Would somebody please explain Home Information Packs to me?

[TodayToday]

We need to move this summer due to DH starting a new job. We need to get our house on the market soon. I understand we cannot market our house until we have compiled the Home Information Pack. Where do we start? I looked at a HIP website that was completely useless. Please guide me in the right direction.

Thank you

We have just put our house on the market and the estate agent organised our HIP for us. Our solicitor also offered us the service. We just picked the cheaper one!

You can market it as long as you have applied for the necessary paperwork for your HIP - there is such a backlog of applications in some areas that they don't arrive until offers are made. Don't get going too soon as they are only valid for a certain time.

Easiest thing is to choose one via estate agent/solicitor: then change your bulbs to energy saving, make sure your hot water tank is lagged, that you have lots of insulation in your loft etc for energy inspection. If you have a leasehold property, dig out lease and all relevant paperwork. It's painless - if you get an all-inclusive deal with your estate agent - but pointless.

LordCopper - do you know how long they are valid for? My mum's about to put her house on the market and is wary as the market in her area is a bit slow at the moment so she's reluctant to 'put it on and see what happens' in case she has to get another HIP in 6 months.

It's such a flippin rip-off.

A HIP is actually really simple (and pointless due to the downgrading in requirements that happened) and doesn't contain much of use! Buyers can ask to see them if they are available, and the energy ratings have to be put on the agents details and website. The requirement at the mo is for the HIP to be ordered (either by you, your solicitor, or your estate agent) but doesn't have to be received - so if it takes a while to arrive it doesn't matter.

It has an Energy Performance Certificate (take Lord Copper's advice - makes lots of difference to the energy rating you get without spending much), searches (exactly the same as when you buy a property) and leasehold info if relevant.

They are usually in the region of £300 plus VAT - find out what price your estate agent will arrange it for (some include it in their fees), and if it is much more than this, order it yourself or ask your solicitor. Bigger houses can cost a bit more.

They are valid forever, however it is likely that buyers will consider the searches to be outdated pretty quickly, and may want to get their own done rather than rely on yours - but this would be at their own cost. If you imagine all the things that could happen in between your searches being done, and a sale going through (planning applications submitted by your neighbour, for example), it makes sense for a buyer to do their own checks anyway.

Hope this helps!

I think the searches are only valid for about six months. But as Photoloco says, that is entirely arbitary as, if your next door neighbour applies to build a block of flats in his garden the day after your search is sent back, it wouldn't show up anyway. The EPC and so on are ongoing although, if you massively upgrade your home's energy efficiency, you would want to get it retested.

They're not worth the paper they are written on
They cost about 300 plus
No one looking at your house will pay the slightest bit of attention to it
No one will or will not buy your house because of it

Can you tell I'm a fan??

We've sold and bought a house over the weekend and the HIPs aren't even done yet. I'll give them a cursory glance when they arrive. What a waste of £600 and of the inspectors' time.