What is a Home Information Pack (HIP)?
A Home Information Pack is a set of documents, provided by a seller,
which will give a potential buyer key information about the property for
sale.
In the past, once a sale had been agreed, solicitors were
instructed and they gathered the information needed to agree the contract
and complete a sale.
Today, Home Information Packs provide key information at the
very start of the home buying process, making transactions more
efficient and less likely to fall through between offer and exchange.
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What does a HIP contain?
A HIP must contain the following official documents:
• An Index of contents
• A sale statement (summarising terms of sale)
• An Energy Performance Certificate
• Evidence of title
• Local Authority search
• Drainage and water enquiry
• A copy of the lease (for leasehold properties)
• A copy of the commonhold community statement (for commonhold
properties)
Some documents in the Home Information Pack are optional, these
include:
• Home Condition Report (an Energy Performance Certificate is included
in the Home Condition Report)
• Home use/contents forms
• Additional searches where appropriate - for example, coal mining or
'rights of way'
• Guarantees and warranties for work already carried out on the property
• A legal summary of the pack contents
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Do I need a Home Information Pack?
Home Information Packs are now required by law for most residential
properties placed on the market, however, there are some exceptions. Please
find a list of exceptions below
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Are there any exceptions?
You don't need a Home Information Pack for:
• Properties where there is no marketing (e.g. sale to member of your
family)
• Non-residential properties
• Seasonal and holiday accommodation
• Mixed sales (e.g. shop with flat)
• Right to buy and similar 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 arises
(1st August 2007 for sales of homes with 4 bedrooms or more, 10th September 2007 for
sales of homes with 3 bedrooms or more and 14th December 2007 for sales of homes
with 1 or 2 bedrooms)
For more information on exceptions, see:
Exceptions
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What happens if I change estate agents?
That will depend on the ownership of the HIP and the commercial terms
that you agreed with your original estate agent.
Some estate agents will offer to provide Home Information Packs on the
condition that you use them as your sole agent. If you wish to find a new
agent, you may need to buy a new HIP.
When you purchase a Home Information Pack from Property HIP Services, it
will belong to you and if you decide to change estate agents, all you
need to do is provide the new agent with a copy of your HIP.
You can remarket your property with the same pack provided that
remarketing starts within one year of the date when marketing first began.
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Why should I order my HIP from Property HIP
Services?
PHS is an independent HIP provider.
We work hard to give our customers an accurate, well presented package of
documents that conform with the government's legislation surrounding Home
Information Packs.
Pricing: By
keeping our overheads low we can pass on great savings to our customers
without compromising on quality or service.
Flexibility: Evening and
weekend appointments are available - that means one of our energy assessors
can call at a time that suits you.
Presentation:
Our HIP is a clear and comprehensive PDF document, bookmarked for easy
navigation.
Timing: PHS HIPs are usually
completed within 10 working days.
Delivery: We send copies of the
HIP to your estate agent and solicitor on completion; you don’t have to do a
thing.
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What's the order process?
We've created a 'wizard' for both our EPC online
order form and our HIP online order form to
simplify your form filling experience. If you'd like some guidance or just
prefer to place your order over the telephone, give us a call on
0844 800 1706 and one of our team will be happy to assist.
You'll receive an order confirmation by email (or by post where an email
address is unavailable). This confirmation will allow you to legally place
your property on the market straight away, even before the pack is
completed.
If you've provided contact details for your chosen estate agency on the order form, we'll forward a copy of your Home Information
Pack to them on completion. You don't have to do a thing.
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What is 'tenure'?
Property Tenure in simple terms refers to how the property is owned.
Freehold is the simplest form of
property tenure and is most commonly found in houses. Freehold means
that you are the out-right and complete owner of the building and the land on which it stands.
There could however be conditions on the freehold,
despite the fact that you are the out-right owner, if in the deeds there
have been restrictions set in place upon the initial build of the house,
then any such restriction must be upheld.
Leasehold is a little more
complicated than freehold.
In effect it could be said that if you buy a leasehold you will never
really own the property or the land which it stands, you will only own
the right of its use for the specified time of the lease, at the end of
which the property is handed back to the free-holder, who holds the
right to lease-hold the property.
