HIPs

All properties need a compliant Home Information Pack (HIP) before they can be effectively marketed.

The property system is a complicated process, requiring significant investment from parties in legal fees and surveys, before transactions can complete. In the past research has shown that many transactions would fail when vital information came to light, often several weeks into the process.

By having certain information available from the start potential delays can be avoided and expenditure can be reduced enabling potential buyers to make a more informed decision.

Sellers are required to produce an energy performance certificate (EPC) for their property, as well as obtaining Searches and investigating the Title. EPC’s give home buyers and sellers A to G ratings for their home’s energy efficiency and carbon emissions. This will notify both parties the current average costs for the heating, hot water and lighting in the home and suggest methods on how to cut costs with energy efficiency measures.

A Home Information Pack must contain the following documents;

  • Index
  • Energy Performance Certificate
  • Sale Statement
  • Evidence of Title
  • Local Authority Search
  • Drainage and Water Search
  • Leasehold Information (where applicable)

A HIP is required for all properties sold in England and Wales. By law, a HIP must be ‘commissioned’ before marketing is commenced. There are a few exceptions where a HIP is not required. They are as follows:

  • Properties where there is no marketing (e.g. sale to memeber of your family)
  • Non-residential properties
  • Seasonal and holiday accommodation
  • Mixed sales (e.g. shop with flat)
  • Right to buy and similiar sales
  • Sales of portfolios of properties
  • Properties not being sold with completely vacant possession
  • Unsafe properties and properties to be demolished
  • Properties already on the market when the duty to have a pack was commenced (1st of August for sales of homes with 4 bedrooms or more, and 10th September for sales of homes with 3 bedrooms or more)

Some important HIP features for buyers

Energy efficiency is key. The packs include the property’s energy efficency rating and environmental impact rating graphs, allowing the buyer the chance to see the damage the property will do on both their bank balance and the environment.

Local searches are carried out as part of the pack. This means no more delays while they are carried out. Your solicitor can use these as long as they are valid, up to three months from ordering the HIP. If they are out of date though, it is up to the buyer to order and pay for the new searches.

The conveyancing aspects remain unchanged. You still need a Conveyancer or Solicitor to act on your behalf but if instructed at the same time as ordering the pack’s upfront legal information results in the whole process progressing much faster and with greater efficiency.

What is an Energy Performance Certificate?

The energy performance certificate (EPC) provides information on the official energy efficiency, heating costs and carbon emissions of a property. These ratings are recorded in a graph from A to G, with A being the most efficient and G representing a very inefficient property. It also contains recommended ways to improve the building’s energy performance. The EPC is a required component of the HIP packs required by law for your property.

All EPC’s are produced by licensed Domestic Energy Assessors (DEA’s) or Home Inspectors and in order to join an accreditation scheme a candidate must first gain an approved qualification.

The EPC certificate looks similiar to the certificates you find on your domestic appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines. The certificate displays two graphs. The energy-efficiency rating is a measure of the home’s overall efficiency. The higher the rating, the more energy efficient the home is, and the lower the fuel bills are likely to be. The other graph is an environmental impact rating and is a measure of the home’s impact on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide emissions.

The higher this rating is, the less impact it has on the environment. The ratings also list the potential rating of the building if all cost-effective measures were installed. At the foot of the table the fuel costs required to run the property are displayed.

Conveyancing

A typical conveyancing transaction contains two major landmarks: the exchange of contracts (whereby equitable title passes) and completion (whereby legal title passes). Conveyancing occurs in three stages: before contract, before completion and after completion.

A buyer of real property must ensure that he or she obtains a good and marketable ‘title’ to the land; i.e. that the seller is the owner, has the right to sell the property, and there is no factor which would impede a mortgage or re-sale.

For further information on any of the above topics or to find out about the services Stone offers its clients in HIPs, Conveyancing and finance please do not hesitate to contact us via our online form or by phone 0208 941 6780