withdrawn or still on the market.