Hipps - Do I need one?

[DRAGON30]

My father died recently, and left his house to my brother and I. A family in the same road is very keen to buy it, and has offered £250,000, which we are v.happy with.
Do I need to get a Hipp made up? Most of the info I've looked at says it has to be done before the property is marketed, which does not apply here.
I'm not trying to be dodgy, by the way, I just don't want to do the wrong thing.

Hi, sorry to hear about your father. Re the inheritance house - a private buyer will save you a lot of estate agent fees, and as long as the sale did not result from "marketing" then you do not need a HIP. However, if you did "market" the house in any way, ie sale board, adverts etc, then a HIP would be needed, even if the eventual sale was not as a result of this. It does sound, however, as if a neighbour of your late father just heard of his death and decided to offer on the house? If this is the case, then no HIP is required.
Hope this helps in a difficult time.

Thanks very much, shytalk. The neighbour just put a (nice!)note through the door, had a look around, and made the offer. So no HIPS, which is great, and one less thing to deal with.

i recently sold my house to a neighbour (no marketing, estate agent etc) and my solicitor told me i HAD to get a hip done.
have i been misadvised!?

MID2, I've just found this -
www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/BuyingAndSellingYourHome/Homeinformationpacks/DG_171 802
This states you do NOT need a Hipp if there is no marketing involved! Our buyer approached us, and the house was not on the market (not even cleared out), so I am really confused about what to do now!
I think I will ask a couple of solicitors, cite the government guidelines, and see what they say. Looks like it could be a very 'grey' area indeed!