There are both ‘long’ and ‘short’ leases within leasehold, the short
lease can be described as nothing more than a long tenancy agreement and
a long leasehold is virtually ownership of the property as, for example
at the end of a 999 year lease the probability that the building will be
standing is extremely slim. The length of the lease is certainly very
relevant as the cost of the property will vary depending on how long or
short the lease is.
Commonhold is a new form of
tenure introduced in 2004, it is in actual fact a form of freehold for a
property where there are multiple units i.e. flats of separate ownership
which also have common areas such as stairways, halls and driveways.
The units (flats) are individually owned but the common parts are owned
by a commonhold association (a limited company) whose members must also
be unit owners.
Commonhold differs from leasehold in two important respects:
• Ownership of the units does not have a fixed term (as a lease would) —
it is in perpetuity
• Anyone who is not an owner of a unit cannot have an interest in the
land or common parts — thus there is no landlord
A commonhold HIP will include title documents for both the individual
unit for sale and for the shared areas.
In addition, the other required document is the 'commonhold community
statement'.
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If I have a share in the freehold, can I order a freehold HIP?
No. In terms of the HIP it doesn't make a difference whether you own a share of the freehold, the whole of the freehold,
or if a management company owns the freehold. If the property is leasehold then a leasehold HIP will need to be purchased.
There is a lot of important information contained with the leasehold register, and that needs to be included in your HIP.
If the seller of a leasehold property is also selling their share of the freehold,
then the freehold title documents will be required for inclusion in the leasehold HIP.
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How do I find out if my property is registered?
The majority of properties are registered with the Land Registry.
You can check that your property is registered by searching their
online database - operating hours for this service are between 7 am and 12
midnight, Monday to Saturday (excluding bank holidays)
Search the Land Registry
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Why is there an additional charge for
unregistered properties?
A small percentage of properties are not registered with the Land
Registry. This normally occurs with properties that have not changed
ownership for quite some time.
If your property is not registered then an 'Epitome of title' has to be
included in the HIP. This is a collection of legal documents proving
ownership, for example title deeds and contracts from your purchase. If that
information is not held by you, it will be necessary to request it from the
landlord, managing agent or your lender. They may make a charge to release
this information.
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What are my payment options?
- Most major debit and credit cards
- PayPal
- Bank Transfer - if you choose to pay via bank transfer, payment details will be included with your order confirmation.
- Or you can simply write a cheque (made payable to Property HIP Services Ltd) ensuring that your order number is clearly marked on the back.
Please find our postal address on the contact page.
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How long will the HIP take to complete?
A PHS HIP usually takes between 5 and 10 working days to complete.
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Can my property be marketed before the HIP is
complete?
Provided that the pack has been requested in writing (and is accompanied
by the appropriate payment or an undertaking to make the payment) and it is
expected to become available within 28 days – marketing can start without a
Pack.
Your PHS order confirmation is sufficient for this purpose. It will display
the order date, property address and receipt of payment.
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For how long is the HIP valid?
Whilst the property is on the market, there is no need to update the Home
Information Pack.
If the sale of your property stops and then starts again, you would
normally be required to assemble a new Pack and to update those documents
which are now out of date according to the requirements of the Home
Information Pack Regulations.
However, the seller can carry on using the same pack
without the need to update any of the documents in the following
circumstances:
• Where marketing stopped because the seller accepted an offer and wants
to restart marketing because the sale has fallen through, provided that
remarketing starts within one year of the date when marketing first began
or, if later, within 28 days of the sale falling through.
• Where marketing has stopped for any other reason, the seller may
remarket the property with the same pack provided that remarketing starts
within one year of the date when marketing first began.
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Can I order a printed copy of my HIP?
Yes you can order a printed copy of your Home Information Pack - we
realise that some of our customers don't routinely use a computer or may
simply prefer to have a paper copy to hand. There is a £16 charge to cover
administration, printing, binding and postage and we will also provide your estate agent
with an electronic copy of the HIP on request.
The most popular option is to have the HIP sent, at no extra cost,
to your chosen email address as a single PDF document. You'll be free to forward the HIP document to your
estate agent or to any prospective buyer with the click of the mouse.
Our HIP is a clear and comprehensive PDF document, bookmarked for easy navigation.
To read your PDF HIP document, you need to have PDF reader software such
as 'Adobe Reader' installed on your computer. Follow the link below to
download for free.
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Who gets to view the information in my HIP?
You, or your estate agent will allow access to potential buyers who have
a genuine interest in purchasing your property. The information in the pack
will help them to make a more informed decision and ease the process of
selling your home.
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What is an Energy Performance Certificate?
Energy Performance Certificates are part of a series of measures being
introduced across Europe to reflect legislation which will help cut
buildings’ carbon emissions and improve their energy efficiency.
If you are selling your home you now need a certificate by law and, since
October 2008 all buildings, whenever they are built, sold or rented out,
will require one.
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What information does an EPC contain?
The Energy Performance Certificate gives home owners, tenants and buyers
information about the energy efficiency of their property.
Homes are energy rated into one of seven bands from A to G, where A is the best and with the average to date being D/E.
This is a similar system to the energy rating of domestic electrical goods and new motor vehicles.
An energy rating is calculated by entering data from a survey (property dimensions, wall construction, boiler type,
loft insulation etc.) into a computer program which generates an output rating on a scale from 1 to 100
(1 being a low rating and 100 being a high rating). This energy rating is linked to the cost of heating,
lighting and hot water per square metre of the property.
The current average rating for a property in
England and Wales falls within bands D - E.
New build homes built to current building standards are likely to achieve a high
C or low B rating.
The link below opens a sample Energy Performance Certificate in a new window
Sample EPC
The certificate also includes:
• A summary of energy use, CO2 emissions and the cost of
providing lighting, heating and hot water within the property for 1 year.
• Recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of the
property, from relatively small changes such as fitting low energy light
bulbs, to measures that will boost the energy rating more significantly,
such as cavity wall insulation or a new boiler.
There are grants available to help finance energy efficiency
improvements, please visit the
Energy Savings Trust
website to find out more.
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What does an EPC actually look like?
The link below opens a sample Energy Performance Certificate in a new
window
Sample EPC
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Will I have to pay for the EPC?
There's no additional charge for the EPC if you're purchasing a Home
Information Pack.
Individual Energy assessments are available and can be ordered
online or by calling 0844 800 1706.
Please see our pricing page for
details.
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Will someone have to come round to my house?
In order to complete the Energy Performance Certificate (included in your
Home Information Pack), one of our team will need to pop round to look at
the features of the property that affect it's energy efficiency .
We offer flexible appointments including evenings and weekends, and will
do our best to arrange a time that suits you. Please be aware that evening appointments will be dependant on available daylight as your assessor may need to
identify features to the exterior of the property. For example, evidence of retro-fit cavity wall insulation.
PHS energy assessors are fully qualified and accredited professionals,
committed to maintaining the highest level of service and customer care.
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What should I expect on the day?
When your assessor calls, they will be happy to produce identification
before being invited into your home.
The assessment should take between 40 and 60 minutes. This is dependent
on the size of the property and the features to be recorded.
The energy inspection itself is non intrusive, however the
assessor will need access to:
• The heating system to establish it's make, model and fuel type
• The hot water cylinder if you have one
• Heating system programmers and thermostats
• Gas and electricity meters
• The roof space if possible
If you have any documentation relating to the following, please
have this have ready to show your assessor:
• The addition of cavity wall insulation, loft insulation or under floor insulation after the original build
• Double glazing - year of installation
• Heating system manuals
• Documents relating to date of build for the main house and any subsequent extensions
Your assessor will take measurements of the floor area and make a sketch
of the floor plan on which individual measurements and features can be noted.
Finally, your assessor will be looking at:
• Window types
• Thermostatic radiator valves
• Any low energy light bulbs currently fitted in the main light
fixtures (but not in lamps, garages and out-buildings)
More information about the extent of the survey and how the collected data is used to generate your EPC.
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How long will the energy assessment take?
The assessment should take between 40 and 60 minutes. This is dependent
on the size of the property and the features to be recorded.
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What happens next?
Your assessor will submit the information gathered during the course of
their visit and generate an Energy Performance Certificate that is unique to
your property. The EPC will be included in your Home Information Pack or sent to you separately, according to your order requirements.
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I need an EPC fast, how quickly can you deliver the report?
We will do our very best to meet your requirements.
Follow these simple steps to fast-track your order:
- Place your order online using one of the instant payment methods (debit card, credit card or PayPal)
all accessible via the PayPal checkout button.
- As soon as you've placed your order, give us a call so we can arrange an appointment for your energy assessment.
* Please note that payment must be cleared before the assessment can take place
The completed EPC will usually be available within 24 hours of the inspection.
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